Another Star

Decided I kinda liked this after all (translation: I didn’t find a fabric combo I liked better and I didn’t want to remake the quarter I’d already done…) so I have a spare block if I miss a month during vacation or the holidays. Or I’ll make a bigger quilt and use them all. Possibilities! 

We went out to get pictures at noon 

 Noon

and again after the crew left for the day. 

 Late afternoon 

I think I’ve already mentioned how fast they work. 

 Noon

It’s crazy how much they got done, 

 

and it was a smaller crew today!

Top left: at noon. Right & bottom: back side finished, cap stones placed and trimmed, lights installed.

At noon:

 The cobblestones to fill in the ‘v’ will be individually sized and cut

Late afternoon:

Quilty Question and Construction

Here’s another version of the August block. The small white arrows on yesterday’s block are now black - gives it a whole new look. (Not my idea, I just borrowed it.)

So my question is, what would you change on this? I don’t hate it but don’t think it has much pizzazz either. (The dark yellow has small bits of the lavender…)

Only two pieces are actually sewn (which is why the first pic looks a bit funky) so changing fabrics will be simple. These are the available colors… ⬇️

In construction news, curving pavers are going down,

more slate is on the wall, 

including top pieces,

hubby has most of the front fence replaced,  

and the pillars are wired - lights may go in tomorrow. 

It’s almost time to think about plants….

I got to pick out the big ‘statement’ rock from the building supply place. So exciting. (I love that top rock 😆)

August Garden of Stars

Gotta say, when you precut fabric the sewing goes fast! Sat down with my labeled piles and color coded patterns and knocked this out in a couple of hours. 

Very happy with the colors and glad I switched from the black and copper to this black dot background.

Notes for next time: label all the cut fabric piles! Cats and breezes happen. 

Don’t backstitch - start/end a couple of stitches over the line. 

In other news… remember the cat gate that was supposed to keep Coco from annoying Ginger?

Ginger’s first time sitting on my lap. 😍

Little stinker reached waaaay up above her head, pulled herself up with her front paws and through the bars to gain access. 

We had to add another layer on top to hopefully keep her out. 

Now she just sits outside the gate and yowls. Silly girl has opinions.

Garden of Stars

I told myself I was going to finish another UFO before I started Garden of Stars but… I lied. 

 First quarter down, 3 more to go

Isn’t it pretty??

Pre-cutting all the little pieces has been a pain but it’s going to make the sewing go so much faster. 

Coco’s first time helping me sew, yowling the whole time ‘Feed me! Pet me! Fix my toy!’

Hoping I can finish the August block before the next one is released September 1.  

Wonderland Two-fer

Wonderland has not been nice to me lately. One block gave me so many problems - and looked so bad when it was done - I tossed it in the trash. It was definitely operator error, not the pattern, which didn’t make me feel any better. 😜

I just wanted this project done, which is funny since the two blocks I finished tonight are among my favorites. First up - Bromeliad by Thimbles and Needles. Swap in Christmas colors and it makes a great Christmas cactus. 

I enlarged it slightly - from 7” to 8” - and had to do a bit of cut and paste since it wouldn’t fit on one page. Worth it!

Second block is Candle by Maddie Sews. So simple and I love how it turned out. 

Next will be getting the blocks close to the same size. 

The biggest is 8.5” (finished 8”) and the smallest is just under 7” (finished 6.5-ish). Then add a bit of sashing and it’ll be ready for longarm quilting. And maybe ready to hang at Christmas…

Garden of Stars BOM

I’m a big fan of Carol Doak’s FPP Star designs. One of the first FPP projects I undertook when I was a newbie quilter was a block-a-month from one of her books. I learned so much!

So when I found her group on Faceb**k, and learned she leads a free annual BOM of new designs just for group members, I couldn’t sign up fast enough.

Making fabric decisions is the hardest part for me. Too much second-guessing…

This year’s project started July 1 but I was trying to finish the birds - and Jac was here - so I’m just now getting going. 

 First quarter of Alternating block done.

July’s homework was to make 12 ‘alternating’ blocks that will go between the monthly stars. I made one today, with fabrics entirely from my stash, to test colors and design choices. I love this block so much, I’d be happy to have an entire quilt made just with it. 

 Really not sure about that black - the copper flecks aren’t working for me. Use it because it’s in the stash and hubby likes it? Or break my ‘rules’ and go shopping?

Now I need to check if that deep violet batik is going to bleed… should have checked it before I started but who thinks of that when Start-itis is upon you??

Giant Spoonbill

Technically, this is a Roseate Spoonbill but it’s a giant piece of paper-piecing. And? It’s finished!

22 x 33”

I’ve been putting this off since February, almost entirely because of the size. It really wasn’t that bad… if you don’t count the piece I accidentally printed twice - and sewed fabric onto both - then couldn’t understand why nothing fit together. 🙄

This probably doesn’t count as a true fabric ‘chicken’ but I only had a fat quarter of this fabric, and I’d been cutting into it with abandon, not realizing the last pattern piece needed a big piece of pink. Shoulda planned better but it fit! Felt like I won the lottery. (I’m easily amused…) Only one bird left to go!

Spoonbill Progress

I’ve been putting this one off since… February?? Mainly because it’s so big and I didn’t enjoy making the last giant one (loved it once it was done tho!)

There are only 2 birds remaining… and I really want to work on other projects… 

Knobby knees

and I was concerned about running out of big pieces of background fabric if I did the smaller owl first… 

 This is 4! separate pieces taped together. Awkward!

It’s not quite done - 6 multi-sheet pattern pieces remain to sew - but it’s getting there. I really love her face and knobby knees. 

 First time Coco has ‘helped’ me sew. That look says ‘pet me now’

Hoping to finish tomorrow if we survive taking after we take Jac to the zoo. 

One, Two, Three

One…

Two…

Three!

21.75 x 21.75”

Except for yesterday’s fabric chicken drama, this Red-Shouldered Hawk went together surprisingly easily. I really like the ‘chaos’ of the feathers, especially since it meant there were very few seams that needed to match up. 

The patterns for the last two birds are cut, folded, color-coded and ready to sew. We’re almost done!

Fabric Chicken

Fabric Chicken: will a piece of fabric (it’s from the stash, there is no more…) cover all the pattern pieces or will it run out with inches to go. 

The upside of adding stash fabrics to Birdwatcher patterns is more texture and interest - the kit’s solid colors are pretty but kinda flat. The downside? When it’s gone you sure better have a Plan B! 

We’ll call this one a draw win since there were enough tiny scraps to sew together to make it work. 

 That’s all, folks!

But it was so, so close!

Red-Shouldered Hawk wing

One of my air plants flowered! 

I’ve never seen one bloom before. I wonder if the flowers open one at a time or if multiple can open at once. 

There's lots of buds so hopefully I’ll find out soon.