Christmas Ornament Block

It's my turn once again for the OMQG block of the month, so I created this fun ornament block which will finish at 12 1/2 inches.  You will need 2 contrasting Christmas fabrics, white fabric and a small piece of gray or silver.

Cut:
    6 - 3 1/2 in sq of Christmas fabric 1
    3 - 3 1/2 in sq of Christmas fabric 2
    4 - 3 1/2 in sq of white
    1 - 2 in sq of silver or gray
    2 - 4 1/2 by 2 in strips of white
    1 - 9 1/2 by 1 1/4 strip white
    1 - 9 1/2 by 2 1/2 strip white
    2 - 12 1/2 by 2 1/2 in strips white

Lay out your 3 1/2 in Christmas fabric squares.

Put the white squares (right sides together) on each corner.  Then draw a line from corner to corner with a pencil.  Making sure it goes in the correct direction to give corners to the Christmas ornament.

Sew along the line, trim a 1/4 inch seam allowance, and then press open.  Lay out to form the ornament.

Lay out the blocks like a 9 patch with the Christmas fabrics in stripes.

Sew together in rows and press.

Sew gray fabric between the 4 1/2 in strips and press.

Center gray square above middle Christmas square.  Sew strip to ornament square.

Add 9 1/2 by 1 1/4 inch strip to top of block.  Add 9 1/2  by 2 1/2 inch strip to bottom of block. Then trim sides to even up the block.  The trim the bottom strip (if necessary) so the block is 12 1/2 inches  high.

Add a 12 1/2 inch strip to each side.  Square the block to 12 1/2 inches.

Bright Star Points on Black.
    
   Its my turn to do the block-of-the-month for the Orlando Modern Quilt Guild.  Since I love wonky stars, I thought I'd do a slight variation, using solid black for both the background and center squares to give it more negative space.  I also love bright colors, so it should be a fun quilt when put together.  This is my first attempt at a tutorial, so feel free to look at other tutorials if mine is unclear.  (Just google 'wonky star tutorial' - and be sure to use solid black for both the background and center squares.)  

 Step 1:  Cut 9 4 1/2 inch squares from solid black.  Then 4 6 1/2 inch squares from bright colors.

Step 2:  Cut the bright squares into triangles.

 

Step 3: Lay 4 triangles at different angles over 4 of the black squares, making sure that after sewing and pressing, all of the black will be covered.

Step 4:  Sew the triangles to the black using a quarter inch seam.  Fold over and press.  Turn the squares over and using the black square as a guideline, trim off the excess colored fabric.  You can then unfold the square and trim off the excess fabric at the seam, leaving a 4 1/2 inch square - partially black and partially colored.

Step 5:  Lay the other triangles over your trimmed squares in the opposite direction.   Sew with a quarter inch seam.

Step 6:  Turn, press, and trim off the excess triangle fabric to make a 4 1/2 inch square.  Then unfold and trim off the excess at the seam.  Press the squares.

Step 7:  Layout your star point squares with the black squares as shown above.  Sew squares into 3 rows using SCANT 1/4 inch seams.  Then join the 3 rows together using SCANT 1/4 inch seams.

Step 8:  Press and you now have a completed block.