Summer Mini Quilt Blog Hop: Day 3

We can't wait for summer! To help put us all in a carefree, sunshine-y mindset, this week we're hosting the Summer Mini Quilt Blog Hop! Thanks to our talented designer friends, we'll be featuring tutorials to make four different summer-themed mini quilts.

Today Alison from Little Bunny Quilts is here with a bright star mini quilt. Enjoy her tutorial (featuring some of the colorful prints from Ann Lauer's Anything Goes collection) and then head to her blog for a chance to win some Anything Goes for yourself! 

Here's Alison!
Hello, quilters! I am Alison from Little Bunny Quilts and I am happy to be back here today at Sew In Love With Fabric to share a tutorial for a quick and fun mini quilt made from the new line Anything Goes by Ann Lauer.

Here's a sampling of some of the fabrics in this line:

I used mainly the green and blue prints in this mini, which finishes at 20 inches square. I used one of my favorite blocks -- the Ohio Star -- and used partial blocks to give the design a little more pizzazz.

Cutting:
3 - 5.5 inch squares background fabric (for QSTs)
8 - 4.5 inch squares background fabric
1 - 5.5 inch square blue #1 fabric (for center QSTs)
2 - 5.5 inch squares green #1 fabric (for center QSTs)
2 - 5.5 inch squares blue #2 fabric (for outer QSTs)
4 - 5.5 inch squares green #2 fabric (for outer QSTs)
5 - 4.5 inch squares white print fabric

Draw diagonal lines on all of your green squares. Pair up each 5.5 inch square as listed below to create HSTs by sewing 1/4 inch on each side of the line, cutting apart on the drawn line, and pressing toward the green. Do not trim your units yet.

For center QSTs:
1 - 5.5 inch green #1 square + 1 - 5.5 inch background square (yielding 2 green/background HSTs)
1 - 5.5 inch green #1 square + 1 - 5.5 inch blue #1 square (yielding 2 green/blue HSTs)

For outer QSTs:
2 - 5.5 inch green #2 squares + 2 - 5.5 inch background squares (yielding 4 green/background HSTs)
2 - 5.5 inch green #2 squares + 2 - 5.5 inch blue #2 squares (yielding 4 green/blue HSTs)

In this picture, the units that will be used for the center QSTs are in the top row, and the units that will be used for the outer QSTs are in the bottom two rows.

Cut each HST in half, perpendicular to the sewn seam. Note: it is important to cut perpendicular to the seam, rather than just from corner-to-corner as this ensures nice "square" seams at the center of  your QSTs. If you find that your two corners are not perfectly aligned when you line your ruler perpendicular to the seam, do your best to position the cut such that the cut splits the difference between the offset corners, as in the diagram below.

After cutting your HSTs in half, pair each half with the corresponding complementary half to make your QST units. Sew together, making sure to align the center seam. Press seam open to reduce bulk and trim your QST units to 4.5 units, making sure that the center intersection remains the center of the trimmed block.

Lay out your QST units and 4.5 inch white print and background squares as shown below.

Sew together for your mini top.

Quilt as desired and bind. I quilted my mini with a swirly flower motif. I made bias binding with one of the black prints in the collection and also used the same print for my hanging pockets. I pieced together the leftovers from the green floral print and blue dot print for my backing fabric.

Thanks for letting me share this fun tutorial with you! I love making minis and I hope you do too! Hop on over to Little Bunny Quilts to win a mini bundle of fat quarters from the Anything Goes collection!

Click here to see the entire Anything Goes collection. 


Don't miss the other days of our Summer Mini Quilt Blog Hop!

Summer Mini Quilt Blog Hop:
Day 1: Debby from Debby Kratovil Quilts using Liberty Garden
Day 2: Benartex blog design team using Play Ball
Day 3: Alison from Little Bunny Quilts using Anything Goes
Day 4: Kelly from My Quilt Infatuation using Patio Splash