Carol Doak's Starry Beginnings

It was the summer of 2023 and I was anxiously awaiting the release of my newest book, 60 Fabulous Paper-Pieced Stars, 2nd Ed. Because we had added new additional star blocks to this book, I rekindled my enjoyment of being lost in the design process of new blocks.

I continued to design 12 new blocks and with the goal of offering them to quilters on a Facebook page called, Carol Doak's Bonus Block of the Month. The page was launched in June of 2023 with a "Preview Block" to introduce the method of making paper-pieced star blocks.

This group page was an instant success with hundreds of quilters joining from all over the world. As members made their "Preview" star block, they uploaded them to the page to share their version of the block. The blocks were organized in a gallery showcasing hundreds of different variations of the same block.

Click on this link to download the foundation and cutting list for the Preview Block. This block may just start you off on your block of the month too.

The first official block of the month was the July block released in July 2023 and the participation with the group didn't disappoint. As each new block was uploaded the compliments from members continued. 

The gallery quickly grew to hundreds of different blocks providing a wonderful lesson in color options.

The block of the month ran through to June of 2024 with the membership growing by leaps and bounds. This block of the month was clearly a success with thousands of quilters around the world. The requests for this Block of the Month were the inspiration for the newest book, Carol Doak's Starry Block of the Month.

Our little group is now more than 17,000 quilters who looked forward to the release of this new book. I am excited that this booklet will now be available for quilters to enjoy these blocks as a block of the month with their friends, their quilt guilds and their local quilt shops.

In the mean time, we are working on a new Block of the Month. You never know where one little idea when planted will blossom!

— Carol Doak, author of Carol Doak's Starry Block of the Month

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Carol Doak is a pioneer in the area of paper foundation piecing. She has published over a dozen successful books and earned many honors in the quilting industry. Carol lives in Bonita Springs, Florida. caroldoak.com