Seven Sisters and Then Some

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While initially I thought I’d turn these into multi-coloured Seven Sisters blocks, the block is turning into a very large family of sisters! So far there are 19 of them. How much further I’ll go with this block I’m not sure. Right now I’m thrilled with it. Of course I am – it’s mostly pink. As those who have read my blog for any length of time know, pink is my favourite colour. I think I was going through withdrawal not having a pink project on which to work. That said, perhaps I’ll add some green or some more purples and mauves or move into the blues. All I know is it’s fun putting these together and goes amazingly quickly.

When I started joining the stars I realized I hadn’t pressed them all in the same direction, so some time had to be spent at the iron. Now they’re all pressed the same way and that makes pressing the back of the block a breeze! Right now the block is about 14.5″ x 13.25″.

We are having an incredibly mild January, so far at least. It feels more like early spring than winter and the forecast seems to indicate it will be like this for the next couple of weeks. A sure sign of this being the oddest of winters? We went for a walk and, rather than seeing snow ploughs (of course not – there has been no snow and no, I’m not complaining), we saw street sweepers out and about. This really makes me wonder what the spring and summer will be like.

Baxter is proving to be a real quilter’s cat. Not only does he lie about under the quilt rack and hoop, he just loves to grab a piece of fabric and run off with it. I’ve found little 6-point stars on the floor. Last night, as I was working on another Feathered Star block, I turned my back for a few moments and there were some of the pieces from that on the floor.

Little Stars Joined

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Last night I got out the box full of little stars and decided to start putting them together. I’m starting with the centre and will work my way out. Right now it sort of looks like it’s going to turn into a Seven Sisters block, but it’s just the first round of many. The row of six joined stars clearly isn’t yet added to the centre star, but I wanted to get a rough idea of the effect and think about how I’d proceed. Now I hope to get the next round added quickly.

Earlier in the day I made a few more stars as I had a rather nasty headache but wanted to stitch. These little 6-point stars are what I almost always decide to make when I want to stitch but don’t want anything too difficult. Do you have a favourite block to stitch?

Baxter’s ruff is getting quite luxurious. We were looking at some of the pictures of him when he was a really small kitten and can’t get over the difference already — and he’s not even 9 months old yet.

Sky Quilt Again

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Over the holidays, this project made its reappearance and is on the list of those I want to finish up sooner rather than later. There are  a couple more rows of diamonds to add to the rainbow centre and then I’ll set it together with the four sun blocks.

We didn’t get a picture of the back of the rainbow yet, but I spent a fair bit of time pressing it on the weekend. Once again, I had left the pressing too long. However, now that I’ve got this part pressed I will press after each of the remaining rows are added. Lesson learned once again!

Baxter loves my computer chair. Mr. Q.O. captioned this one “My Morris Imitation.”

Scrappy Star Squared

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All four corners are added to the scrappy star. Now it’s a matter of the borders. There will be multiple borders on this, at least two of which are going to be pieced. Right now it measures approximately 36″ square. The final size I’m not sure about yet, but it will tell me when it’s finished.

Most of what I need for the pieced borders is contained in these two boxes. That is, of course, unless I decide to add more pieced borders than I’ve currently got planned.

I haven’t graded the seams on this quilt top. As there are so many little pieces in it which means a lot of seam allowances, I’ll start working on this sometime soon and definitely before the pieced borders get added. As the pieced borders are made, they’re going to be graded right away.

And no, don’t ask — I have no idea how many pieces are in it so far and am almost afraid to check. I have kept detailed notes on the making of this quilt so far and will keep adding to those notes but I’m not looking at the total of the pieces until it’s done.

Baxter loves to get in little hiding spots. Perhaps he thinks that we can’t see him and then will be able to spring out and surprise us?

Two More Red & White Blocks

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I love stitching these blocks. Eight of them are now done so only four left to stitch and then the first pieced border. I’m contemplating another pieced border, but will make that decision when the top is together.

All the pieces for the remaining four blocks and the first pieced border are ready to stitch and in this shoebox. I know, I know — a shoebox is hardly elegant enough for this, but it’s the best size and it works. The pieces won’t be in there long at all as this is one quilt top that I definitely want to finish sooner rather than later. The sheet I printed out from the Feathered Star Design Book, which is the perfect reference tool for stitching the blocks, is tucked in at the side of the box along with the spool of red thread I’m using for this project.

Each block takes about 3 evenings to stitch but, as there are lots of opportunities for continuous stitching in both the Sunflower and Feathered Star portions of the blocks, it seems to fly by.

One of the by-products of making these blocks are all these wonderful little pieces from cutting out the HSTs. I know most people would throw them out, but I’m saving them and have a plan for making Christmas cards with them as to me they look like little snowflakes. They’re just too cute to toss.

This is a sheet that I’ve printed, on which you can see, if you click on the photo to enlarge it, the HSTs and where the little snowflakes appear.

And what did the shoebox used to contain? These fun runners. I couldn’t resist them when I saw them in the store. Who says comfortable footwear can’t be fun? And they’re nice and bright which helps cheer up the grey days of winter.

Baxter is definitely looking like a grown-up cat now, particularly in this photo. He may look that way, but he’s still definitely acting like a kitten.

More Pickled Ladies Are Gathering

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Over the holiday, I had a good look at the size of the Pickled Ladies top and decided to add a few more rows. These are the first three ladies that will be joining the group.

The arcs are in the process of being made and I hope to have them all done by the end of the week. Then it’s nothing but easy stitching, attaching them to the clamshells which are already prepared and waiting.

Having been through the process of grading the seams on the other Pickled Ladies all at once, this time I’m grading them as I go. It only takes a minute and makes a huge difference to the drape and weight of the quilt.

When each arc is finished I grade the seams of the two sides of each black triangle that are attached to the white triangles. I like to wait until the seam is stitched before grading it, mostly because having even seam allowances makes it easier to line up and stitch the pieces together. It also gives me the option of not grading a seam if a fabric seems to be of a slightly looser weave than others.

Once the arc is attached to the clamshell, I then grade the black seam that’s attached to the clamshell. A quick press and it’s done.

The window templates for the half clamshells for the edges are made and I’ve been auditioning fabrics with them. The arcs and partial arcs for the edge pieces are also ready to be stitched.

Baxter has lounging on the sofa down to an art form. Mr. Q.O. captioned this one, “Dinner ready yet, lady?”

Beginnings of New Projects

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These three fabrics, along with two layer cakes of Fresh Squeezed, are the inspiration for a couple of new projects. They were a Christmas gift from a good friend and have, ever since I opened the package, been out where I can see them and start planning the first of the new quilts that will be made with them. These bright cheerful fabrics are the perfect antidote to winter’s grey skies and cold temperatures.

The yardage and one of the layer cakes are washed, a neutral has been chosen so all that’s left is to decide which design to make first.

Baxter on the windowsill. Yesterday was a very windy and cold day and was snowing on and off but nothing that stayed on the ground. So far he doesn’t seem interested in the snow at all.

Pattern Sale

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As Boxing Day is typically a day of sales here in Canada, I decided to have a Boxing Day sale of my patterns, which can be found here. The patterns contain detailed instructions on piecing with lots of photographs and diagrams, cheat sheets with printing sizes, pressing instructions and quilting suggestions.

Each pattern is marked down from $9 to $5 for this one-day event.  The patterns included are:

Chintz Circles

Pink Ice

Twinklingo Stars

The sale is on until 11:59 p.m. EST tonight and are available on the patterns page of my website.

Baxter, of course, isn’t all that interested in patterns. He’s having much more fun watching things out on the roof garden.