I'll Be Quilting on the Train

Soon I'm headed east on a long train ride, so I need some hand work to keep me occupied when the gorgeous scenery fades into the sunset. I think that I will make some small quilt blocks. My favorites involve stars, and what could be more fun than the good, old fashion Ohio star? There are so many variations that can be done with this quilt block!

You can embroider a cute pattern in the center square. Or, a  "fussy cut"  piece of fabric easily makes a theme quilt. Frame just one Ohio Star square for a cute wall hanging, or combine squares for anything from a table runner to a full bed quilt. Here's the basic directions...

 The Ohio star quilt block is a very basic block that uses half square triangles and squares. This pattern is for a 6" square block. To complete one block:

Materials: Fat quarters or scraps of fabric in three colors (green, tan and white used for example pattern)

Step 1 - Using a rotary cutter:

• Cut 1 patch 4 ½” square from the tan fabric.  
• Cut 4 patches 3 ½” square from both the green fabric and the white fabric.  
• Cut 4 patches 2 ½” square from the white fabric. 

Step 2 - Piece using the half square triangle method:
(You will need a total of 8 half square triangles measuring 2 ½”)

Place one 3 ½” square of green fabric on one 3 ½” square of the white fabric, right sides together.

• Draw a line on the diagonal on the lighter fabric from one corner to the opposite corner.
• Stitch ¼” on each side of the marked line. 
• Cut on the drawn line with your rotary cutter or scissors to separate the square into triangles.  
• Fold open the square and press the seam allowances toward the darker fabric.
• Using your plastic ruler, trim the square to be 2 ½”. Be sure to use the 45 degree angle on your ruler. 

Step 3 - Sew two half square units together. Be sure to refer to the picture for the proper placement.
Step 4 - Sew row one - white square, double half square unit, white square.

Step 5 - Sew row two - double half square unit (as indicated in the picture), tan square, double half square unit. 

Step 6 - Sew row three - white square, double half square unit, half square unit, white square. 

Step 7 - Sew all the rows together to complete the Ohio star quilt block.

The Ohio star quilt block is a fun block to make many variations using so many different color combinations.


Stars by Charlotte Kleiner



A small quilt of Ohio stars that is HAND quilted!