Sewcial Bee Sampler Block #23

Only two more blocks after this week! Many of you are wondering about how to put your quilts together and finishing. Here's the breakdown: The next two Wednesdays will be blocks and the last Wednesday of July we will post the instructions for Assembling and Finishing your quilt. This will include adding the sashing, layering the quilt sandwich, and binding. The very first Wednesday of August will be reveal week so everyone can show off their finished quilts, quilt tops, or progress so far. There will be a grand finale prize package on the last Giveaway Friday that will knock your socks off, so stick around, we're almost there!

As we near the end of this incredible journey, my co-host, Maureen Cracknell and I are looking to future collaborations together. The success of the Sewcial Bee Sampler (SBS) has been phenomenal and mostly because of your participation and the remarkable community you've created out of this sew along.  

To help us better understand what you're looking for in a future sew along, Maureen and I have prepared an 8 question survey. This quick questionnaire is completely anonymous and your answers will give us better insight into serving your needs as a quilter. To ensure the most accurate results, please only take the survey once. Many thanks to those who've participated in the SBS questionnaire already. If you've not yet had a chance to take the survey, please do, we're only keeping it open now through the end of the SBS sew along and then we'll close the survey. The link provided on both our blogs will link to the same survey. So, if you access the questionnaire from either Maureen's site or mine, your answers are compiled to the same place.  

I'm not sure how many new Makers we've got joining our sew along at this late point but anyone just starting may want to take advantage of the in-blog tutorials for the different patchwork techniques used throughout the Sewcial Bee Sampler. Pick up tips and block variations beginning with the first blog post The Start of Something Sewcial. Both Maureen and I will leave all the SBS downloads up on our blogs for you to download long after this event is done. 

Time to get sewing this week's block #23--Friendship Star. Download the free PDf for the blocks on my Sew Along page.

The beautifully simple Friendship Star block is almost the same pattern found in our block #19 Circle of Friends block we all loved (but was a killer amount of pieces, I know!) This week's block will be a breeze to piece! If you need a refresher on how to make 2-at-a-time Half Square Triangle (HST) units, review the tutorial here.

Even though the Friendship Star block is the same size as one of the four sections in Circle of Friends, they look so different when put together in a group of four compared to one block with a wide frame. Fabric placement can also give the blocks a different look, and I decided to only use two fabrics for this week's block just like in the PDF instructions. Both these blocks pictured are made using my Bountiful fabrics for Art Gallery Fabrics and AGF Pure Elements solids.

Don't forget that this Friday's Giveaway Friday and this week I will be hosting the giveaway from my blog. We've got a great giveaway planned from Intrepid Thread you won't want to miss!