Speed piecing techniques make stitching this little quilt a breeze. The light fabric that surrounds the stars blends with the pictorial angel fabric used in the center of the snowball blocks, giving the snowballs an on-point appearance even though all blocks are sewn together side by side. The quilt measures 29-1/2" square.

_{photo © Janet Wickell}

I've had many requests lately for the instructions to make folded fabric star Christmas ornaments. We used this technique in the 1980s to make framed wallhangings, and my mom used it twenty years before that for trivets and potholders and pillowcase covers. It's versatile and can be adapted for so many uses. There's no sewing involved for the ornaments -- folded pieces of fabric are simply pinned to a Styrofoam ball.

_{Photo © Janet Wickell}

Fat quarters always make excellent quilting gifts, and it's easy to dress them up a bit by folding them into triangles, and then bundling them to create stacked stars. There's no need to cover your star bundles with wrapping paper -- just tie them together with decorative yarn or another embellishment that the recipient can use to decorate a quilt or fabric postcard.

_{Photo © Janet Wickell}

This new wallhanging uses a couple of blocks -- one is the traditional Ohio Star. Its color values are altered slightly and the block is placed on point -- both actions change the Ohio Star's appearance. Make the 48" square wallhanging for yourself or stitch it together when you need a gift. The quilt goes together fairly quickly, and its theme can be altered dramatically by simply changing the fabrics.

_{Janet Wickell}