Hey everyone! I hope you’re having a wonderful Wednesday! Normally I would be working in my at-home studio today, but I figured since we’re having an extra session of Sit & Stitch this week, I may as well get comfy at the retreat house for the day with my fellow stitchers. I have plenty to keep me busy, including finalizing O’ Say Can You Sew II details, working on my Love is All You Need retreat project, finishing new project ideas for spring and summer, getting further ahead with my Twilight Stars QAL blocks (so Heidi doesn’t come after me), and of course, making sure I’m ahead of schedule with my Blockheads 5 assignments. As a participating designer, I have the privilege of having the block patterns in my hands a bit sooner than the general public, and boy am I glad for that. With so many different QAL’s, classes, retreats, and other things happening all simultaneously, staying ahead of the game is key to being able to keep it all straight.

When I sat down to take a look at this week’s Blockheads 5 pattern release, I was pleasantly surprised to find that I was actually further ahead than I realized. You may recall a while back when the QAL was just getting started, there was a week where I somehow managed to accidentally make the wrong block and ended up making one prematurely. Conveniently enough, that block just so happens to be today’s. In other words, no extra work required for this week – I like it! The block is called “Morning Star” and was designed by Barbara Groves of Me and My Sister Designs.

“Morning Star” is a traditional block that features a sawtoothed star design. It’s constructed by combining four flying geese and a center square, making it simple and fun to make. I like the idea of the sawtooth star pattern because if you feel like putting your own creative spin on it, you can easily fussy cut the center to highlight your favorite fabrics. You can also choose to keep it simple like I did, and use solid fabrics like the Bella Solid Silver (9900 183) that I’m using for my background, and the Bella Solid American Blue (9900 174) that I use consistently throughout the entire quilt.

For any additional colors, I’m using a combination of the soft, muted collection of Bella Solids that we put together for this project called “Sundown,” along with a new playful and vibrant Bella Solids collection called “Cozy.” Both collections are available for purchase on our website by clicking the provided links!

You may or may not have noticed that for Group Two of MBH5, Moda has been providing a weekly video tutorial for each block. You can follow along with quilting blogger Anna Dineen as she takes you through the block of the week, step-by-step. She’ll also share her favorite tips and tricks, and will talk about different construction techniques. The videos will be posted in each week’s block post, which are found on the Blockheads 5 Main Page by clicking HERE.

I hope to see everyone tomorrow for another fun LIVE session starting at 1:00 p.m. CST on my STITCH with Lisa Bongean YouTube channel! I’ll be talking about my new Farmhouse Flannels III fabric line – coming soon to PG, an upcoming Liberty Gatherings Block of the Month that we have in the works, a few St. Patricks day project ideas, and more! Then after that, at approximately 2:15 p.m. CST , join us for more CommentSold shenanigans! Until then, have a fantastic evening and take care. See you soon! ~Lisa