Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Returning to the Shadows

"Don't think. Thinking is the enemy of creativity. It's self-conscious and anything self-conscious is lousy. You can't try to do things; you simply must do things."
~Ray Bradbury

Quilting


While I disagree with Ray's statement as far as thinking goes, the last sentence is a reminder that was even echoed by Yoda, "Do or do not. There is no try." We see that in our own lives as the things we 'do not' pile around us physically or mentally. Hopefully we tackle some of them each day. Speaking of which...

Who remembers the Shadow Star blocks? Who knows why I set them aside? Certainly not me although I suspect it involved baby quilts... with which I am constantly in arrears.

Shadow Star quilt blocks with centers being sewn

At least I appliqued all the centers to the stars before setting them aside. And I pinned and labelled the columns so it's easy to pull them out now that they've been flashing through my mind. The next step is to choose the sashing.

As far as I recall my great-aunt's quilt didn't have sashing. Or at least it was the same muslin as the stars. But mine seems to need something in the corners. Should it be a tiny post of color or something that extends into the sashing and corners of the blocks? Flowers? Circles? Stars? I tested some ideas previously so at least I know red is not the answer and an eight-pointed star is too heavy.

One benefit of setting this aside for a while is the extra time to simply think about it. The shadowed stars work because they sit on a darker background that fades to white. Your eye gets a glimpse of the shape and continues it when contrast fails. So foreground and background are important. And the posts/sashing are not foreground.

What about these very light compass points? The fabric is a pale green on cream. Audrey wrote about a similar issue with her tulip quilt.

Four-pointed stars of pale green form part of the sashing for the Shadow Star quilt
Sashing choice for Shadow Star quilt

It would need a different post fabric. Here are brown, medium blue, and a flower on purple cut two different ways. While centering the flower in the post repeats the circles of the stars, it makes the post too light. {Those white petals conflict with the tiny space.} Quartering the flowers puts a bit of color right in the center. Plus, I think those arcs look good.
Brown, pale blue, and lavender posts tested for the Shadow Star quilt
Possible posts for Shadow Star quilt

And that's how the week went. Thinking can take a lot of time.

Yet Another Plea to Make the Internet Safer
I sound like a broken record but... After six years, there are still people who haven't set their blogs to https. What a shame. There's a simple way to start if you use Blogger. Look at the top right of your blog and click Design. Then chose the Settings tab and then Basic. Toggle "Yes" on HTTPS Redirect. That will send people to this much, much safer way to access your blog.


Http is an outdated protocol allowing hackers to change your content, redirect people to a bogus site, and steal identity and credit information. {Some of us have clicked a link and gotten a porn site instead.} Here's more information on why you should definitely switch to https.

How do you tell if a website is secure? It has a lock icon before the address. Keep yourself and your readers safe. Don't go to any site {including the famous quilters who haven't addressed this basic safety issue} unless you are willing to risk exposing your personal and financial information to every malicious hacker in the world. I NEVER go to any site that hasn't got this simple, effective safeguard.  Whether you're selling something or just writing, if you want me to read your blog, it has to be https.

Enjoy the day, Ann

27 comments:

Barb said...

What nice blocks and so many pieces!
I wonder if I can use this safety feature because I use a re-direct from go daddy from www.funwithbarb.com to blogger....??? I'll have to look into that. thanks for the information.

patty a. said...

I like that piecing for the corners. The spike fabric is subtle with that little pop of color in the squares. It doesn't seem to compete with the shadow blocks. I agree with the thinking takes a lot of time comment! When people ask how long it took to make something I tell them I can't give them a answer since I didn't keep track of all the time it took thinking about the whats and hows. to

Pinkadot Quilts said...

Great tip, I just changed mine!

Frédérique - Quilting Patchwork Appliqué said...

Beautiful blocks!

Helen L said...

First of all, thank you so much for the heads-up about the blogger security setting. I'm so NOT computer proficient, so that was an issue I was not familiar with. I went and re-set my blogger Https as you directed!!! thank you!!! And those quilt blocks are gorgeous!! Who is the designer of that pattern? I just might have to look it up. :-) I love the little star within a star for your sashing posts: it gives some interest without taking away from the focal points, which are the blocks themselves. Beautiful quilt!!! Hugs, H

Helen L said...

just went and did some research and found that you said you drafted the design yourself: wow! Great job!

Sue said...

Thank you very much for the info regarding the blogger security setting. I thought I had already done what you suggested, and when I went to the basic on settings, I had already clicked on YES, But I still have the exclamation sign in orange over my padlock. Actually a friend said to me the other day that my site wasn't secure, but I don't know what else to do. Can you help me please?

Sue said...

Sorry, I meant to say how lovely your blocks are.

Sue said...

Update: After about 2hours, I find it has worked, so thank you very much.

Ann said...

Thanks, Barb. I have no idea about using go daddy. Sorry.

Ann said...

Thanks, Patty. I wanted to fill the area a bit but definitely want the Shadow Stars to take center stage. I'm glad I don't keep track of the hours. It's enough to track the yardage.

Ann said...

Thanks, Frederique. I like them and they remind me of my family.

Ann said...

I'm glad you set https. It lets people enter in a secure manner although it doesn't clear up unsecure links if you have those.
Shadow Star is a traditional block. I wrote about it when I started. My great-aunt made this quilt and her daughter sent me a newspaper column of the pattern. I redrafted it since I didn't trust their accuracy.

Ann said...

Yes. Thanks.

Ann said...

That means you have links within your posts to insecure sites. If you have affiliate links that's an issue I can't help with. I assume Google makes those secure. But if you link to someone else's site and they are http then you have a problem. I wrote about it a couple of years ago here https://fretnotyourself.blogspot.com/2017/10/putting-top-together-and-switching-to.html
It takes a while to go through all the posts. I started with my oldest working my way through them over a week or so.
Good luck.

Ann said...

Thanks.

Ann said...

I'm glad. You can check the other things if you want. I don't think this (current) switch cleans up everything on our posts but it does help people reach your site safely.

cspoonquilt said...

That is a beautiful block! I will enjoy seeing the finish project! thanks for the tip about the HTTPS redirect. I will check that out!




1

Kaja said...

I always liked those pointy central stars - very elegant to my eye - so I also like that you are echoing that shape in your solution. It's good to see these out again and heading towards a finish.

audrey said...

As soon as you showed the first sashing audition, I was like 'Yes!'. Then you showed more and wow, gonna be hard to decide. Love the subtle background touch especially but I'm sure it's hard to know without seeing the big picture. Glad you're moving forward on these blocks. They are too good to be on the backburner forever.:)

Ann said...

Thanks, Claire. I will enjoy finishing this project, too. I've wanted to make this block since I saw my great-aunt's.

Ann said...

That's the word - elegant. I haven't worked on something this accurate in a while and don't want to mess it up. Hopefully I will finish soon.

Ann said...

I like those compass points, too, Audrey. Just need to figure out how which fabric. The blocks need to progress to a top. It needs more applique and I'm trying to avoid that. Haha.

Linda @ kokaquilts said...

Beautiful blocks! And they look amazing all together, so glad you came back to work on this one.

Ann said...

Thanks, Linda. I’m glad to be working on this again.

Mystic Quilter said...

So good to see your Shadow Stars again!! Ann your reminder once again re secure sites is so timely, I was thinking of your previous post on this subject a few days ago as I have been visiting sites which are still not secure and was going to ask you if I could refer folks to your information. The change is so simple really. May I perhaps link to your information on my blog or perhaps just copy a with all credit to yourself ?

Ann said...

Of course you may, Maureen. I’ve been shocked to find so many insecure sites still. That’s why I added it to this post. Anything we can do to encourage people to make the switch is worthwhile.