Stars, stars and more stars

I'm hoping that my great nephew loves his new quilt that he will be getting for Xmas.  It has been awhile since his last quilt and he was due for a new one.  Ignore the shadow in the bottom part of the photo .....

Here it is sideways.

A closeup of the quilting called "Sea of Stars" by Christy Dillon of My Creative Stitches.

A cotton sheet was used for the backing and if he wants to reverse the quilt on his bed, he will have an interesting look there also.

This was a fun quilt to make ..... until those stars.  Ugh.  They were paper pieced and not my favourite to do.  This quilt got stalled because of those stars.  Now, it is done and ready for gifting.

Quilt Details:

Source:  My design using EQ7

Block size:  7-7/8" x 7-7/8"  Why didn't I make the block 8" square?  I'm puzzled by that size.  Oh well.

Started:  April 2021  Top finished: October 2022

Finished:  November 2022

Size: 56-1/2" x 80" (top size before quilting, washing and drying:  59" x 84-1/4")

Batting:  Hobbs poly

Quilted by:  Kathy Wareham

It feels good to get this quilt done and ready for Xmas giving.

Cherish your day, cherish your life!

Tick off another UFO!

This UFO only needed two border blocks and it could have been done ages ago.  Oh well, it is done now and this top and another are with my favourite LAer, Kathy.

Borders are starting to go onto my Churn Dash quilt, but no photos of that yet.

Early this week, my sister sent this photo of these four deer eating her crab apples.  Awesome photo!

This is what we woke up to this morning ...... it will be gone by the weekend as the daytime temps will be in the mid-teens .... but this is just a wee taste of what will come later next month.  What makes these photos so interesting is the snow on the leaves!  Usually, when we get our first snow, the leaves are off and all we see are bare trees and it looks like Xmas wonderland.  You can tell that this snow is early for us this time.

I think this is a good morning to have some Bailey's in our coffee ....

Cherish your day, cherish your life!

It's a Star Thing

From a recent post where I showed my "Pressed Flowers" quilt, a friend asked (when we video chatted last month and I was sewing on the binding) is this where my adventure with that star started?

Indeed, this was the start of all my quilts and tops with those stars.  I just love, love, love that star.

So, sit back and enjoy all of those stars.  Stars on the brain!  LOL

First off is my "Pressed Flowers"

Next and so on are all my finished quilts.

A quilt for my great nephew who is a star!

How about a vase of star flowers (same star .... just smaller)?

I took a class to make this quilt and the teacher urged us all to make something different and I did with a cross of stars!

This blue/green quilt needed something to give it a zing.  Red stars and circles did the trick.

Stars were used in three places in this quilt.  

Then here are the tops waiting for their turn to be quilted.

Stars in the borders and in the center.

What about all stars in the borders?  Why not!  This is so, so effective!

One star but how it anchors the whole look of this apple core top!

Then we have two UFO's waiting in bins.  Now, I'm surprised by this ..... only two UFO's with stars?

So, this has been quite the journey and knowing myself ...... I'm not done with stars yet!   Will you be surprised if a new project pops up with stars in it?

All my quilts, tops and UFO's have been a labour of love.

What about you?  Have you used an item over and over and over again?

I keep journals of all my finished quilts, tops and UFO's and that is how I was able to assemble all of these photos for this post.    That is something that was done when I first started to quilt and now am so glad that the time was taken to mark down my starts and finishes and everything in between in my journals.

Today is Hubby and my 44th wedding anniversary.   How can that be?  Where has the time gone?  

Life is good!

Cherish your day, cherish your life!

Couldn't help myself!

LOL ..... I just couldn't do it!  Make the pattern as is?  Nope.  Not me.  Mind you, the pattern looks ok as is.

So, I was staring at my design wall and thinking ..... you know, it is dangerous when I think ...... what could I do to make it different?

Stars.  Stars are needed.  What kind of stars?  The perfect pattern was found on my EQ 7 and Blockbase.

This is a start.  It may not be the final layout, but a good start.  The stars will float across two rows right into the border.

I feel good about this new project.  It is helping me get my quilting mojo back.

Cherish your day!  Cherish your life!

Down by the Lake

That is the name of this quilt.  The greens and blues at the cottage in spring/summer months.  The red is for the maple trees that turn a glorious red in the fall.  We opened our cottage for the season this past Sunday and I took this quilt out for photos, but it rained and that opportunity was lost.  So, next best is out back of our home.

This was my inspiration.  Blues and greens.  The colours at our cottage.

This quilt has had a lot of revamping from start to finish.  I wanted to design something special, but ended up with just alternating green and blue squares.  My mojo was lost for my original design idea.  In January 2013, I considered it a finished top.  I was so done with this project.

Then in May 2013, I started to tinker with the look.  What about adding some of my favourite stars and some circles?  Yes, I think so.  It took the look from BORING to happy.  As an aid to ensure that stars were appliqued on the right spot (see all the pink squares) and the circles (all the green squares), pieces of paper were cut and then pinned with safety pins in their correct spots.   

There, what a difference that touch of red added.  Just one month and all the applique was added.  Then, it sat on the shelf waiting for it's turn to be turned into a quilt.  For six years!

That red fabric would be perfect for the binding, but where was it?  A search through my UFO bins and it was found!  Eureka!  Now, this quilt is done and we can enjoy it.  Happy days!

Quilt Details:

Started:  June 2008

Top finished:  January 2013 and then finally in May 2013 (for good .... LOL)

Quilt finished:  May 2019

Block size:  4" x 4" squares finished

Quilt Size:  70-1/2" x 86" (before quilting, washing and drying:  72-3/4" x 89")

Batting:  Hobbs 80/20 cotton poly

Machine quilted by:  Kat's Quilts

Have a great day!

Linking to:

http://www.esthersquiltblog.com/

http://needleandthreadnetwork.blogspot.com/

An oldie, but goodie!

I'm on a mission to get another UFO to the top stage.  Seven UFO's have been chosen to tackle this year and one of them is already done.  This was on the list and I might as well get it done.  I'm on a five-year plan to tackle my 35 UFO's.  Seven a year will do it.  There will definitely be new starts but ones that can quickly become finished tops.

Pressed Flowers.  This UFO has been hanging around for a long time.  Back in May 2011 and November 2011, I posted about getting borders on.  That didn't happen.

Then finally in January 2013, outer borders finally got added.  Then it got shelved again.

How do I know about all these dates?  My blog posts keeps me informed.   Which is embarrassing, also.  Sheeesh .... I'm such a procrastinator!

Now it is back out again and applique is finally getting added.  My garage friends are helping lots in keeping me on schedule and they are so happy whenever an UFO comes with me to the garage to work on. 

The top left section is done!  The right hand section is being sewn.  Finally, progress is happening!

So, why was I hesitant to do the applique on the borders when that is one of my favourite things to do?  It was the fabric that was the problem.  Too dark for me to use either a light box or a window to trace the applique design onto the fabric. 

There has to be a solution to this problem.  I'll show that in my next post because soon I will be ready to prep another border, but not today.

Winter, winter go away!  This is the winter of cold and snow.  Really, really cold weather.  Lots of snow!  My husband had to remove snow from the shed roof.   Next is our house roof, but we will hire someone to do that for us.

Have a great day!

Linking to:
http://www.esthersquiltblog.com/
http://needleandthreadnetwork.blogspot.com/

Angles and Squares

Another quilt ..... another finish!  Oh, how happy am I to finally have this quilt done.

I really do need to thank my garage girl friends again and again and again for pushing me to get my quilts done by either me or by someone else.  They are so happy to see a finished quilt and that means my list is dwindling.  Any top that a LAer can do, off they go now.  No more hoarding with wishful thinking that it can be hand quilted.  Sadly, those days are fading into the sunset and only the special ones I hold onto in the hopes that I will do them myself continue to stay on the shelf.

Now, let's look at this quilt.  I fell in love with this design when it was first on the design wall and I can't believe how well it turned out.

This quilt started with a workshop that was given by Heather Stewart.  At the end of the class, Heather asked us to do something different with the final layout.  She did give us examples to get us started.

At the time, I was in the "star" mode and that is how stars appeared on this quilt.  Still love those stars!   The quilt is straight ... it is the photo taker (me) that can't get her act together!

Quilt details:
Started:  October 18, 2012 in a workshop presented by Heather Stewart
Top finished:  January 9, 2013
Quilt finished:  April 9, 2018

Top size:  67" x 83" (before quilting and washing:  70-1/4" x 86")
Batting:  polyester

Machine quilted (using Swiralot pattern) by Tella in Scarborough, Ontario.  I did add additional machine quilting on the diagonal lines and on the vertical and horizontal rows.  Using polyester batting made those areas too puffy and I just didn't like how they looked.  So, I took the time to fix the look and I'm so glad that I did.  Also, hand quilting was added around the stars and circles.  Why not, it is my quilt.

Label and sleeve on?  Tick and tick!

DONE!

What a glorious word.

Have a great day!

Linking to:  http://estheraliu.blogspot.ca/

Oh stars ...

It was time to bring out my trademark stars again.  It has been a while since I played with them!

In my last post, I hinted at a new design and here is what it will be.  Initially, a design was sort of doodled, but it changed as soon as pieces started being placed on the strip of neutral fabric

With the addition of one piece after another ....

.... my idea is definitely taking shape.

Yep, I think this it it.  Or it may change .... we'll see.  Right now, all the pieces are just pinned in place.

Still adding some more pieces ...

... and this is it.  I do like this a lot.  This layout will be repeated again in the white space that you see below.  Yep, I like this!

This week, we had snow shoveled off our roof.  In places, it was waist deep.  That is just too much.

With all the noise going on with the renovations, Miss Ashes seems to be taking it in stride.   :o)

Have a great day!

Stars, stars, stars

Sorry to have confused a few quilters about Bonnie Hunter's pattern of Scrappy Majestic Mountains and my stars.

The stars were an addition to Bonnie's pattern (they are not included in her original pattern).  I purchased the pattern (that has those stars in the pattern) from here.  Just scroll down until you come to Pressed Flowers.

My Scrappy Majestic Mountains is the 6th top that has these stars in them.  This star and where the pattern was purchased from has been shown on my blog many times before; but for those visitors who are new to my blog, here are all the tops so that you can see why I'm so obsessed with this star:

Scrappy Majestic Mountains:

Down by the Lake (pattern by me):

Angles and Squares(my original layout after taking an Angles and Squares workshop with Heather Stewart):

Just Blessings (The Blessings by Robyn Falloon):

Since my star was changed from the original pattern, that is why it is called Just Blessings.   The top is not done yet.  I have to do some thinking about the borders and those big setting triangles. 

School Houses (go here to read the story about this pattern):

Pressed Flowers (where this star first appeared): 

My Pressed Flowers still needs applique in the outer borders.  Everything is prepped and ready to go ... I just have to sit down and do the sewing.  Since the bin was taken down from a storage shelf so that I could take a photo of the pattern, the bin will stay close at hand and perhaps the time has come to finish this top.

I'm not done with this star yet .... it will have to run its' course.

To the designer of the pattern at The Rabbit Factory ...... I heart that star!  :o)

Have a great day!