Blue Stars

I'm very excited to have another UFO top completed.  This one - Blue Stars - used a set of blocks I won almost 2 years ago. Each month at Saturday Sampler we can bring a bonus block and a chance to win all of the bonus blocks for that month.  These star blocks are all made using the same block pattern, but look unique due to arrangement of the colors.  There were 15 blocks total, so I still have a couple that I'll probably use for a small project. 

I just couldn't decide how to lay these out when I first brought them home, and so it was a project that kept moving in and out of my UFO pile.  Finally last winter I chose this layout, but then was left with a decision on borders. I had lots of blue scraps and even had a stack of blue and while half square triangles. The scraps made perfect piano keys and the HST were put together for corners.  Considering that it was a design that was made up as I went along, I'm really happy with the end result. 

Another sampler block

It is sideways - and it is not the best photo to begin with.

This is the most recent block for Saturday Sampler. It looked really tricky, but went together so easily. Love it!

I finally got a Saturday with lots of sewing time while my husband played in the state Senior's golf tournament. The second round of the tournament is played today and I plan to spend some quality time in my sewing room again. Can't wait to show you the progress on another UFO!

Jeepers Creepers!

This cute little Halloween panel just needs a little hand quilting, binding, and a hanging sleeve on the back.  It is actually a fat quarter. 

Just enough hand quilting to give it some dimension - that's all I plan to do.  And it's a perfect project to take with me in the car next time I am riding along with someone. 

Trick or Treat Bag

On Sunday I finally had a two hour window of time for sewing and I took advantage of it.  My husband left about 9:30 to play in a golf tournament, right after a visiting friend left as well.  And my daughter and granddaughter were not arriving until about noon to go to a baby shower with me. Ah - peace and quiet to do whatever I wanted. And of course I needed wanted to sew something.

This sweet bag is a pattern from our Wash Tub Club that was intended for an old fashioned shopping bag.  I pictured a Trick or Treat bag using some of the Halloween fabrics I've collected. I ended up choosing two fat quarters from a little bundle I bought recently to make the body of the bag. And the bundle was wrapped with the little black net bow - and I even used that on the bag.  And I made the whole thing in that 2 hours!

Hexagon Star

Since I haven't done any sewing in a couple of weeks due to work and family visiting, I thought that I would show you the last thing I did finish.  I hand quilted this little project.

This is the center of my Hexagon Star table topper. I like it so much that I'm planning to make another using Christmas fabrics. And it is just the right size for the small round table in my kitchen bay window.

another project idea

 There has been no time to sew for over a week, but I did go through my Halloween fabrics and do some sorting. I won this block in a giveaway a couple of years ago. I love it and was thinking I would turn it into a wallhanging.  But it would be a great start for a round robin quilt, don't you think?  

A Slice of Summer

I finally got the additional hand quilting added to this watermelon table runner. I've called it "A Slice of Summer". 

It is on my dining room table and I get to enjoy it now.  One more UFO is done and checked off my list.

Heartland Quilters Guild

I've finally joined the local quilt guild after several years of thinking about it.  I'm not sure why I haven't joined other than the usual excuse of not having time. But I finally decided than I really do have time to be involved more in the local quilters community.

I attended this month's meeting on Saturday where I got to enjoy members' show and tell projects, discussion of the quilt show coming up in September, and got a mini lesson on hand applique.  I'm so glad I joined!

Piano keys

After some major fabric auditions and hunting through pattern books for ideas, I've returned to the idea of keeping things simple.

So . . . the borders on my Blue Stars quilt will have a deep navy blue narrow inner border and then an wider second border done with simple piano keys.  I have lots a scraps left from a blue and white frosty quilt I made a couple of years ago. I used some of those fabrics in my star in this quilt. And now I can use up more of them in these piano keys. And I've collected a few more blue snowflake prints while trying to decide how to finish this quilt. So I should have plenty to choose from.

And maybe I'll do some small stars in the corners. It does feel good to finally make a decision and start cutting and sewing.

Needs more quilting

 My watermelon table runner was all done and on my dining room table. But I just was not happy with how it looked. Finally I decided that the border needed more quilting so that it would lie flatter and have more dimension.

So I'm adding a row of hand quilting on either side of the center row. Now I really like it. Just for fun at the corners I have crossed the outside row and turned it into the inside row. And the inside row crossed the center to become the new outside row. I use masking tape to mark my straight rows which is a big time saver.

Next task is waiting

This partial top is my UFO goal for August. It needs borders, and those borders need to help smooth out a slightly wavy top.  I've taken today off and hope to make some decisions on those borders today and maybe even get a little sewing done.

I've posted about this top before, and then it ended up hanging in my closet just waiting.

The blocks are ones that I won at a Saturday Sampler over a year ago. All are beautiful blue stars, but a couple were slightly small. And I didn't want to trim off points to make the bigger ones smaller. So I cheated on seam allowances. And the result just doesn't lay as flat as I would like. I'm hoping that borders and quilting and washing will solve the problem.