inspired #4, yellow hsts

all those yellows i pulled for "sunny crossroads" that i didn't get to use have been nagging at me. i've subconsciously been searching for a use for them. my first yellow quilt was hsts set in a flying geese formation. hsts did cross my mind for a new project, but i had no plan at all for a configuration.

from moglibalu51 via instagram

the browns add a nice touch

at the same time, i've been enjoying watching my IG friend, ms. balu, put together this lovely yellow hst project. it makes me smile whenever this pops up in my feed. she's making a golden version of the "cool blue stars" hst quilt from jolene's "scrap quilt diary." the quilt has a subtle star pattern to it, but what i mostly see because of the arrangement are qsts when i look at it. there are ways to make the star pattern more visible, like the browns ms. balu added, but i also like it just barely there.

the other day the two ideas collided in my head - why not do a yellow version of the jolene quilt myself? i already have all the yellows pulled and could cut for both projects at the same time. so when i cut the next set for "sunny yellow crossroads," i cut some squares for hsts as well.

i've been piecing "sunny yellow crossroads" with a light grey thread on the same machine as "groovy liberty" and "lemonade at sixes." but when i decided to try out the idea for the yellow hst project, i chose to put yellow thread on the third machine. the grey would have been fine, but that machine has a  1/4" guide foot on it, which doesn't' work for making hsts. so really, it was the foot that determined the need for involving the 3rd machine. and why not? it wasn't being used. one of the reasons i own two machines myself is so i can do different types of work on each one instead of constantly changing feet.

so yellow for hsts it is.

jolene wasn't specific about fabric placement, but the photos reveal a sort of pattern to how she laid out the hst pairs in a block. you get two hst units per pair of squares, so i'll be using each combination more than once in a block. you could totally mix it up randomly, but i'm going with a little bit of a placement pattern. the outer squares use 3 different combinations 4 times each. in the center diamond, i used 2 different pairs, twice each.

this is my test block for the stars. it's subtle, no? if i mix in some brown stars like balu does, which are so fabulous, then they would show up more in the top. i don't know what i'm doing just yet. there are so many yellows in my pull! 

i haven't done the maths yet, either, but i think there are a lot of hsts in this quilt! that it could eat up a lot of yellow fabric. 

and there are a lot of yellows on the cutting table. i can cut my crossroads pieces and squares for hsts all from the same strip. that's efficiency!

i do admit as i was making these yellow hsts and thinking about aaaaall the trimming that will be involved, i looked up on the design wall to "gypsy child hst" and thought, "do i really want to do another quilt with so many hsts?" i guess the answer is "yes?" i do eventually want to make another yellow quilt and why not this one?

 i dove into the scrap drawers for all the leftover strips from the crossroads blocks i already cut for to make more squares. and i am getting so many squares from the strips i'm cutting now that a few are going into the drawers to fill those up as well.

i don't know how soon or quickly i will be working on this project, but i'm happy to have another use for all the yellows i pulled. and i love that i'm making something from jolene's scrap diary, too. there are so many good projects in there and i never imagined this is the first one i'd do, but here we are. when inspiration strikes, you run with it!