My first Feathered Star and some finishes

Seems like I haven't posted in awhile but I sure have been busy sewing. Sometimes I just feel the urge to sew like crazy and this week was one of those times. I actually ended up with several finishes, cleaned up some areas of the studio and tried out some precision piecing all while feeling a bit of a cold. And we babysat the grandchildren twice! How is it that some weeks I can get so much done and other weeks it feels like I have accomplished nothing! Anyway, first up is my first attempt at a feathered star. I followed an online tutorial on a blog, It's Molly's Place, and in one long morning made this block. I am really pleased with how it turned out and now have the confidence to try this block again in a bigger project. Careful cutting, a perfect seam allowance and slow careful stitching were all it took to get good results.

That afternoon I quilted and bound it making this cute little wall hanging.

It should complement this batik quilt, Winter Blooms, which I quilted the following day. Sadly you cannot see much of the quilting in these photos. This will be perfect hanging in my livingroom after the Christmas chaos when I am in the mood for these more serene colors.

And speaking of Christmas, I quilted and bound this Sampler Magic quilt from a pattern by Lori Smith that I made to use on my bed at Christmas. I love the non traditional colors and touches of shiny gold. Perfect to add a little bling to the holiday.

And my Mystery Gone Astray quilt is now ready to be used as a throw when I decorate the livingroom for Christmas. This quilt began it's life as a mystery quilt but after making 200 flying geese units I saw a photo of a quilt like this and decided to come up with the pattern and use those units in this quilt instead. The mystery was revealed a week ago and I like my version better so I am happy I followed my gut on this one.

Bonnie Hunter's mystery should be beginning next month so I have been clearing the decks to get ready for some power piecing to start. The colors have not yet been released but I am starting to think about what colors I might use, hope I can just raid my stash!

 

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My Mystery gone astray

To celebrate both Canada Day and July 4th I decided to do a little red and white sewing this week. I belong to 2 quilt guilds and one of them has a mystery quilt project. A new clue is give each month and by the end of the year we will end up with a quilt. This year's mystery required only two fabrics with good contrast, though you could go scrappy, and size is determined by the size of your pieces. I have wanted a red and white quilt for a long time and thought this would be the perfect chance. Our first clue had us making lots and lots of either HSTs or flying geese units. Mission accomplished and then I went searching online to look at Red and White quilts. Oh dear, I saw a quilt I just loved and hoped that my mystery would be that quilt. Another look at the second clue and I knew it was not to be. But I just could not get that quilt out of my head. So I decided to to figure out how to do it and started making components.

It is basically an Irish Chain and I am using the Flying Geese in the sashing sections to make the stars appear.

It is pretty small as I am using 1" finished squares. Once this all gets sewn together there will be a few very simple borders and I will have a great little throw or large table topper, perfect for Canada Day, July 4th, Christmas or even Valentines Day.

Now I think I might have to go back do the mystery in Blue and White!

Finally, I just wanted to share these lovely hydrangeas. These grow in my backyard but I can't see them where they are growing so they are perfect for cutting for indoors!

 

 

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