Patchwork star from fabric remnants

Dear quilters, all good things come in threes – January, February and March. The first quarter of the BERNINA Temperature Quilt-Along has already been sewn. How far have you come? Are you also enjoying the new colors that are gradually slipping into the quilt?

March has already brought us a few warm days where we’ve had our first coffee in a pavement café, isn’t that lovely? And when we go for a walk, we can already find wild garlic in the forest, cowslips in the meadow and the first buttercups on the Rhine riverside.

Today we take a quick look at the Snowball and Flying Geese variants in March. First of all: there’s not much news. 😊 After that, we’ll take a look at what you can do with the sections that are created when cutting the blocks as part of an optional additional sewing tutorial.

New here?

Is this your first time hearing about the Temperature Quilt-Along? Then welcome! We will sew a Temperature Quilt together. This quilt represents the daily temperatures you have measured throughout the year and tells your own personal weather story in 365 blocks. You can join in and sew along at any time.

Would you like to take part? Wonderful! Then read the announcement article with all the information first.

On the following page you will find an overview of all the articles that have been published so far: BERNINA Temperature Quilt-Along – all previous articles.

Our recently created world map is particularly exciting. Haven’t we already created a great worldwide community? Let me know in the comments where you sew and I’ll put a little flag on the map for you.

Optional sewing instructions from fabric remnants

As I already have a sewing routine for both quilt variations, the Snowball and the Flying Geese, today I will give you an idea for using the triangle sections that are created when cutting the blocks.

But first a few sentences on my own behalf: my husband and I are going down a new path again this summer. We have found a new home and are moving near Flensburg Germany, close to the coast, at the end of June. We are fulfilling our lifelong dream and are really looking forward to this new phase of our lives – and so is our dog.

Well, he doesn’t know anything about his luck yet, but as a Golden Retriever he is the water rat par excellence and the Flensburg Fjord/Baltic Sea has plenty of it…

As there are about 900 km between my current place of residence near Ulm and Flensburg, this changes the temperatures of my quilt. I have decided to already sew the first three months with the temperatures from Steinbergkirche, my future place of residence.

The comparison between January/February from the north and south is already exciting. The photo below shows the south on the left and the north on the right. The winter was actually much milder in the north than in Ulm.

Snowball in March

As already explained in the February article of the Temperature Quilt-Along, nothing changes in terms of sewing technique with the Snowball. You sew each completed monthly row to the previous one.

Flying Geese quilt in March

I also explained how to continue with the Flying Geese in the February article. Here we always sew two consecutive months together in pairs. January and February, March and April. So you don’t have to do anything else for now and sew April first before we sew the first third of the year together and also remove the first backing papers.

Here are my first three finished months with the temperatures near Flensburg:

Additional instructions: Sew patchwork star from fabric cuttings

Your collection of triangular sections is certainly growing as fast as mine. And the more the year progresses, the more colorful it becomes. Time to sew something from it.

For a small part in a star patchwork block you need

8 triangles in 2 colors each
16 triangles in 1 color

First arrange the triangles as shown. Ideally, you should also take a photo of them to reference later:

Sew two triangles together with a 1/4” seam allowance.

Press open the seam allowance.

Cut each resulting square back to exactly 2 x 2” using the ruler. For those who are not yet used to a quilting ruler, I will explain this step in more detail below. So please read on first.

The difference in size is quite astonishing, isn’t it?

Place the matching triangles on top of each other and sew them one after the other. Sew the first half of the star block first, then the second half.

This is how the correction cut (trimming) works: Position the patchwork ruler over the block. The diagonal runs exactly through the middle, the diagonal meets the dimension 2” at the top left and bottom right.

Use the rotary cutter to make a correction cut on the first two sides first.

Then turn the block over and place the ruler with the 2″ lines on the straight cut edges. Now remove the remaining excess. You will then have a precisely cut small block measuring 2 x 2”.

Arrange all the finished squares in the correct order. Sew the second half identically.

Now sew the individual squares together with a 1/4” seam allowance. Pin just before the end so that nothing slips.

Press open the seam allowance. Sew blocks of two and then sew them together again so that you have a row of four.

Pin the rows of four together, right sides facing, with the seam allowances matching exactly. Sew together with 1/4” seam allowance. Press the seam allowances open again. These are always the same consecutive steps.

The little patchwork star is finished. It has a size of 6 1/4“ x 6 1/4”.

As I still need some parting gifts, I am now making a small herbal cushion – or a pin cushion is just as good. Cut a backing fabric in the same size.

Place the fabrics right sides together and sew together again with a 1/4” seam allowance, leaving a turn opening on one side. Shorten the corners, turn the cushion over and shape the corners.

Fill with a material of your choice, then close the opening with a few stitches by hand or machine. And there you have it, a first idea for using the fabric scraps from the Temperature Quilt-Along.

More ideas for this patchwork block

Sew several color variations of this block and combine them to make a cushion cover
Plan the border design for the finished temperature quilt. The stars could form cornerstones

I wish you lots of fun sewing for April. It’s getting more and more colorful. Especially on your sewing tables.

By the way: the Temperature Quilt-Along world map is growing and growing. 2o2 places are already fixed, isn’t that amazing?

And of course I am still looking forward to all your pictures in the community section of the blog, in the comments or on Instagram and Facebook. On social media, please use the hashtag #BERNINAtemperatureQAL and when uploading to the BERNINA Community, don’t forget to select the “Temperature Quilt-Along” campaign!

Let’s keep it up, we’re rocking the year 2025!

Happy Sewing,
Jutta