Three Stars Will Shine Tonight

Remember that song? Richard Chamberlain (as Dr. Kildare) sang it.

I have three sets of stars completed for Jessamy's Starry Starry Night Block Swap. They are all paper-pieced. There are three more sets I'd like to make and mail by May 31.

I really like paper-piecing! I belonged to a local quilting guild for a couple of years. One evening we were invited to bring our machines to the meeting. Paper-peicing would be demonstrated, and we could follow along with the demo if we wanted to. I was tired -- it was a school night. But I finished making that one heart from Carol Doak's book Show Me how to Paper Piece.

A year went by. The guild needed to make butterfly blocks for a comfort quilt for a member who was diagnosed with cancer. I picked a paper-piecing pattern and encouraged a fellow novice quilter to pick the same pattern. I thought for sure I could teach her how to paper-piece. We muddled through. Our butterflies are beautiful additions to the butterfly comfort quilt.

We knew we needed help, so we called on the guild member who had given the paper-piecing demo the year before. She was gracious enough to come to one of our after-school sewing sessions all the way on the opposite side of town from where she lives. She raved about Carol Doak and her teaching methods.

So who is this Carol Doak person? A wonderful quilter, designer, author, and instructor who owns the Carol Doak Quilting Group at Yahoo and the Carol Doak website.

I think I now own all of her books and CDs. Even her instructional DVD. I have learned sooooo much. And my points are always pointy now with paper-piecing.