Twinkler quilt

Ever want to just sew and make something that doesn't require a lot of thought?  Well, that's what happened to me today.  I've been wanting to join in the fun of my online stashbusters group, which is working on a pattern called Twinkler.  And today was the day I finally got started.  Here's a block

It's perfect for using up the stash, and easy to put together. The pattern can be found at Claudia's Quilt Shoppe, and being me, I changed it a bit.  Instead of the 2 1/2" squares, I used 5".  Yes, I am using more of the darned nickels!  (Can't you tell, given how scrappy this block is?!)

My version requires eight 5" squares, one 5" square for the center of the star, and four 3" squares for the star points.  After drawing a line from corner to corner on all of the 3" squares, 

the seam was stitched just to the side of the line. 

This allows for some fabric at the fold, so that the edges line up once the triangle is flipped over.  And because I don't like to waste fabric, I sewed another line 1/2" over (just eyeballed it!),

to create little half square triangle units for a later use. 

Cutting a 1/4" seam allowance between the two stitched lines 

gave me the star points,

 plus a little half square triangle.  

Now the block is an easy nine patch assembly.  For a quick way to sew a nine patch, see my post Efficiently Sewing a Nine Patch.

Given the size of the patches, these blocks went together fast and created a large quilt.  I must admit that though I love the pattern, my top is not the prettiest!  I'm hoping the quilting will help with that.

Happy Quilting!