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Bryan House Quilts

MonStar {Modern Rainbow}

finished quilts· quilt pattern

7 May

Today, I’d like to share two(!) quilts with you, the original MonStar and a recent derivation 4 Little MonStars. Both are from my book, Modern Rainbow.

So this is the original MonStar and as you can see, the quilt it a giant star, a monster star if you will, or a monstar. This quilt can be found in the Improvisational and Liberated Quilts section. As the star grows layer by layer, the spokes can become a bit unwieldy and the size tends to drift a bit. So the maker has to have more flexible approach to making MonStar.

For this quilt, instead of picking and choosing fabrics, I just used one of my favorite fabric lines, Mirror Ball Dots from Michael Miller. Gosh I am still so obsessed with this fabric line. I’m hoarding a Fat Quarter Bundle still. 🙂

Fabric sammich. Healthier than a Big Mac right? I'm still hoarding this fat quarter bundle of Michael Miller mirror ball dots.

See how tight my grip is? hehe. My soon-to-be-seven year old loves rainbows, in fact the original MonStar lives on her bed. So that hoarded bundle will soon be put to use making some birthday presents for her room. 🙂

4 Little MonStars

Ok, now for the second quilt, 4 Little MonStars. I was contacted by Fabri-Quilt to make a quilt for their Quilt Market booth using their solid fabrics. Never wanting to miss an opportunity to use solids I accepted the chance immediately.

I wanted to go with a more mix and match palette. So I used Illustrator quite a bit to play with the different fabric colors before choosing my colors. Here is the color scheme I landed on.

4 Little MonStars

And here’s how it turned out in real life. It’s a bit bigger than I anticipated making a quickie photo shoot a bit more challenging. “Stretch your arms out further dear!”

4 Little MonStars

If you haven’t used Fabri-Quilt solids before, the touch/hand is more like Kona cottons, maybe a touch heavier. The white fabric is probably the softest white fabric I’ve felt in a while, very soft and warm to the touch. If that makes sense?

For the pattern, I just made 4 smaller MonStars. The small ones are a bit easier to maneuver. And for the quilting, I kept it simple with wide spaced straight lines. If you looks closely you might be able to see that the lines form an “X” pattern on the whole quilt.

Ok, now let’s make like the Count from Sesame Street (link will play audio!):

One Little MonStar!

4 Little MonStars

Two Little MonStars!

4 Little MonStars

Three Little MonStars!

4 Little MonStars

Four Little MonStars!

4 Little MonStars

Four Little MonStars! Ha. Ha. Ha.

🙂

4 Little MonStars

And that’s that!

Thank you for visiting!

Previous Post: « Again with the thank yous :)
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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Lucy @ Charm About You says

    May 7, 2015 at 3:09 pm

    Both so gorgeous!! Loved the counting 🙂

  2. Allison says

    May 8, 2015 at 5:16 am

    LOVE this star pattern Rebecca and your book! I finally got my hands on a copy and it's beautiful!!! (sorry I commented with the wrong profile before!)

  3. Rosa says

    May 8, 2015 at 12:26 pm

    Love them all, just stunning!

  4. Patricia says

    May 9, 2015 at 6:59 pm

    All are pretty love them

  5. Jayne says

    May 10, 2015 at 1:18 pm

    Both are gorgeous! I love the stars so much ~ especially the little guys!!

  6. Cheryl says

    May 12, 2015 at 5:39 pm

    I love the huge stars beautiful quilts!

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About

Hey there! I’m Rebecca, an author and teacher and freezer paper piecing evangelist. I’m also the founder of the Make Modern Triangles Quilt Club.

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Does anyone else just love this feeling? ✨ Walk i Does anyone else just love this feeling? ✨

Walk into the sewing room, shut the door behind me, and suddenly all other problems disappear. 

A feeling we all know too well. 🙌

What are you sewing right now? Let me know in the comments! 💕

#quilthumor #quilterslife #quiltteacher #modernquilter
Comment ‘FREEZER’ to take my free class! Keep read Comment ‘FREEZER’ to take my free class! Keep reading for tip number four... 👇

Always print your templates at 100% scale.

Before cutting your fabric, measure the 1-inch test box on your template.

Even being slightly off can affect the accuracy of your blocks later on and lead to some BIG oopsies. 😅

This is one of those tiny steps that saves a LOT of frustration later... Speaking from experience, and more re-done blocks than I could ever count! 

Follow along @bryanhousequilts for more freezer paper piecing tips that will make your quilting life easier and more enjoyable along the way. 💕
Comment ‘FREE’ and i’ll send you straight to my fr Comment ‘FREE’ and i’ll send you straight to my free class where I’ll teach you the life-changing technique that made me fall in love with quilting. 💕 

You’ll even leave with a free modern triangle block pattern to start sewing on your own! 🪡

Drop ‘FREE’ below and start the new creative hobby you’ve been dreaming about. ✨

#modernquilting #paperpiecing #foundationpaperpiecing #quiltingtechnique #quiltteacher
1️⃣ Make a test block. I know it’s tempting to s 1️⃣ Make a test block. 

I know it’s tempting to skip this step... I cannot tell you how many times I have skipped making a test block and ended up regretting it later. If I had just made the test block, it would have saved me HOURS and HOURS of seam ripping and re-sewing, so take my advice and just always make the test block! 

I have never regretted making a test block, but I have regretted not making one. 😅

2️⃣ Celebrate the ta-da moments.

I’m not talking about just the finished quilt. I mean EVERY moment along the journey that feels like a win. Picking your colors and fabrics, sewing that first block, the points that line up, arranging blocks onto the design wall... Celebrate as much as you can along the way. 

I think too many quilters rush past these moments because they’re just focused on the finish line, but quilting isn’t one big “ta-da!” It’s a bunch of little “ta-da” moments stitched together.

3️⃣ Learn the freezer paper piecing technique.

I’m not kidding when I say it completely changed my quilty life... The more I quilt, the more I realize that frustration doesn’t make a quilt more valuable. Struggling doesn’t make you a better quilter. A good process gives you more confidence, helps you enjoy the sewing, and frees up a lot of your time to keep quilting. It makes you want to come back tomorrow and sew another block! 

Quilting is meant to be enjoyed and there’s so much to learn along the way. These three things have been HUGE along my quilting journey, and I know they can make an impact on yours too. 

What’s one thing that has completely changed your quilting journey? Share in the comments. ✨

#modernquilting #paperpiecing #foundationpaperpiecing #quiltingtechnique #quiltteacher
When I say I’ve tried it all, and quilting was the When I say I’ve tried it all, and quilting was the only thing that stuck, I MEAN IT! 😅

👉 Tried gardening, and all the plants would die before I got around to them. 
👉 Tried crochet, and discovered I can’t count that high (or just don’t want to!)
👉 Tried making kids’ clothes, and they always grew out of them before I could finish. 

But quilting? THAT’S my bread and butter. 

It was my mom who got me into quilting many years ago, and I’ve even been teaching quilting for over a decade. 

I’ve built a community of thousands of quilters from all over, at all ages and all skill levels. 

And the most important part of what we do is have FUN. 🙌

Comment ‘FREE’ if you want to learn and have some fun along the way, i’ll send you to my free class to get started. 💌

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FREEZER PAPER PIECING TIP NUMBER 3 ⬇️ Always prin FREEZER PAPER PIECING TIP NUMBER 3 ⬇️

Always print your templates at 100% scale. Most printers are accurate, however, the template size may be off by a smidge with some printers.

Make a test print on printer paper. Measure the 1-inch scale box to check accuracy. Run a test when this happens by changing the scale setting a percent at a time, then remeasure the scale box until it’s the same size as the original template. Like I said, it happens, but not often!

Some quilters find that freezer paper shrinks after it runs through a printer. Another reason to check the scale box! You can’t turn down the printer’s temperature, but you can pre-shrink it by pressing it onto parchment paper. Peel it off, and you’re ready to try again.

Even being slightly off can affect the accuracy of your blocks later on.

This is one of those tiny steps that saves a LOT of frustration later. 😅

Follow along @bryanhousequilts for freezer paper piecing tip number four coming next week! 💕

#modernquilting #paperpiecing #foundationpaperpiecing #quiltingtechnique #quiltinggma quiltteacher
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Does anyone else just love this feeling? ✨ Walk i Does anyone else just love this feeling? ✨

Walk into the sewing room, shut the door behind me, and suddenly all other problems disappear. 

A feeling we all know too well. 🙌

What are you sewing right now? Let me know in the comments! 💕

#quilthumor #quilterslife #quiltteacher #modernquilter
Comment ‘FREEZER’ to take my free class! Keep read Comment ‘FREEZER’ to take my free class! Keep reading for tip number four... 👇

Always print your templates at 100% scale.

Before cutting your fabric, measure the 1-inch test box on your template.

Even being slightly off can affect the accuracy of your blocks later on and lead to some BIG oopsies. 😅

This is one of those tiny steps that saves a LOT of frustration later... Speaking from experience, and more re-done blocks than I could ever count! 

Follow along @bryanhousequilts for more freezer paper piecing tips that will make your quilting life easier and more enjoyable along the way. 💕
Comment ‘FREE’ and i’ll send you straight to my fr Comment ‘FREE’ and i’ll send you straight to my free class where I’ll teach you the life-changing technique that made me fall in love with quilting. 💕 

You’ll even leave with a free modern triangle block pattern to start sewing on your own! 🪡

Drop ‘FREE’ below and start the new creative hobby you’ve been dreaming about. ✨

#modernquilting #paperpiecing #foundationpaperpiecing #quiltingtechnique #quiltteacher
1️⃣ Make a test block. I know it’s tempting to s 1️⃣ Make a test block. 

I know it’s tempting to skip this step... I cannot tell you how many times I have skipped making a test block and ended up regretting it later. If I had just made the test block, it would have saved me HOURS and HOURS of seam ripping and re-sewing, so take my advice and just always make the test block! 

I have never regretted making a test block, but I have regretted not making one. 😅

2️⃣ Celebrate the ta-da moments.

I’m not talking about just the finished quilt. I mean EVERY moment along the journey that feels like a win. Picking your colors and fabrics, sewing that first block, the points that line up, arranging blocks onto the design wall... Celebrate as much as you can along the way. 

I think too many quilters rush past these moments because they’re just focused on the finish line, but quilting isn’t one big “ta-da!” It’s a bunch of little “ta-da” moments stitched together.

3️⃣ Learn the freezer paper piecing technique.

I’m not kidding when I say it completely changed my quilty life... The more I quilt, the more I realize that frustration doesn’t make a quilt more valuable. Struggling doesn’t make you a better quilter. A good process gives you more confidence, helps you enjoy the sewing, and frees up a lot of your time to keep quilting. It makes you want to come back tomorrow and sew another block! 

Quilting is meant to be enjoyed and there’s so much to learn along the way. These three things have been HUGE along my quilting journey, and I know they can make an impact on yours too. 

What’s one thing that has completely changed your quilting journey? Share in the comments. ✨

#modernquilting #paperpiecing #foundationpaperpiecing #quiltingtechnique #quiltteacher
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