Summer Nights Stars

Seems a bit strange to be making a quilt with the name Summer Nights here in mid-February. We currently have a bit of snow cover and seasonably cold temperatures, so thinking about summer is somewhat far-fetched. But thinking about a blue and white quilt, or a star quilt, or better yet both, is not far-fetched at all.

I have had this pattern ever since it was released by Bonnie Olaveson of CottonWay - maybe two years ago? Three? It's been awhile. Anyway, I made a couple of the star blocks right away, and then promptly moved on to other endeavors. But finishing this quilt was always lingering in the recesses of my mind.

I put it on this year's goals list, but I think I was already back at work on it last year. I showed a picture of my chaotic design wall here, and several blocks are pinned up there in the madness.

Well, today all 18 star blocks are at last finished. Whoo-hoo!!

My stash has provided me with wonderful navy blue options, and it has been a lot of fun revisiting some of these almost vintage fabrics. I have used perhaps 8-9 different blues in these stars. My plan for the setting blocks is to use just one consistent blue as a way of taming the chaos and letting the stars shine with their variety.

Now, I should qualify my claim of having all 18 stars finished. When I stacked all the blocks from the design wall, I discovered one block that was significantly smaller than the rest. I have no idea what happened, what I did, or how it came to be so small. I don't see any way of making it work, so I am going to save myself the aggravation of trying to force it and instead just make another one.

The small block is shown above. My guess is that it's a full inch smaller than necessary. I am pretty sure it was one of those early blocks made back when I got the pattern. Still, why I have such a huge discrepancy is mystifying.

Oh well...

Happy Quilting, Friends!

A February Finish

That easy-peasy baby quilt I made and quilted last week is now bound and ready to hand off to the expectant parents. Their due date is T-minus 6 days!

While in the process of creating this baby quilt, I was also working on Summer Nights. I am making the star blocks for that quilt one-by-one (as opposed to strip piecing) and mixed in amongst the gray and yellows for the baby quilts, were lots of blue and white for Summer Nights.

 

My scatterbrained inclination? Make a star block using the baby quilt fabric. Just to see what it would look like. So I did. I like it, but I'm not going to make more. What to do with one 12.5" star block?? I think I will spend this afternoon making a carry bag with this block as the front panel. I will add lots of pockets for a new momma's convenience. I will fold the quilt and insert it into the bag and gift it that way. No waste of gift bag or wrapping paper!

I am not going to follow a pattern; I can do some basic measuring, cutting, and sewing to create a bag that will be useful as a grocery bag or even a baby bag. Of course, I will share a picture when I finish!

Happy Quilting, Friends!