Folded Fabric Star |
Wristlet/Keyfob |
I’m also in the process of hand binding a one of a kind table topper that will be available for purchase at the show…if I don’t decide to keep it myself!
Musings of a novice quilter...
Folded Fabric Star |
Wristlet/Keyfob |
I work in retail (Starbucks to be precise), so my weekends aren't regular "weekends". I have two days off in a row, but they just happen to be Friday and Saturday. Sherri over at A Quilting Life releases the blocks for her 2021 quilt along on the first Thursday of each month, so I was very excited to get up today and get to work!
Here's the fabrics I chose for today's twist on an Ohio Star:
Sherri recommended cutting the squares to create the QST a little on the larger side. I cut mine even larger because I ALWAYS mess those up! Something about creating a seam on the bias throws me for a loop. Fortunately, I know this about myself so wasting a bit of extra fabric from the start seems less offensive than having to recut and start the blocks all over again!
The first step today was to complete the corner pieces by using the stitch and flip method to add and extra touch of colour to the corners of the background squares. I use the off-cuts to make four little 2" HST. I'm not sure what I'll use them for, but they sure are cute!
The next step was to create the QST around the centre square:
I did make them extra large and trimmed them down - the result was great! Here's the whole block before assembly:
I stitched all the pieces together and got this:
There's a couple of puckers, but my points are all lined up! And I figure that by the time it's quilted and washed, no one will even be able to see those puckers. I just love the way this block turned out!
What are you working on this week?
Keep your machine oiled and your needles sharp!
While I'm waiting for the next instalment of the mystery quilt over at A Quilting Life, I thought I'd check out what was going on over at All People Quilt. They've got a quilt along that just started, so I popped out and purchased the magazine so I could get started!
I ordered some fabric from Lindley General Store that I really liked, but what I REALLY wanted to use was this Print Shop Layer Cake from Sweetwater for Moda Fabrics. When I went looking for it though, I couldn't find it - so sad! I was so happy when I finally found it later this week and will surely use the new fabric I ordered for another project.
Now **technically** we're only on week one which is the week we're supposed to gather fabric. Yep! Did that...and then I started cutting - EARLY!
I pull no punches when it comes to HST! They are my least favourite part about quilting...especially when I need to cram FORTY-EIGHT of them into a 12" block! As HST are generally a basic part of quilting, I tolerate them as best I can. Once they're all together, they look FABULOUS! When I knit, I'm not a fan of purl stitches, but the end result when they are on either side of a complex cable stitch is SPECTACULAR!!
As I was doing the HST, I noticed my bobbin getting low - quilter's nightmare!
I messaged my friend Joyce and we were stressed out together - LOL! We're both knitters too and we very often play yarn chicken - hoping we can finish the bind off on a project before the yarn runs out!
But I finished ALL my HST before my bobbin ran out! SEE?
I ended up with about 6" of thread when all was said and done - YIKES! That was a little too close for comfort! I loaded my bobbin back up and got set to complete the block.
Here's my final layout before I stitched all the pieces together - SIXTY FOUR 2" pieces of fabric!
Not long after I decided to start this blog, life took over again. Up until yesterday, it had been months since I'd even looked at my sewing machine! I went back to work, we moved houses, the pandemic is STILL going on and here we are just a month away from "celebrating" the one year anniversary of when this all started! Can you imagine??
I finally did finish those quilt blocks I was working on, but it's just sitting for now...I need to square up all the blocks and get to the sashing and finishing. As you may remember, Jonathan has claimed the quilt, so together we chose the backing and the binding. Squaring and sashing is a HUGE project on a twin size quilt and is something I'm not quite ready to attempt - LOL!!
So...for the time being, I'm going to start on a mystery quilt that I found while looking for some quick and easy projects. I made some potholders yesterday - they are UGLY, but I kind of love them - HAHA!
Today, I'm starting on the Mystery Quilt - you can see it over at A Quilting Life where Sherri is on month two of her 12 month journey! I'm a little late to the game, but that just means I have two blocks to work on and I'll already be caught up. Sherri posts the blocks on the first Thursday of each month, so you'll want to look up January 7th and February 4th, 2021 on Sherri's blog.
Let's get started!
For this project, I'll be using some fabric that I ordered from Hamel's Fabrics last year as well as some Kona Solid in the Butter colourway. The Blush and Blue line was designed by Kim Diehl for Henry Glass & Co.
These colours are perfect to match our sofa, so I think I'll turn the mystery quilt into a lap quilt! I made a lap quilt last year and absolutely LOVE IT!!
This was the finished top before I quilted it - so pretty!! This one was another mystery quilt that was done by Sweet Treasures Quilts on Instagram. I just love Terri's style! She was so sweet as we all worked through the quilt - making sure we all knew what a great job we were doing! Terri does beautiful work, so you should definitely check her out!
Today, I'm working on the January Block from Sherri's Blog:
It's called the Churn Dash block and this one is scrappy! Sherri suggested cutting the required little rectangles a bit bigger than mentioned in her tutorial, so I cut them 2 ½" long. This works out great as I'm already envisioning using a scrappy binding with the leftover 2 ½" strips!
I took a bit of a break for the AMAZING breakfast my daughter made:
Chorizo hash with poached eggs and hollandaise - blessed to live with a chef!
And then finished up the block! I'm in LOVE and think it turned out great! Now...wish me luck as I tackle the February block with its eleventy-bajillion HST - YIKES!
Keep your machine oiled and your needles sharp!
Tree of Wisdom |
Stonehenge |