Star Dance

I started piecing the original blocks for Star Dance way back in January 2017 in conjunction with the RSC. I had thought this would be a 2 year project but it's been 6 years and she is finally finished!

I requested Lori Null use Raindrops on Water for the quilting design and it is perfect! She set the curves 1/2" apart.

Star Dance finishes at 94" by 105" which I consider a large queen sized quilt. She's a little small for our king sized bed but we're using her anyway. I think she makes a lovely quilt for summer.

I know the border looks green but it's not. It's a soft white but there are very faint light green ghost leaves in the background and my phone pulls out the green.

I decided I would use brighter fabric for the binding. I looked in my brights box and found these strips from a jelly roll. I thought they would kind of give a striped effect. There were 5 different colors of the same design with 2 strips of each color. I was concerned there wouldn't be quite enough length so I added 2 short strips of yellow/orange fabric.

You can see in the above picture that the background of the border is white and not green. See the ghost leaves?

The backing fabric is a very subtle white floral on white fabric. I can't capture the flowers with the phone. The fabric reminds me of the tablecloths my mother used to use for holiday meals.

It feel good to have a long time UFQ finished. 

Here is a link to the Star Dance pattern.

Linking to Put Your Foot Down, TGIFF!, Peacock Party,  Finished or Not  Friday, Off the Wall Friday, Beauty Pageant, Patchwork & Quilts, Scrap Happy Saturday, Oh Scrap

Star Dance is a Flimsy!

The first post about Star Dance was back in 2017 when I started piecing the stars using the color of the month from RSC. In 2018 I appliqued the border and finished the lap quilt. She then went into the 'to be quilted closet'. I did pull her from the closet several times with the intention of hand quilting her but she always argued with me. She said she wasn't finished!

In 2022 I was going to make her larger by adding a border of sawtooth stars, again using the color of the month from RSC. But she said the stars were too large, they didn't blend with the smaller center stars, so then I pieced a lot of shoofly blocks, 200 of them!

It was too breezy outside for pictures so these indoor pictures will have to work.

I had thought to make her large enough to for our bed but I didn't have enough of the border fabric. I purchased the border fabric over a year ago so it's long gone. 

I'll see how much she shrinks after being quilted and washed. I might use her anyway even if she's somewhat small.

Finally she's finished! She's actually bagged and going to the long arm quilter next week! She is ok with machine quilting which is good because I don't think I have enough patience for hand quilting her.

As of now she measures 95" by 105".

Here is a link to more posts about Star Dance. Blogger did not place them in consecutive order.

Here is a link to the Star Dance pattern.

Linking to Scrap Happy Saturday, Patchwork & Quilts, Oh Scrap

What's Happening in 2023?

A year ago I had big quilting plans for 2022. I was really going to sew those quilts that had been on the sometime list. A lot of them didn't happen, so what do I have planned for 2023?

I'm not going to attempt to be as ambitious as I wanted to be a year ago. The for sure projects are . . .

1. Lady Jane is the quilt designated for hand quilting. She needs to be marked then put into the hand quilting frame. The backing is waiting and wool batting will be used. She will be quilted with white thread.

2. Hearts & Wreaths -  The borders need to be marked and then the vine embroidering will start. After that, the leaves will be appliqued.

3. Make some Christmas quilts. I've already pulled fabrics and put them with patterns.

4. I'm NOT going to start any new projects for the RSC this year. I have 3 projects that need to be finished from last year, Star Dance, Dancing Stars and Scrappy Sprouts. Hopefully these will be completed this year.

4. There are several small quilts that are to be machine quilted by me.

5. Maybe this will be the year Writer's Block happens, this quilt has been waiting for so long.

Writer's Block is the from Red, White, and Sometimes Blue book.  I cut strips for this quilt four years ago but never found the time to actually sew anything. Of course my quilt is going to be blue & white. The background fabric was purchased earlier this year. It's a soft white with a gray dot.

I don't know why it's named Writer's Block, the design reminds me of a variation of the Burgoyne Surrounded design. I plan to add an applique border.

6. Finish at least 2 UFQ's besides the RSC projects. There are several.

I think this is a manageable list. We'll see what has happened by the end of 2023.

Linking to Put Your Foot Down, TGIFF!, Peacock Party, Whoop Whoop Party, Finished or Not  Friday, Off the Wall Friday, Patchwork & Quilts

2022 Challenges, 6 - 10

 I made a list last December of challenges for the year 2022. Now at the end of 2022, I'm reviewing how many of those challenges I've met. I'll be posting about those challenges all week. As I said in my last post, moving into a new house slowed down the quilting progress.

This post is about challenges 6 - 10. Click on the title of each number to follow a link to a post.

6. School auction flimsy - I decided to combine #2 with #6 and pieced a Blue Ridge Beauty. She is in the process of being hand quilted for the 2023 school auction.

7. Finish ongoing RSC projects -

    Star Dance - All the shoofly blocks have been pieced but no progress since. Hopefully a 2023 finish.

    Scrappy Sprouts - All of the blocks are pieced but no progress since, maybe in 2023?

    Dancing Stars - Again nothing, still in the bag, maybe in 2023?

I've decided I can't start anymore RSC projects until these 3 are finished.

8. Welsh Beauty - hand quilting - The challenge I had issued last December was to be halfway finished with the hand quilting by May. I actually reached the halfway point in March but I finished the hand quilting in October! 

9. Hearts & Wreaths Applique quilt - All of the blocks for the center have been appliqued. Now I need to prep the borders. The borders will take at least a year to applique.

10. UFQ's (unfinished quilts) - Finish at least 1 of them.

Several UFQ's were finished.

A. Another String X flimsy. I did think about keeping this quilt for our own use but then decided to donate it to be knotted for a comforter.

B. Indian Hatchet - I love this quilt. This one is staying here for our own use.

C.  Arrowhead Blocks - This is a small quilt that I've machine quilted. He has gone to a nursing home for use as a lap quilt.

I think I've completed other UFQ's but these were the main ones I thought of.

Linking to To Do Tuesday, Midweek Makers, Wednesday Wednesday Wait Loss, Needle & Thread Thursday, 

Purple Shoofly Blocks

I made 19 purple shoofly blocks for my Star Dance quilt. 

Now I have over 200 blocks which is enough to make the border around the center of the quilt. I don't know how fast that border is going to happen though, summer is just a very busy time of year!

The pattern for Star Dance is found here. My Star Dance is going to be larger than the pattern.

Linking to RSC, Oh Scrap

Shoo-Fly Blocks

One fabric color I have plenty of is blues, lots of blues, from darks to lights.  So I had plenty of blues to choose from to sew blue shoo-flies for June.

Here are 25 of the 49 blocks that were pieced. These little blocks finish at 4".

These blocks and the rest of the shoofly blocks will be used to make the center of Star Dance larger. 

Here is a link to the Star Dance pattern.

Linking to RSC, Patchwork & Quilts, Oh Scrap

Green & Turquoise Shoo-fly Blocks

This last week I sewed green and turquoise shoo-fly blocks for my Star Dance quilt. I'm only showing half the blocks since I made 2 of each fabric.

20 green blocks -

I didn't use sage or forest greens for my blocks. 

22 turquoise blocks

Here is a link to the original Star Dance pattern. My quilt isn't going to look exactly like the pattern.

Spring is finally here but it went straight into hot weather. I tried to take a picture of this oriole eating grape jelly at the feeder. I didn't notice that squirrel snoozing on the tree limb until afterwards. Apparently he thinks it's the dog days of summer now.

I haven't had a flower pot set in the center of the tree stump for several years. The grandsons are old enough to be careful when they jump off the edge.

Linking to Patchwork & Quilts, Scrap Happy Saturday

Pink Shoo-flys

I intended to piece pink shoo-fly blocks for Star Dance at retreat. All the HST's were pieced but when I went to sew the individual blocks, I had forgotten the squares for the center!

Here are the pink and red shoo-fly block even though they were supposed to have been made in April. Better late then never! I'm only showing half of the blocks made, 30 in pink . . .

32 in Reds. I don't want to take a whole year to finish Star Dance so I'm making the color of the month along with a related color.

Green and teals have been pulled to make the shoo-fly blocks for May. The blocks will finish at 4". 

This is a link to the Star Dance pattern. My Star Dance quilt won't look exactly like the pattern. 

Linking to Scrap Happy Saturday, Oh Scrap.

Redo!

For the 2022 RSC challenge, I had decided in January that I was going to make 6" finished sawtooth stars as a way to enlarge my Star Dance quilt. I made stars for that purpose in January and February.

I pulled yellow and orange fabrics to make the stars for March, then I thought, are these stars going to look right? I thought I knew the size of the finished stars in the quilt center, 5", but decided I had better measure to be sure.

Guess what! They finish at 4"! When I randomly displayed the stars beside the center, they did not look right, the 6" stars overwhelmed the little stars. The sawtooth stars have been bagged and put aside for another day, possibly a future RSC project but not this year.

When Star Dance came out of the closet, I found a note pinned onto the side, it said to make 4.5" finished shoofly blocks. That size will work so I prepped fabric and sewed the shooflies, 28 of them! I'll go back and make red and teal blocks sometime.

This quilt is very picky about how she is finished!

The pattern for Star Dance is located here. My Star Dance is not made exactly like the pattern design.

Linking to Put Your Foot Down, Needle & Thread Thursday, Peacock Party, TGIFF!, Finished Or Not Friday, Off the Wall Friday, Patchwork & Quilts, Scrap Happy Saturday, Oh Scrap.

Star Dance to be Finished in 2022!

My goal for 2022 is to finish up RSC projects already started.

Back in 2018 I finished piecing a flimsy called Star Dance. Here is a link to the last post I wrote about Star Dance. She has been waiting to be quilted for several years.

Every time I decided she was next on the hand quilting frame, she said No!, she wants to be made larger. In 2022, I am going to finally add size to this flimsy and make her into bed quilt. Of course she'll be hand quilted.

She measures 60" by 70" right now.

Here is a link to the Star Dance pattern.

I'm envisioning a border of sawtooth stars. I took the time to sketch out my plan and made measurements. I need forty 6" stars but that works out to only 4 stars a month for 10 months. I want to move faster than that. 

Pink is related to red and since the pink fabrics are stored in the same box as the red fabrics, I made both colors this month. 

Linking to Scrap Happy Saturday, Patchwork & Quilts, Oh Scrap

UFQ's Completed!

Last spring I wrote a post titled My List of Current UFQ's. 

I am very, very thrilled and pleased to say I've completed all 13 (the original list of ten and then the three I added) quilts that were listed on the spring post!! Whoo!! Happy Dance!! The idea was to progress them into the flimsy stage but several of them have been quilted and are completely finished. Here is an update on each of the 13 projects.

1. Nearly Insane - Completely Finished! I hand quilted this quilt. Here is a link to the Nearly Insane pattern if you are interested.

2. Pastor's Attic Quilt - The applique borders have been completed and the flimsy is finished! This quilt is in the hand quilting frame now and will be completed sometime in 2019.

3. Bricks & Stepping Stones - comforter top for the school auction my Pennsylvania grandchildren attend. Finished! - a Bonnie Hunter pattern

The children at school will knot this comforter.

This was a quick and simple pattern. I have plenty of rectangles left. I see more Bricks & Stepping Stones in my future. 

4. King sized Boston Commons quilt for the school auction the Pennsylvania grandchildren attend. Finished! Someone in Pennsylvania will hand quilt this quilt.

I really like how this turned out but now I want to make one for me but in blues and yellows, maybe in 2019? 

5. Sweet Surrender - is a flimsy. Now waiting it's turn to be hand quilted.

6. Star Dance - Top is finished and also waiting to be hand quilted someday.

7. Baskets & 9-Patches - Completely Finished! Long arm quilted by Three Sisters Fabric, New Paris, Indiana.

A close up photo. I didn't use the original basket pattern that was used in the pattern.







8. Fat Quarter Challenge - Completely Finished! This was a

challenge with the Maple Leaf Quilt guild. Long arm quilted by Lori Null.

9. Wilfred & Cloves - Completely Finished!!

Long arm quilted by Lori Null, medallion was hand quilted by me. Completely finished! 

10. Scrappy 9 Patch, formerly known as No Name 4-1/2" 

finished 9 patch blocks -  The 9 patches are pieced. 

This is a project I started on my own without a pattern. I think she turned out very nice. The flimsy was gifted to a friend who'll add border fabric of her choice and then quilt it for one of her children.

11. Sisters Choice - Finished! This is a Bonnie Hunter

pattern. I pieced the 9-patches years ago  and then started the actual blocks back in 2016. 

12. Re-purposed 4 Patches - formerly known as Kitty Corner - I changed my mind and decided not to make  the Kitty Korner pattern. 

I used the 4 patches I had pieced for Kitty Korner and just made my own design.

13. Bonnie Hunter's Scrappy Trips pattern or maybe her Bargello pattern. As You can see, I decided to go with the Bargello pattern.

I really like how this quilt turned out and will be making more charity quilts with this pattern.


Don't worry about me, just because I finished all these projects I'm not going to just sit around and do nothing, I've already started another quilt because that's what quilters do. We enjoy the finish for the day and then onto the next one.

Linking to Let's Bee Social,  Needle & Thread Thursday, Confessions of a Fabric Addict, TGIFF!, Show Off Saturday

Star Dance Flimsy Finish!

The applique borders are finished! Star Dance is now a completed flimsy!! Another project to cross off my list! 

The center stars were pieced in 2017 as part of the Rainbow Scrap Challenge.

Before I started the border applique, I had toyed with the idea of making the border stars coordinate with the color of the pieced star closest to it, rainbow borders. That would have been interesting but I decided to mix the colors. 

I did add more circles to the border than the pattern called for but I don't think I overdid them. When I auditioned circles for the center of the bottom border there, I didn't think they looked right so I didn't add any. 

The stars finish at 4" and the flimsy measures 60" by 70". I made several changes from the original pattern. When I started this project, I had thought this would be a nice crib quilt but it is too large for that now. 

I took several more pictures of the flimsy. I couldn't decide which one was the best so I'm including them all.

Now the flimsy has moved into the next phase, waiting to be quilted because I'm going to hand quilt this one of course.

Linking to Esther's Wednesday WOW!, Let's Bee Social, Whatever Wednesday, Sew, Stitch, Snap SHOW, Needle & Thread Thursday, Finished Or Not Friday, Confessions of a Fabric Addict, TGIFF!,  Finish It Up Friday, Scrap Happy Saturday, Show Off Saturday

Week 9, Quilting Nearly Insane

A full row of Nearly Insane did not get quilted. As I said in my last post, I've been spending more time outside

Here is the hand quilting that happened last week starting at the right side and working my way to the left. These blocks finish at 6".

Right side triangle, stitched fast.

Easy peasy stitch in the ditch quilting

Instead of stitching in the ditch on this block, I quilted a fan design.

This block had the  most stitching of the week. I like how it looks.

I like the simplicity of this block and it quilted easily too.

I'll never receive a prize for my quilting stitches on this quilt. There are so many different fabrics, it's hard to be consistent with the stitching. Oh well, finished is better than perfect.

Star Dance has moved into first priority this week. I'm so close to having her completed and I think the finish will come this week.

Linking to Kathy's Slow Sunday Stitching, Oh Scrap, Show & Tell Monday With Bambi, Em's Scrapbag, Love Laugh Quilt, BOM's Away, Esther's Wednesday WOW!