Tuesday, March 26, 2019

Time to Sew a Top

You can't go back and change the beginning but you can start where you are and change the ending.
~C.S. Lewis~


You know the drill. Sew the blocks into columns; sew the columns into pairs; repeat until the top is done.

Sewn. Wow. These colors look like stained glass.

A rainbow of colorful fabrics makes this simple pattern into a stunning quilt.
Hourglass quilt in solid fabrics

I'm not sure what quilting will enhance/ complement this design.

Enjoy the day, Ann

Tuesday, March 19, 2019

Hourglass Solids

What gives dignity to death is the dignity of the life that preceded it.
~Sherwin Nuland~


Still in recovery. This is a quilt I made but didn't blog because I wanted to make a video. Haven't done that; probably won't now.  Still, it's a pretty quilt to share.

When I reorganized/cleaned my sewing room last year, all threads and sewing supplies went back in their respective drawers. That's not much but makes the room neater. The biggest decision was to put all the "pulled" fabric back in the stash. The partially sewn blocks are still kept together but no more endless collections of fabrics for future quilt that didn't even get cut.

Just when the stash seemed to be decreasing, I find I've simply hidden it in "plain brown wrapping." Like a naughty book or an accounting shell game, only with fabric. Ha!

A rainbow array of solid fabrics in two rows.
Solid fabric choices

For someone with few solids, I unearthed a small trove. Most are medium. This photo contains only three lights: pink, pale green, and yellow - and they look washed out.  However, they are needed to add value change. Can you imagine how badly a quilt would look with only medium values? Tucked in with these  pieces was a charm pack of solids; the perfect way to stretch this limited color range.

I cut one WOF of each fabric whatever that width was; some were fat quarters or less. Then cross-cut into five-inch squares. Then cut each into four QSTs. That took a couple of days.

Laid on the living room rug instead of the design wall.
Solid Hourglass quilt blocks

Next I matched up each of the remnant squares with one of fabrics I had in abundance {for example, the blue, lavender, and pinky-red} in order to scatter the colors as widely as possible. When that was done, I matched the remaining fabrics into pairs and started sewing hourglasses.

This time I laid them out right in front of the television. DH said he could tell it was mine because it was so colorful.

Enjoy the day, Ann

Tuesday, March 12, 2019

Pi Day 2019

Will we act in this world with respect for our founding conviction that all people have equal dignity in the eyes of God and should be accorded the same respect by the laws and governments of men? That is the most important question history ever asks of us. Answering in the affirmative by our actions is the highest form of patriotism, and we cannot do that without access to the truth.

~John McCain~


Celebrating Pi Day {3.14} this Thursday {3/14} - the best reason for using American date notation which I've always considered slightly backwards. Month/Day/Year is not as orderly as Day/Month/Year but at least gives us a day to celebrate circles.

What circles have I made in the past year? Mainly aspirational.

There will be loads of applique circles in the centers of the Shadow Stars as soon as I get my energy back. I thought I'd be much further along but still keep falling asleep. Plus, it's time to get the taxes finished. Not that I'm doing them myself; I just need to get them organized for the accountant. But not only do I have ours to organize, there's also the estate. It's tougher to do someone else's since I worry about forgetting a category. Getting sick put me way behind. Time to catch up.

Here are the three two-and-a-half centers I finished. I'm learning there is no such thing as too many pins when there's already a hole behind the applique. Those seams allowances like to wiggle.

Three blocks have center circles of flowers and birds.
Sewing the centers of the Shadow Star blocks

Other than Jupiter on the latest Christmas stocking, I didn't make many circles last year.

Red velveteen stocking with white felt cuff has bells on the cuff, toe and heel. Appliqued sequined ornaments include purple mitten, Christmas tree, holly with berries, Christmas bells, Juno flying by Jupiter, and the Star of Bethlehem.
Velveteen Christmas stocking
with sequined ornaments

I'm looking forward to apple pie for dessert although not homemade. DH is bringing it home. I hope you're making celebratory plans, too.

Happy Pi Day!

Enjoy the day, Ann

Tuesday, March 5, 2019

Possible Posts

I thought I'd have a few of the centers sewn this week but haven't started on any of them. However, it's time to think about possible posts. Of course they aren't required but this block is so pale it seems to need something in the corners. As I perused my board of {mostly antique} applique quilts, I noticed most of them have a secondary design or post in the corners. Even the quilt that reminded me to start this. The change in size looks good to me - like Pies and Tarts.

My first thought was applique. Let's be realistic. I'm unsure I'd finish a multitude of tiny circles in any reasonable time. Crazy! Although sewing a single larger circle might work. {The orange flower was originally cut to be a compass center but might work well as a post.

Two Shadow Star blocks on the design wall surrounded by three post choices: a flower medallion, a red four-pointed star, and a rust eight-pointed star.
Posting choices for Shadow Star quilt blocks

Then a regular eight-pointed star seemed like a good plan. It will not work. It's much too heavy for the light and airy Shadow Star.

As a fourth idea I pulled some compass points to see if they could they double as posts? These are a bit wider than they will finish because of the seam allowances. They will sew up thinner and I could cut them even thinner from the beginning.

Red is one of my favorite colors. There's some in the Shadow Star blocks but I'm finding red overpowering as a post. Must reconsider.

Enjoy the day, Ann