"A moment's insight is sometimes worth a life's experience."
~Oliver Wendell Holmes
Quilting
After so many Lone Stars, LeMoyne Stars and other eight-pointed stars I have a few tips to pass on.If you are sewing smaller diamonds together, it's easier to press those seams open.
Of course, that means those intersections need more pinning when sewing one larger unit to another. I put a pin exactly one-fourth inch from the edge and through the seam on both sides then add pins on either side to keep it from shifting. Take out that vertical pin as you approach it when sewing.
Once the large diamonds are sewn into pairs, it's time to add the backgrounds. I usually sew the corner squares first and leave the side triangles for last but either order works fine. Pinning is almost exactly the same except you want to pin the intersection of the two diamonds to the corner of the square without any overlap. I.e., just pin one diamond to one side of the square.
Again, sew to the pin but not over it and backstitch.
I always press the large diamonds and the backgrounds to one side {not open} so the intersections spin.
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| Press seams open on smaller diamonds |
Of course, that means those intersections need more pinning when sewing one larger unit to another. I put a pin exactly one-fourth inch from the edge and through the seam on both sides then add pins on either side to keep it from shifting. Take out that vertical pin as you approach it when sewing.
Also, pin at an angle where the sewing line stops. See the pin at the right below.
When you reach the end pin, backstitch {more carefully that I did here} over the previous stitching line to keep seams from unraveling.
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| Use pins to keep intersections aligned and to tell you exactly where to stop |
When you reach the end pin, backstitch {more carefully that I did here} over the previous stitching line to keep seams from unraveling.
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| Sewing up to the pin. |
If your backstitching must go "off" the stitching line, at least make sure it's in the seam allowance and not into the star itself.
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| Backstitch at the end |
Once the large diamonds are sewn into pairs, it's time to add the backgrounds. I usually sew the corner squares first and leave the side triangles for last but either order works fine. Pinning is almost exactly the same except you want to pin the intersection of the two diamonds to the corner of the square without any overlap. I.e., just pin one diamond to one side of the square.
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| Pinning one side of a background square to one of the two diamonds |
Again, sew to the pin but not over it and backstitch.
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| Sewing to the intersection of three pieces of fabric |
Then when sewing the background pieces to the Lone Star, sew them the same way: up to intersecting seam allowance and backstitch. Both sides. No overlapping here, please. And you'll notice this time my backstitching looks better.
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| Backstitch when sewing backgrounds to Lone Stars/Eight-pointed Stars |
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| Press these seams to one side and spin at the intersection |
Monthly FUR (Fabric Use Rate)
The LeMoyne Star was completed in August for a total of 13 yards. YTD = 124.75 yards.
Online Lectures and Meetings
How can we feel lonely with so many online meetings? Between Zoom and Meet, I now have at least five meetings a week. It's wonderful to see friends again and great to participate in lectures. I only participated in one short workshop but my friends are taking and teaching that way.
Bisa Butler recently spoke with Dr. Myra Brown-Green at the American Folk Art Museum about her body of work. The excellent discussion covered the development of her craft {always my favorite part}, her history, and the reasons she chooses who to portray and how to portray them. She began as a painter and moved to quilting with her master's program. Initially she quilted portraits of family, then friends, and finally moved into the wider world as her confidence increased. I was very interested to see the development of her skills and color sense over the years. She also had a wealth of information about the names of the African prints, something I was unaware of until this program.
In the second part of the program, Myra discussed her quilts and books which focus on symbolism from cultures worldwide. The third part was a conversation between the two of them. And lucky us, AFAM made the program available for reply on their website. Get some coffee and enjoy an hour of in depth thought on unique quilts.
Voting
Our national election scheduled for November 3 is 70 days away. Have you requested a mail-in ballot or made plans to vote early? Check Vote411.org for details about your state and precinct. {Make the website is correctly typed and you are on a Secure site!} Democracy requires the participation of ALL citizens.
Wink at the Moon
Neil Armstrong passed away eight years ago today. His family asked that we wink at the moon annually in his honor. Tonight the moon will be in its first phase but I plan to spend a few minutes admiring the view and remembering an event that united our world with joy.