Comet Star or Perpetual Motion This isn't a new block, but one that I decided to change the background color to and add it to my star quilt, and when I did I realized it made a great star. A friend told me the spinning motion made it look like a comet, so I'm calling this my comet star. The traditional name is perpetual motion. For a 12 1/2 inch (12 inch finished in a quilt) Comet Star or Perpetual Motion block you will need       from your star color one, cut two 4 7/8 inch squares and one 4 1/2 inch square       from your star color two, cut two 4 7/8 inch squares       from your sky background cut four 4 7/8 inch squares This block is made up of a lot of diagonal half squares. (You can find directions with diagrams for making diagonal half squares by following this link. .) You need to use all the star color 4 7/8 inch squares with the sky background 4 7/8 inch squares to make diagonal half squares. You will end up with four color one/background diagonal half squares and four color two/background diagonal half squares. Now you just sew all those diagonal half squares together. Make two sets like this and one set like this Assemble as shown in the diagram here and your perpetual motion block is complete. It should measure 12 1/2 inches exactly. Here are the cuts needed to make Comet Stars in many different sizes (smaller & larger):       Cutting your squares 1 1/2 inches (1 7/8 for triangles) will give you a finished block of 3 inches.       Cutting your squares 2 inches (2 3/8 for triangles) will give you a finished block of 4 1/2 inches.       Cutting your squares 2 1/2 inches (2 7/8 for triangles) will give you a finished block of 6 inches.       Cutting your squares 3 inches (3 3/8 for triangles) will give you a finished block of 7 1/2 inches.       Cutting your squares 3 1/2 inches (3 7/8 for triangles) will give you a finished block of 9 inches.       Cutting your squares 4 inches (4 3/8 for triangles) will give you a finished block of 10 1/2 inches.       Cutting your squares 4 1/2 inches (4 7/8 for triangles) will give you a finished block of 12 inches.       Cutting your squares 5 1/2 inches (5 7/8 for triangles) will give you a finished block of 15 inches.       Cutting your squares 6 1/2 inches (6 7/8 for triangles) will give you a finished block of 18 inches. Finished means after the block is sewn into a quilt. Comet Star © Delaware Quilts February 2006 The content on these pages, including text and images are the sole property of the Delaware Quilts and may not be used or reproduced in any manner without consent. All Rights Reserved. Updated June 4, 2020 |Home| Quilts| Blocks| Retreat| Email|