Seeing Stars

Lest I get so many UFOs done that I might run out, I have started yet another project. Geesh. I know. The last thing I ought to be doing is starting something new. Maybe I am incurable in the "let's start a project" department. Perhaps I will never fully grasp the "finish what you start" mentality.

Oh well.

I love following Barbara Brackman's blog called Material Culture. She has several claims to fame in the quilting world--quilter, fabric designer, and quilt historian are a few. She often hosts quilt-alongs with some historic purpose in mind. Because her fabrics are reproduction fabrics representing various time periods, she is currently hosting a quilt-along called Stars in a Time Warp. The gist is that she is encouraging quilters to make 6" Sawtooth Stars in a mish-mash of reproductions, thus resulting in a time warp of historic designs. You can click here to read the full details; my brief summary leaves a lot out, I'm sure.

Now I promised myself I wouldn't join a quilt-along this year; I have two from last year that still aren't finished. But what would be wrong with just making a bunch of stars? I have already made a bunch of 9-patches and a bunch of 16-patches. I wouldn't have to dig very deep to find a stash of churn dash blocks. So I'm not really doing a quilt-along; I am just making a bunch of stars.

Justifying.

Another blog I follow rather faithfully is by Nicole called Sister's Choice Quilts. Nicole caught the star-making bug from Barbara Brackman and has made lots of them. Look at the picture of her stars in this post she wrote about them.  If I can get her permission, I will grab her picture and post it here because it reminded me of a quilt I have wanted to make for a long, long time. I saw it pictured in an old issue of American Patchwork and Quilting magazine  It is from 2001, so I had to go digging. Have a look.

 Glossy magazine pages always have a shiny spot, regardless of the lighting, but I think you can still get a pretty good idea of how similar this picture is to the blocks Nicole had on her design wall. Definitely some differences in how the stars are made, but the resulting stars are surprisingly similar.

Well, let me just go ahead and show you the two I've made. Yes, I will likely make more. I seem to be losing the points of my flying geese units, so I need to figure out where I'm messing up - either I'm cutting inaccurately or my quarter-inch seam is unreliable. I expect to get this worked out by making more Sawtooth Stars.

Further justifying the start of a new endeavor and to reiterate: I am not doing a quilt-along. Rather, I am adding to my list of quilts to make in 2015 one that has been on my radar since 2001.*wink*

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Not Much New

I find myself rather at odds on what project to focus on next. It happens, occasionally, and I think many other quilters find it happens with them, too. I have a grand list for the 2013 goals that I could go to, but which one??? I don't seem to be able to make a decision! Goodness gracious...

Well, while I dither, I found these 2 cartoons in my photo file, and I don't think I've shared them.

I thought this was cute. It reminded me of that sitcom from the 90's with Tim Allen. Are you ever struck by just how wonderful our sewing machines are? I use mine a lot, and rarely do I need to have it serviced. They really are power tools.

As a word person and English teacher, this one really appealed to me. *grin*

Speaking of fabric, before my dinner with Frienzies yesterday, I dashed in to the wonderful Old Town Quilt Shop in Chillicothe. My plan was to use the gift certificates I got for Mothers' Day. However, what I wanted was unavailable. That wonderful quilt made with Barbara Brackman's William Morris fabrics has totally captured my fancy. I was going to purchase the fat 8ths pack and make it. Well, they'd sold their last one, so they are going to cut one for me, and then have an extra one to sell. (You can't just cut one pack of fat 8ths, ya' know?)

Here's the quilt again, in case you don't want to go back through searching.

It's called Tapestry, and ever since Kelly showed it to me - even before it was quilted! - I have been enamored with it. Old Town carries the entire line of Wm. Morris fabrics, so I have really lucked out! Won't it be an easy quilt to make?

Well, I need to get busy finishing my book for tonight's book club meeting. It's called Wild by Cheryl Strayed. It's a nonfiction account of the author's experience hiking the Pacific Crest Trail. I am enjoing it, and have about 100 pages to polish off this afternoon.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Stuck In My Head

Do you ever see a quilt that is just so wonderful that it gets stuck in your head? It happens to me - a lot! - and I figure it must also happen to other quilters.

The quilt that is currently in my head is one I saw weeks ago at Old Town Fabric Shop in Chillicothe. It wasn't even on display yet, and unquilted, but Kelly showed it to me. Oh-my-gosh!! It really caught my fancy!! I blogged about it, and you can click here if you want to see my first encounter.

Well, now it has been quilted, and Kelly has it hung in the shop above the fabrics it was made with. I seriously think the only way I will "unstick" this quilt is to make it! And look at how simple it would be! It would go so fast, and be so satisfying to work on it!

Yikes, I am talking myself right into it, aren't I? I just re-read that original post, and I was talking myself into it then, too. Gracious. I am hopeless.

I have an idea...

Will you girls who know me and read this, please tell my family that gift certificates to Old Town Fabric shop would be lovely as Mother's Day gifts??? Please?? *grin*

Happy Quilting, Friends!

A Visit to LQS

A recent visit to my local quilt shop (LQS) was quite fun, and I didn't spend a dime, either. After quilting with the Frankfort girls last Friday, Sheryll and I went to Old Town Fabric Shop to look for fabrics she could use in a snowball quilt she had planned. I wrote about that project here.

My intention was to take my birthday gift certificate with me and splurge on some pretty stuff, but I left the certificate hanging on the front of my fridge, doggonit! Plan B: look and look and shop and shop. If I happened to find a fabric I was crazy about, I would think on it over the weekend, and go back with my certificate and get it another day. And I did find a fabric that met the criteria. It's red with white flowers; I haven't gone back in to get it, but I have thought about it all week and I do think I will. I really want it.

So, while visiting with the ladies at the shop, I got to take a sneak peek at a beautiful quilt they are getting ready to display. I got permission to take pictures. You'll be upset with me for not having details on the pattern.

 

Simple half-square triangles - broken dishes blocks, perhaps? I think the fabrics are all recent lines by Barbara Brackman. I wish I had attempted to take a full-quilt shot, but I didn't want to trouble the gals. It is quite large, and will be absolutely stunning when it is quilted and displayed. I must remember to get a picture. I am sure this quilt has a name, and a pattern, but that too will have to come later, as I didn't write it down. Counting on me to remember it is a big mistake.

I tell you, my list for 2013 is long enough! But when I see gorgeousness like this, it tempts me to add another item to that list. I have quite a lot of Brackman fabrics, so I think I could replicate this rather handily. And just think of the stash-busting that would occur!

I'm talking myself into it, aren't I? *grin*

Happy Quilting, Friends!