Parade Postponement

Well, due to circumstances beyond our control (or maybe a lack of adequate communication), Quilt Sue and I have decided to move our Lone Star Parade off until next week. I posted too hastily, not taking into account that Sue had other blogging obligations this Saturday.

We are sweetening the deal, though, in hopes that you will stick with us just a week longer. I will be uploading some pics of a couple of giveaway items that we will offer to a randomly drawn participant!

So stay tuned! I will have further news in my next post, hopefully tomorrow morning!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

 

Lone Star Parade

Yes, we are having a parade and YOU are invited to participate!

Over the past year, Quilt Sue and I have shared duties running the Lone Star Quilt Along. That logo would appear at the beginning of each month, and we would encourage each other through a daunting, but rewarding, project! While we were a small group, I think we had several "lurkers" and I know that the few who did work on a Lone Star Quilt were happy for the continued encouragement.

The parade will be this Saturday, January 5. It will take place here on my blog, and I'm sure Sue will make frequent appearances, too. If you followed all the way through 2012 and made a Lone Star, send a pic and I will get your quilt into our parade. To do that, click on my "full profile" (in the sidebar) where you will find a link to my email. Couldn't be easier! *grin*



My Lone Star was a variation called Broken Star,
so feel free to send pics of variations, too/

AND, even if you didn't actually make a quilt with us but you have one - whether made by you or an heirloom you want to share - we will include those, too! Lone Stars come in a variety of looks (like any pattern, right?) and your quilt might just be the inspiration for one of our "lurkers" to get going on making their own Lone Star.

One thing we want to put particular emphasis on is the quilting of our Lone Stars. Have you made decisions about how you will quilt yours? Will you do it yourself? Or will you hire it out to a long-arm quilter? Or maybe you will have it hand-quilted? Sue and I hope you will share your plans, if you have them.

This will be the grande finale of the Lone Star Quilt Along. Sure hope you'll join the parade!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

 

December Has Arrived

As I turn my calendar to a new month, I'm thinking geesh! How is it possible that it's December already?

My goodness! And it's our last Lone Star Saturday, too!

Allow me to welcome you to the party. It's been quite a year of work on these challenging quilts. Some of us are ecstatic with our finishes, while others are dreading the necessity of making something out of a wonky mess.

That wonky mess would me mine, you know. I have not even touched my Broken Star in this past month, but I hereby declare that TODAY I WILL FACE THE MUSIC!!

But I am getting ahead of myself. First, I need to have you Lone Star participants sign in our Mr. Linky here. That way we all can see what everyone has been up to.


 

There, now. I can go on about my facing the music. Since October, I have had repair stitching to do on my quilt. I'd sewn the entire top together, but when I laid it out on the bed, no amount of careful tugging and spreading would make it lay flat. It had dimples. It had peaks and valleys. I've heard of quilters saying "It'll quilt out" but this was beyond that, even, in my opinion. So I am devoting today to attempting to fix those dimples, peaks and valleys.

A year ago, Quilt Sue and I exchanged comments about making Lone Star quilts or variations thereof, and before you knew it, we'd concocted this crazy notion of devoting the year to making one and inviting others to join in for a quilt along. While our numbers are small, our efforts have been valiant. It is inspiring to see the beautiful creations that have come out of this endeavor!

I have already "unsewn" the offending seams. I need to now spread it out on the bed again, pin the seams together, and restitch. Simple, one would think. I believe, however, that I will be running into further problems, and just haven't wanted to accept that reality.

Today, I will accept that reality. And I will share it all here, too.

Go visit my friend and co-hostess, Quilt Sue and see what she's been up to this past month. I've got some sewing to do. *grin*

Happy Quilting, Friends!

 

Lone Star Day

Yesterday was Lone Star Saturday for November. Quilt Sue was our able hostess. I was mostly absent from the festivities; I did leave some comments, but I really didn't have anything to blog about. I had a really good laugh, though, in an email exchange with Sue.

I will share the script, but first, you have to know that Sue is a British lady, so when you read her lines, imagine them with an accent.

Jayne: (this is the comment I left on her blog) I can't wait to see what you've done this past month! I still have undone parts to resew. :-(

Sue: LOL, I read that as you had undone pants at first. Made me stop and stare I can tell you.

Jayne: I am laughing so hard I can barely type!! That is about the funniest thing I've read in a long time!! Nope -- pants are done up nicely, thank you!

Sue: I must admit, I can't stop laughing either. Now I must get back to my Friendship stars. I'm very bored with them.

Jayne: We had a bit of levity in the midst of endless Friendship stars. Fun, fun!

Sue: Actually, due to the difference in language, it's even funnier than you may have realised. What you call pants, are trousers to me, and pants are what we wear under our trousers!

Blogging has given me a lot of pleasure, but one of the best parts - and one I never expected - is meeting other quilters from all over the world. Sue and I have been blogging friends for quite a long time now. I doubt very seriously had it not been for blogging, I would not have "met" her otherwise. I dream of a trip to the UK and an afternoon of quilting with Sue someday!! What do you say, Sue??

This is Sue's book. I won this copy of it in a giveaway she sponsored on her blog.

 

My thanks for November 4:
I am thankful that all 3 of my children have made it home this weekend. Adam lives in Hillsboro, so he pops in often; Erin lives in Columbus and gets home every month or so; Emma is in college at OU (in Athens), and she has not been home in 10 weeks!  It's been a lot of fun here this weekend!

 Happy Quilting, Friends!

 

October Lone Star!

Hey all! Our year of making Lone Star Quilts is in its 10th month - time flies!! Doesn't seem possible to me that it's been 10 months, ya' know??

By now, I think everyone knows the routine. Sign in with Mr. Linky here, leave a comment here and on everyone else's blog when you visit. We will then be able to see everything that each other has been doing this past month.




I teased you earlier in the week by saying that I had been doing some work on my Lone Star. I had been suffering terribly from quite a chronic case of avoidance. I had some unsewing to do and I didn't want to do it! The reason, I suppose, is that even with the unsewing, the resewing might not ever make things better...

...but I must forge on. This is where I thank Quilt Sue for suggesting we do this QAL - for surely, if I weren't working on this quilt in conjunction with all of you, I would have returned it to that plastic tub it'd lived in for 20 years. Aaggh! I have GOT to finish this quilt! This year! Even if it does mean it's going to lay all wonky and weird! Not every quilt has to be perfect, right?

 With that little rant out of my system, let's see what my progress has been, shall we?

This picture is from earlier in the summer - like maybe July??? All these months later, I'm still distressed at the lumpy, bumpy results. That's why I'm unsewing. There are 8 points on that center star, and I unsewed 7 of them. Yes, I did...

 

I took pictures of all 7 points, but they all look equally pathetic, so I will stop with these 3. I plan to flatten out all the parts as much as possible, pin, and hand stitch everything back together. I realize this will likely mean that my quilt will still be a bit on the wonky side, but you know, at this point, I am willing to accept it for what it is, finish it, and move on. *sigh*

Well, this is sounding like a pity party - but actually, I am not that sad about it. I just want to be able to call it a finish in the current calendar year!!

I am preparing this post on Friday night to be scheduled for publishing early Saturday morning. I will be busy on Saturday quilting in Greenfield at History Day - my 3rd annual appearance. I will be quilting my Long Road Home. But, because of History Day, my participation here with the QAL might be limited. I am planning to take my iPad, so maybe I can keep up with everyone that way.


Happy Quilting!

 

Oh Dear...

It's Lone Star Saturday again, and I'm not ready! Hey, Quilt Sue!! Help! I had to check to see if it was my month or not; thankfully, Sue has things under control.

I did not keep my promise to myself to get my Broken Star quilt top ready to take to the quilter's. At this rate, I am jeopardizing my goal of having it finished by year's end. Are any of you other Lone Star quilters doing any better than I?

I hereby solemnly swear to have a better September for work on my Lone Star, than I have had in August. It nagged me frequently, as I have it hanging on a hanger above my sewing table. So I have no excuse other than I am just really good at avoidance.

Not something I'm proud of, either.

 

Lone Star - July Update

I dragged out the ironing board.

The folded flimsy came out of the closet.

I took a deep breath and pressed. Used lots of Best Press. Said a few curse words under my breath. Wrote practice blog posts in my head about this quilt top. The pictures are not pretty, but read on, if you must...

This pic was taken before pressing.

This is a different point, taken after pressing.

And here is Bursting Star, pressed, and spread out on the bed. Hmmm...she has a few issues, doesn't she?

Places like this are too plentiful. So I am pondering what to do. I think I will send a long email to the quilter I want to work on this, and get her input. She does this for a business, and has produced some beautiful quilts. She may have the expertise to control my out-of-control wonkiness. I will consider "unsewing" a few seams, but I don't think I am interested in a massive re-do.

I sound disappointed in my results, but truly, I think I am okay with a less than stellar result. I began this quilt over 20 years ago when I was much too inexperienced to tackle such a project. I think I knew when I shoved it in it's 20-year-bin that this would be the outcome. Back then, I wouldn't have known how to proceed. Today, older and wiser and more experienced, I am not freaking out that I've got an Ugly Duckling on my hands. Rather I am glad for all that I've learned over the years, and grateful for the opportunity to finish a UFO.

Enough about my Bursting Star! Let's focus on all the fabulous quilts that are coming together in our little quilt-along! Did you click on Sue's Mr. Linky entrants? Isn't it grand seeing these beautiful quilts? The diversity is worth noting, too. From the bluest blues to black and white to lovely reds and tans to an amazing yard sale find, we have come a long way since January! Good job, one and all!

July's Lone Star

Honestly, where is the year 2012 going? It just can't be that 7 months have zipped by already! And June, I think, went the fastest of all! The year of the Lone Star will be over in the blink of an eye!

In this past month, I have done nothing more to my version of Lone Star, called Bursting Star, than to fold it and hang it in the closet. If you care to recollect where I left things at our June meeting, click here and here. Basically, I had finished the quilt top - the flimsy - but I knew it was poorly done, and I was not ready to face the prospect of "unsewing" some of those seams.

Avoidance, I believe it what the psychologists would call it.

Hopefully the rest of you Lone Star gals are making better progress than I! I have just checked in to Sue's blog, and I see that she has had success with her set-in seams. Bravo!!! I knew you had it in you, Sue!! Well done!!

Sue is our hostess this month, and you'll find a Mr. Linky at her site. Why not pop on over there, sign in, and leave me to my my pressing.

Yes, I will take the plunge and press my Bursting Star. I will assess whether or not there needs to be some "fixing." Maybe, just maybe, I will decide to leave it as it is and hope that my long arm quilter can work some magic on all those lumpy spots.

Sue took the plunge on her set-in seams. I will not be outdone, Sue!! I am going to take the plunge on pressing this flimsy. I must face the music!

Reconfiguring

That's the fancy name I am giving the re-do in my sewing room. After a couple of years of bringing all cutting activities down to the kitchen where the counter is at a comfortable height, I took the plunge to create a better cutting space. It'd be nice to be able to keep all the quilting activities in the same room, ya' know?

I moved a couple of bookshelves out into the middle of the room. By placing them back to back, I have an island that is a very comfortable height for rotary cutting. This pic shows that I'm still in the cleaning (duster on the floor) and arranging (sewing table too close to island) phase, but this is basically how I am proceeding.

I am by no means finished with the task. That mess in the hallway leading into the sewing room is stuff that came out and needs to be returned. Ugh!! I don't know what to do with it all! I need to consolidate a few things and throw out even more. (I do tend to be a packrat, in case you were wondering.)

It's all on hold for another day or two while I finish up Plan C, which is coming along nicely. Doing a project in the middle of this reconfiguration has shown me where I need to re-think a few things, and adjust accordingly, so I guess there ends up being a method to this madness. Pictures of Plan C progress tomorrow, hopefully.

And speaking of tomorrow, guess what?!!? It's time once again for Lone Star Saturday!

Our first-Saturday-of-the-month adventure is now into it's 7th installment, and Quilt Sue will be our hostess with the mostest. If you are sewing along with us, get those pics and posts ready to share! If instead, you have simply been following all the fun, check in tomorrow with Sue and me to see what magic has transpired since our June get-together.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

June Lone Star Quilt Along, part 2

This just goes to show you that if you take 20.5 years to finish something, it CAN be done. With unpressed lumps and wrinkles, let me present my Bursting Star:

The evening (6pm) sun is shining in the window, washing out all color there on the right, but the rest shows up well enough. Yes, I know you are all looking at those lumps, wondering why I didn't take the time to press it and get it laid out nice and flat. Well, I will get to it! I was so worried that I wouldn't get THIS far today, and I'd made that my goal. So here she is, in all her unpressed glory.

Maybe I will save the gussied-up version for our July get-together.

Thanks to you gals who played along with us today. Thanks, especially, to Elizabeth for having a Tea Party for us, and making the day extra special. Look for Sue to host the festivities next month. I will show a more presentable version of my top, and hopefully will be reporting that it has been delivered to the quilter! Wouldn't that be grand??!! Oh excitement!!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Shout Out!

This goes out to all those participants and faithful followers of the Lone Star Quilt Along. Saturday is our next check-in day, and I hope you all have been busy making great progress on your Lone Star Quilts.

My cyber friend Sue over at Quilt Times will be checking in on our progress too, as she and I trade off hostessing duties each month. Sue, can you believe we are almost into June already??

The pattern I am using is from a 1989 book from Better Homes and Gardens. I started mine in the early 1990s; it's been hiding in a bin for 20 years, until a post from Sue last fall prompted me to dig it out!

Yesterday afternoon, I did a bit of work on my Bursting Star - a variation of the Lone Star - and it was so exciting to see it coming together. I will definitely be ready to 'show off' a bit on Saturday!

So, participants, prepare for some show and tell!! Cheering squad, do your best to encourage us!! We'll see you all on Saturday!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

May's Lone Star Quilt Along Day!

Hey Quilter Friends! I am late to the party; so sorry about that. Sue, I am unreliable! You may as well know that now, okay?? :-)

Sue Abrey over at Quilt Times is our able hostess this month, and she being from England is about ready to end her day!! It's 1:30 pm here, and I am just now getting around to posting!

The reason for my tardiness: This morning we had a 5K Run/Walk in town - a fundraiser to raise money for spaying and neutering pets. My DH, being a track and cross country coach, was helping out the student council advisor. And I got "volunteered," as well. Fun morning. But the blogging had to wait, unfortunately.

So, if you haven't already done so, head over to Sue's blog, as she is our hostess this month (we take turns, you know!) I just stopped over and I think she's been pretty lonely! Be sure to sign in on her Mister Linky and let her know there are some people out here! :-)

Well, I have been showcasing Lone Star quilts that I've found out on the world wide web. Mostly, that means Pinterest, actually. (Gosh, I am addicted to that site!) Hope you enjoy these beauties.

There certainly is a lot of variety with these Lone Stars, isn't there?

More Lone Stars!

We are gearing up for May's Lone Star Quilt Along. Tomorrow (Saturday) is the big day, and Sue at Quilt Times will be our hostess this month. If you have been following our little adventure, then I hope you will stop in at her blog tomorrow to see the progress that's been made (at least by some of the participants!). I, myself, have been AWOL from my Bursting Star, but I shall soldier on!! I WILL finish this quilt! *note to self: get busy, then!!*

I teased you yesterday by promising a variety of Lone Star pictures. Let's kick off May's Lone Star Quilt Along with a bit of eye candy, shall we? 

Added after publishing: I received a comment from the maker of these first 2 quilts, Jackie Kunkel of Canton Village Quilt Works. She says the names are Summer Solstice and Glacier Star. You can click to read about each one. Thank you, Jackie! I am so amazed at the ability of blogs to connect quilters like this. It blows me away! If I read correctly, both patterns are by Judy Niemeyer.

I can't be 100% certain, but I think these pictures came from Pinterest. Isn't it great to see all the variations that quilters take with one design? The choice of colors, the intricacy of the designs, the impressive quilting - I am just blown away at the creativity of quilters.

I know I have a few more to share, so perhaps you'll come back tomorrow?

Hey-Hey for Lone Stars!

Hey, can you believe we are winding our way to the first Saturday of May - and a 5th installment of the Lone Star Quilt Along? It will be Sue of the blog Quilt Times' turn to perform hostessing duties. Are you getting ready, Sue?

I have to admit that I have not spent very much time working on mine in the last month. I had it all laid out on the guest bed, then Easter approached, and with Easter came guests, so the bedroom had to be readied for DD's boyfriend.

Alas, the folded Lone Star stilll sits where I left it before Easter.

Sigh.

Well, don't despair! Even though I haven't been working on it, I have had Lone Stars on my mind since our April quilt along date. I have gathered lots of pictures and have a variety of Lone Stars to share. Some have been internet finds, while others I saw at the quilt show I attended in Cincinnati.

This Lone Star was one displayed at the Cinci show. I am particularly taken with it, as it, too, looks to be a Bursting Star, like the one I am making. I wish I had read the information on this quilt. My version is from an old Better Homes and Gardens book, and this is remarkably similar. Very pretty. It inspires me to get the lead out and get to work on mine! I am so close to having the top completely constructed!!

Stop back tomorrow, quilters! I will have more Lone Stars to share!

Happy Quilting!

Lone Star Check-In

Good Saturday morning, Lone Star Quilters! It's the 4th month of 2012 already, and our first Saturday date with one another.

A quick aside: There are several places where you can read about the history of this little venture, as well as follow our progress. Do a search of Lone Star Quilt in the search widget there on the right hand side for posts on this blog. Then be sure to do the same thing on Quilt Sue's blog. That will give you a pretty complete picture of our journey.

Here's a linky for ease of viewing one another's progress. Remember, too, to check in with my partner in crime, Sue over at Quilt Times. She is making her Lone Star from the very start, while I am working on a Lone Star UFO.

Hi Sue!! How is your quilt coming along?? :-)



Let me share the progress I've made on my version of the Lone Star, one that's called a Bursting Star.

On Monday, I dragged out all the Lone Star materials and got to work. I still had some rays that needed to be put together.

I dreaded putting these together. I felt as though it was busy work, and I had a serious mindset against tackling it. However, these went together relatively fast, and after I was finished I truly wondered what I thought the big deal was. Isn't that always the way of it? That which we dread is really not a big deal once we just do it!

A few posts back, I alluded to some "unsewing" and I will admit, I did make some bone-headed boo-boos.

I sewed two starbursts together the wrong way. Here, with my trusty seam ripper, you see the point color (on the right) is green, and the color at the other end is blue. Well, the starbursts on this quilt are supposed to be the other way. Gahhh! I couldn't believe I'd made this mistake. Thankfully, I'd only done two sets and not all five!! That would have surely seen me throwing this back in the bin for another 20 years!! (This is already a 20-year-old UFO.)

A better picture of the incorrectly sewn starbursts.

The outer starbursts are supposed to have green at the bottom of the "burst" and blue at the points.

All "unsewing" has been finished. I have the starbursts all stitched correctly and have laid all the parts out on the guest bed to see about placement of the setting blocks and triangles. 

I realize this looks pretty rough, but the cat had walked around on it, and I was only just pinning parts together. I will do a proper, prettier picture of it on the bed when it's all one completely pieced top.