Category Archives: Star 60 Tool

Elf & Dragon – OBW #121

Elf & Dragon panel by Rubin Design Studio on eQuilter.com Panel measures 33″ x 44″.

I cut my strips 3.25″ to yield 5″ finished hexies. I created 10″ finished Checkerboard 60 units with my Star 60 Tool to be part of the dragon’s body.

The photo above is the quilt top stitched together, but no borders yet. Next I hide what needs hiding.

“The Elf’s song was heard through out the forest. The mossy earth began to shift. The dragon rose from beneath the leaves and mushrooms. The dragon would always come when the Elf called!

Can you find all my appliques’? The Elf and Dragon measures 90″ x 70″.

Below is the video for the matching OBW coat made from the same panel by http://www.facebook.com/MamaSaidSew-Terri Butler.

@equilter @studio180Design #elfanddragon #RubinDesignStudio #Checkerboard60, #Star60Tool

Mystical Horse 2 Ways – OBW #120

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I chose this panel for all the horses I have loved.

Mystical horse by Rubin Design Studio is so vibrant, I just love it.

This is me on Buck, our first horse. In 1966 I was living in Las Vegas. I was in the 4H Club. Every year we participated in a parade down the Las Vagas Strip. I was such a tomboy. I once caught a wild mustang and brought it home. He was tearing up the corral so bad I had to set him free the next day. At least he had water and a meal.

Mystical Horse OBW measures 94″ x 71″. I cut my strips 3.25″ which yielded 5″ finished hexies, cut with the First Choice ruler. I included 10″ finished Framed 60 Units made with the Star 60 Tool and Island Batik fabrics.

My friend and fellow Studio 180 Design Certified Instructor Terri Butler has challenged herself to make a OBW coat for every OBW that I make. She got hers done before me.

You can see her model the finished coat on https://www.mamasaidsewllc.com/

The coat is so fabulous! I want one!

@RubinDesignStudio @Studio180Design @MamaSaidSewllc.com #MysticalHorse #Framed60 #Star60Tool #FirstChoiceRuler #OmniThread #IslandBatik

Daydreamin & Repeating Ourselves

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Terri and I did a thing! Terri Butler is my friend and fellow Studio 180 Design Certified Instructor. While we were at H&H Americas in Chicago we had an idea.

These two panels were created by Frond Design for Northcott Fabrics. Terri had it on her design wall and I have had them in my OBW stash for a couple of years. The normal thing would be to stitch the halves together and design around them. Why be normal? We decided to do what we do best. A One Block Wonder coat and quilt out of the same panels!

Terri chose the layout, quilted the individual sections and cut out the coat pieces.

Terri did such a great job with her interpretation of Daydreamin, I just love it. You can follow Terri at Mama Said Sew. Terri is a great pattern designer.

After aligning the 2 sets of panels, I cut 3.25″ strips that yielded 294 – 5″ finished hexies.

I didn’t want to just design what was expected. The words that kept creeping into my mind were mutual attraction, cross pollination. I decided to create a flower in the center that came from a seed dropped by a bird. My design wall is 106″ wide by 72″ tall. That’s why my OBW’s look like murals. I filled my design wall and still had 63 hexies left over.

Daydreamin measures 97″x 65″. The colors are just mesmerizing. We will share photo’s of the quilt and coat together soon.

No hexies were harmed during the construction of this One Block Wonder. The Supervisor was on the job.

#FirstChoiceRulers #Star60Tool

1776 – OBW #118

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1776 panel designed by the Morris Group for QT Fabrics measures 38″ x 32″. This beautiful Eagle panel will be in shops Fall 2025.

The 1776 fabric line offers everything needed to create your own 1776 quilt. You can finish it in time to celebrate our nation’s 250th birthday in 2026.

I chose 5 coordinating fabrics to add to my story. I choose fabrics before I know what my design approach will be. The flags with the light blue background ended up on the back of the quilt.

I used Deb Tucker’s First Choice Rulers to cut my strips 3.25″ wide, yielding 5″ finished hexies. The stars were created using the Star 60 Tool by Deb Tucker. I started placing my hexies on the top section first.

Numbering the rows keeps everything organized. Once I attached the top and bottom sections, I stitched the hexies on the left into rows. It shows how much the rows shrink when stitched together.

The photo on the left shows the quilt top together without borders. On the right the borders have been added, but not yet tweaked.

1776 measures 75″ x 66″. I wanted to make the eagle’s wings look larger than they were. As if their strength created air currents that actually moved the stars.

@QTFabrics @Studio180Design #Star60Tool #First Choice Rulers #QuiltersDream Batting #Juki #OmniThread

1776 Unboxing

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I wanted to share my next OBW project using the 1776 line from QT Fabrics. (Correction, the video states 1776 will be in shops Summer 2025. 1776 will be shops Fall 2025)

@QTFabrics @Studio180Design #1776, #Star60Tool

Enchanted – OBW #117

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The Enchanted panel is designed by the Morris Creative Group and brought to us by QT Fabrics. In quilt shops now.

When I first saw this panel I thought of the song “Castles in the Sky” by Ian Van Dahl, 1999. I thought that I would try to design around the castle as if it was floating.

I always say “the fabric starts talking to me” while I’m make the hexies. I cut my strips 2.75″ wide to yield 4″ finished hexies. I did not use the borders when I cut my strips. I ended up with 210 hexies.

I knew I wanted to add Hollow Cube 60 units. I started designing, trying to figure out where I would place them, and what would they represent. I thought I would add them as part of the sky. Suddenly, while designing, the words “Middle Earth” settled in my brain. I used the Star 60 tool, and the Hollow Cube 60 Technique Sheet. I made a 12″ Hollow Cube 60, with 4″ hollow cube 60’s inside it. The area below the White Tower would represent the Shire where the Hobbits lived. The Hollow Cube 60’s are Hobbit Houses!

The White Castle in Lord of the Rings is the greatest city of Gandor. The citadel of Minas Tirith is a towering, fortified community built into the side of the White Mountains.

SO, Middle Earth was the inspiration for my design. I used QT Fabric’s Aura line of blenders for my cubes and the blue half hexies surrounding the castle.

It always amazes me how much the rows shrink when stitched together,

Enchanted measures 63″ x 66″. The Enchanted panel is in store now.

@QTFabrics @Studio180Design #Enchanted #STar60Tool #HollowCube60 #QuiltersDreamBatting #OmniThtread

Blooming Bouquet OBW #115

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I unlocked the door and stepped into the room. The full moonlight shone through the window, illuminating a small table with a beautiful blooming bouquet of flowers. I saw the vase reflected on the French doors. I stepped onto the balcony and looked to my right and saw the Eiffel Tower lit up above the rooftops.

I always try to find the story the fabric is telling me. The Blooming Bouquet panel designed by Suzanne Allard and QT Fabrics transported me to Paris.

The colors were so vibrant I didn’t want to distract from them. I added Star 60 units in pink (31244P), blue (3144B) and gold (31244O). I used coordinating fabrics of purple (31244V) on the left and green (31244H) on the right.

I used the rest of the fabric for the quilt backing. Blooming Bouquet measures 82″ x 65″. Blooming Bouquet will be in quilt shops September 2025.

@QTFabrics @Studio180Design #BloomingBouquet #OmniThread #QuiltersDreamBatting

Blooming Bouquet by QT fabrics

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I can’t wait for Spring. This video is the unboxing of the Blooming Bouquet line designed by Suzanne Allard for QT Fabrics. The Blooming Bouquet line will be in your local quilt shops Spring 2025.

@QTFabrics @Studio180Design #QTFabrics #BloomingBouquet #Star60Tool

Spirited – OBW #114

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The Spirited panel was designed by Elise Genest for Northcott Fabrics. The panel measures 24″ x 44″.

I cut my strips 2.75” which yields 4” finished hexies. There were 210 hexies. I let the design tell me what it needs to tell a good story. After cutting my strips I had about 2.25” strip left. This allowed me to cut diamonds and make 11 kaleidoscope Star 60 units. I added 4” finished Hollow Cube 60’s and a 12” hollow Cube with 4” cubes inside it to represent the stables.

Spirit was left in the corral far too long. It began to rain and she jumped over the fence and headed for the stables, where it was dinnertime. Spirited measures 71” x 68”.

Spirited was made for The Quilt Crossing quilt shop in Boise, ID. They have invited me there to teach a 4 day Sleep in your Own Bed One Block Wonder Workshop, June 18 – 21, 2025. Maybe I will get to meet you there.

@northcottfabric @studio180design #Star60 #HollowCube60 #DebTucker #Spirited

One Block Wonder Workshops: A Trip to Kentucky and Tennessee

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I have been traveling and teaching. I picked up my friend and fellow Studio 180 Design Certified Instructor Barb Wiseman, we left Pennsylvania and went west to Lexington, KY and met up with another fellow Studio 180 Design Certified Instructor Toni Raynolds. Barb and Toni assisted me while teaching One Block Wonder and a Hollow Cube 60 classes at Thomas Sewing Center. What a fabulous time we had! Thank you Toni for taking such good care of Barb & I.

Thank you to Thomas Sewing Center owner Alysson Rife and everyone who attended. I had a great time.

After Thomas Sewing Center Barb and I traveled south to Fairfield Glade, TN and met up with another fellow Studio 180 Design Certified Instructor Pauline Lang and the Fan-Tastic Quilt Guild for a One Block Wonder Trunk Show and workshop. I had a blast with you all. Thank you Pauline for all your help and wonderful hospitality!