Cowboys, Pinwheels, and Presents

Patricia Belyea emailed me last Friday that I'd won an Okan Arts giveaway. Look what arrived Monday via Priority mail! Patricia graciously inscribed the book so I have a permanent memento of her kindness. I'm so thrilled to own Sherri's book. Guess what I'm doing as soon as I finish the roommate quilt? The scissors are comfortable, fabulously sharp and cut like a dream. Thank you, Patricia!

Improv Handbook for Modern Quilters by Sherri Lynn Wood
and a pair of Kai scissors from the Okan Arts giveaway.

Roommate 2 is a Dallas Cowboys fan so my son suggested using their blue and silver team colors. Blue abounds in my stash because I've been intending to make a blue and white quilt for ages. At least some of them are the correct blue (although I stretched it quite a bit.)  The centers are the most silvery of my greys. While not my first choice, they fit the color scheme and should make this man very happy.

Again I used Sujata Shah's Cultural Fusion Quilts. Several quilters have made this design. Julie at QuiltDivaJulie has a very colorful version. Don't these versions inspire you to try your own?

These look like fireworks rather than flowers or candies. When my children were very small, we sat on Galveston beach for an amazing show by an Italian firm. It was the first time I saw lavender colored fireworks. They were so beautiful!

Cowboy Celebration quilt (61"x76.25")

Since the Cowboys incorporate a Lone Star in their logo, it became the center for half of the blocks. Directions for cutting perfect five-pointed stars can be found on this site about Betsy Ross, the person credited with creating the Stars and Stripes. These were too perfect for me; I cut them shorter and a bit more unevenly.

Pinwheel before adding a star or circle center.

The stars are fairly large so I appliqued simple circles on the other blocks. The diameters of the circles vary depending on where the wedges start. In my opinion, this adds to the explosion effect.

Machine applique using a blanket stitch

Harriet Hargrave's Mastering Machine Applique has been on the bookshelf for years and... I finally tried it! Not great but not too bad. She has several methods for creating points; I tried them all. We'll see how well each holds up in the wash.

Machine appliqued star point. 

On this star the point is turned under then each side is turned under and trimmed. This point isn't as sharp as I'd like but felt safest since it has seam allowances all around.

I need to make a back, sandwich the layers, choose some free-motion quilting and bind it... by next week. Better get busy.

Enjoy the day, Ann