Hexagon Star Quilts: An English Paper Piecing Adventure Book!

It's here!

I can't believe I'm touching it! It's my new book, "Hexagon Star Quilts: 113 English Paper-Pieced Star Patterns to Piece and Applique," published by Landauer Publishing in Spring, 2020. It's available in retail stores as well as on Amazon and other book selling sites that ship to the US and around the world. 

Why 113? That's how many different star blocks I sent to the publisher. I thought they would pare it down to a sexier number, like 50, 75, 99 or 111 - but no, they just went with that unusual and hopefully not unlucky number!  The patterns look like this: 

They are full size. The arrows on each piece point to the center of the block, to help keep your bearings. These patterns are designed to be photocopied or printed onto cardstock (or onto paper, then glued to cardstock.) Cut them apart, baste them behind fabric, stitch pieces together, then remove the templates - that's English Paper Piecing in a nutshell, and all the how-to's are in the book. I do most of my EPP these days by machine, so the book includes complete directions for both hand and machine sewing. 

The book is intended for beginners up. The seven projects range from a small, single-block mat/ wallhanging...

...to couple of unconventional tabletopper/wallhangings; this one has 7 blocks, plus optional built-in square coasters....

...to the "Cherry Pie in the Sky" bed quilt below, which can be grown or shrunk to your tastes! I swear this quilt is easier to make than it looks. Because so many of the blocks are appliqued rather than pieced together, you have a lot of design freedom, and placement is forgiving. Micro-accuracy is not required!

Speaking of wind, the photographer and stylist did an amazing job with the outdoor photography. 

The first 50 or so pages of the book are basic EPP directions - fussy cutting, basting, hand and machine piecing, and finishing techniques. That's followed by the 113 patterns. 

The last part of the book provides ideas for designing your own quilts. Here's what was incredibly inspiring for me: A set of blocks I bought for my kids, at a garage sale in the 1990s. When my children grew up and I took over the playroom, I could't throw these out, and they turned out to be so helpful and even empowering!

If you don't want to buy a set of wooden blocks, the book provides color-and-cut-out shapes at the end so you can have your own play sessions.  

Find more information about the book -  and a look inside - on Amazon, here. Please email me at cathy.perlmutter@gmail.com, if you have any questions!