Stars 1 and 2

So call me crazy, but I am going to do a star sampler quilt for our bed (queen sized).  I am using patterns from two sew-alongs at Fresh Lemon Quilts.  Some are pretty simple piecing (second star below) and some involve paper piecing (the first star below).  I have never paper pieced before, but was really interested in trying it out and I have to say that it is a lot of fun!  (The point is to make more complex blocks and get all of your points to line up)  

I picked out 14 stars that I want to try, each one is a 12" square, and I am going to do 3 of each for 42 stars.  I think when I put sashing and borders with them, it should be a good sized quilt.  For fabric, I ordered a bundle of fabric called Berry Picking from Pink Castle Fabrics.  They have some nice bundles that are put together by lots of different people and take patterns from lots of different lines of fabric.  I suppose I could have done that on my own, but when you find it already done, it helps narrow down the process (especially when ordering online and looking at hundreds of prints that are digital images, not photographs).  There are some really fun prints that include florals, geometric prints, alarm clocks, and coffee pots.  :)

My goal is to make 3 of the same star each week for 14 weeks.  I started last week, so here is what I have done so far:

Whirling Star, week 1

Ribbon Star, week 2 

(made today...the other two are cut and will be done soon!)