#7 I'm Seeing Stars

In 2018 SLS Bee had a block challenge.  We each made requests of our Sisters in the Bee to make a certain kind of block for us.  The blocks would be revealed in December.  That year I asked the ladies to make me a block with a white and/or yellow star - with a black background.  Here are the original blocks I received.

This 7th Summer project involved arranging
these blocks in order to make a quilt top.  So I started like this:

I enhanced a few of the blocks...

The original block

Black background and bigger
points on the star added.

 And this one need some black background also...

This is the original block

Tried this to add
black background

Then I shuffled the
triangles...

 

I made a graph-paper plan for how to connect them. 

Now I need a couple yards of black material.

And I love walking into the quilting room and love Seeing Stars.

#6 English Paper Piecing

 I started work on these stars - a number of years ago.  Now I have over 100 and I am ready to put them together.  

My intentions:  Stars on black background - with swirling motion.

 

Now I have a map - and am ready for the next steps!!

June Goals Transformed to Summer Goals

Ok.  My Last post was June 10. 

I have not posted every day in June, nor have I touched a different quilt project every day in June.

I am transforming June Goals into Summer Goals.
Now I plan to touch 30 projects this summer.

So far
Here are my summer projects I have touched:

#1 Yo Yos

#2    1980's Log Cabin
(almost done)

#3   Dresden Plate - 
going to add another
column of blocks

#4   Design Wall Built

#5  Garage Sale Shirt Blocks
Backs & Batting cut
Ready for quilt-as-you-go

More to follow!!!!

June Goals Interrupted

We interrupt the June Quilting Goals with...

College Baseball!!

Went to games Saturday, Sunday, Monday.  

More this weekend.

I am just going to push my 30 days of quilts into July.

Project # 5 
These are blocks I rescued at a garage sale. 
And I fiddled with them on my new design wall. 
I think they are made from old shirts....

I am planning on backing these with denim - and may just use some flannel for batting.  I will quilt-as-I-go and connect the blocks with a 1" chambray lattice work on the front.

Some of the lavender fabrics are marred, so I may not use these...

So that is my plan for project June #5.

June 5th - Quilting Preparation

 Design Wall creation.
This will help me in touching a different quilt project every day in June.

I used to have a felt design wall that I thumb-tacked to the wall.

I had a box of 1 inch thick styrofoam boards
that I attached to the wall 

using Command Strips with velcro on them.  

I then tacked the felt on top of the styrofoam.  

I will need to buy some more command strips and add a few more pieces of styrofoam.  

THEN, let the quilt designing begin!!

Dresden Plate - Day 3

My Mother hand pieced these Dresden Plates.

My daughter helped her frame them and set them into this quilt top.

I want to add a border of half-plates.  

I have 16 of them pieced and need 24 altogether.

I have the fans cut and the white backgrounds are cut and ready for applique.

Just need to get the needle flying.

Day 2 - Back to the 1980's

Boxes and Boxes in my closet!  One box in my closet was gifted to my daughter and me sometime in the 1990's.  We belonged to a small community group called "Quilt Chat" that met at the local library irregularly.  We found the group by accident one day when we visited the library.  And on one occasion someone brought a box with an un-finished Quilt-as-you-go Log Cabin. This was maybe our first Quilt rescue. It has been untouched for nearly 30 years!

I can date this quilt.
The fabric:       early1980's.  (Earth tones. Calico)
The technique: early 1980's. (Quilt-as-you-go... )
The batting:      early 1980's. (Polyester...)
Way it was cut: early 1980's. (No rotary cutters then)

But there are 20 blocks set in 5 rows, 4 in each row.
This should be a quick finish.

I will post pictures when it is complete!

CathyH

Yo-Yos

June.  I want to work on quilts.

My goal: touch a different quilt project (and work on it!) every day in June.

Today I am evaluating a Quilt I Rescued.  A Yo-yo Quilt.  Well.  Technically you would call it a coverlet since it has no batting and no backing.

I received it in sad shape.  

Some of the yo-yos were sewn with two large stitches of black thread.

Some of the yo-yos had visible knots in the thread that connected them.

BUT  - it is a LOVELY quilt.  44 blocks of 36 yo-yos.  1584 yo-yos!!  Half of them are muslin.  The other half are made from SWEET 30's fabrics, I think!  And the blocks are not just random scraps - they have a common color theme in each one!! 

The yo-yos are constructed well - the gathering step that actually created the yo-yo.  The stitching that holds the yo-yos together ... well... is not uniform.  It suggests the possibility that this was actually a quilt made by more than one person.  But I would like the stitching to look the same throughout the quilt.

So.  Last year I started re-sewing the yo-yos together.  I tear out the old stitching and put in new stitching.  6 whip-stitches between each pair of yo-yos.  

I have completed 23 squares.

I plan to make the quilt 7 blocks by 6 blocks - 42 altogether.  So I still have 19 blocks to re-sew.

I timed myself sewing yo-yos together.  I think it takes about 2 minutes each.

2 minutes x 60 places to stitch on each block = 2 hours per block.

19 blocks @ 2 hours each = 38 hours.

Then I still need to sew all the blocks together.

Today I worked on this.  I WILL finish it. One yo-yo at a time.  Over a few days or weeks or months.