I’ve been busy with Thanksgiving and other projects this week, but today, Friday, I got to thinking about making a wonky star. I’ve never done one before but it didn’t look too difficult.

So here it is, almost midnight and I’m in no shape to do any sewing now. However I want to have something to show you.

A quick sketch of a wonky star is beyond wonky, a disaster.. The harder I try, the shakier my hands get.

 Anyhow, you get the idea.

I started by cutting 2 1/2 inch squares in gray. I found a very pretty pink charm square, by Alison Glass, for the primary print.

It’s late and I’m at my deadline. This is how far I got with the piecing.

I’m happy with the fabrics against the gray. This may be the beginning of a 2020 series with gray background.

 i’m looking forward to seeing all your great projects this week.

I’m linking up with Angela at http://superscrappy.blogspot.com/and Cynthia at http://quiltingismorefunthanhousework.blogspot.com/

This week I decided to do some experimenting with color samples. As most of you know, I prefer bright colors, so I decided to see what happens with subdued colors.

From my stack of 10-inch squares I chose a couple of dull hues, a dark olive and an insipid faded rose.  I rough-cut four strips of each and paired them up on my portable design board, the backside of an old painting.

The addition of varied color scraps was a simple way to compare results.

The more I study this arrangement, the less I like it. What did I learn? Exactly what I expected, that dull colors and bright ones don’t really go well together.

1. The aqua, teal scraps don’t work at all because they are all too bright.

2. The warm orange and yellow samples blend better with the dull green, but not really with the rose color.

3. The purple and. the lime green don’t blend in at all, but seem too bright.

4. Neither the bright blue nor the soft blue fit in anywhere.

What is the answer for the subdued colors?. Several months ago I had divided most of my scraps into bright colors and dull ones. Then I randomly pieced together the soft colored scraps and bordered them in brown. I was very happy with it and have it hanging in my bedroom.

 My conclusion? For the most part the bright colors and the subdued ones prefer to play separately. This is quite evident in comparing Civil War repro fabrics to bright modern colors, with the exception of cheddar, a popular bright 19th century dye, as well as the familiar red, white and blue.

Each of us as quilters have our favorite color combinations and this endless variety is what makes quilts so special, each one unique to its maker.

I’m linking up with Angela at http://superscrappy.blogspot.com/and Cynthia at http://quiltingismorefunthanhousework.blogspot.com/

The latest wrap up and finish that I’m trying to do for 2019 is using the 10-inch squares that I made with 2 1/2 inch strips, another Rainbow Scrap Challenge project this year. The only difficulty is that the pieced strips were wider, at 10 1/2 inches and longer before I trimmed them down.

Finally, I got them all trimmed down to 10 inches and paired them with 10 inch solid color squares. Here is the layout before stitching them together.

i’m very happy with this arrangement, and at 40 inches square it will make a nice baby quilt. This post is very last minute, but at least I got something done to show.

We are having bitter cold weather with occasional snow so again I stay indoors to do my quilting.

I hope all of you have a good week.

I’m linking up with Angela at http://superscrappy.blogspot.com/and Cynthia at http://quiltingismorefunthanhousework.blogspot.com/

With the ending of this year I’m taking stock of what I have accumulated for future projects. My favorite size block is 8 inches finished. I don’t like working on very small things, partly because I have difficulty doing handwork, so everything I do is done by machine. I also have done lots of projects using pre-cuts, so the 2 1/2 inch size and multiples of that work best.

I collected all my finished blocks and set them out to see what I’ve got.

These are the ones that are calling my name. The majority are improv blocks, which I do love to make. Along with some stars I have about 25 eight-inch blocks. i’m thinking about framing them in white or gray sashing. The little houses will have to wait for another day.

I don’t have very many UFOs because I have finished those that I’m able to give to charity. Of course, this is not talking about my stash yet. I’ve been able to whittle it down quite a bit. However two days ago a friend was given some donated fabrics and I was there when I was able to pick some out for myself.

The two lengths of floral fabric are each about 60 inches. I just love the luscious flowers. The dark green with tiny crosses is about 4 yards long. This will have to be a special quilt, something I’ll be thinking of for the new year.

We have had some very early snow, 11 inches so far this year. With snow on the ground, then on sunny days all the heat is reflected back upwards and the temps are lower. But it’s lovely to look out at the snow, great quilting weather.

I’m linking up with Angela at http://superscrappy.blogspot.com/and Cynthia at http://quiltingismorefunthanhousework.blogspot.com/

I belong to a group of quilters both here in the USA and in Great Britain, the Endeavourers, who meet online quarterly for a challenge. The subject is chosen by a random drawing from a list of images or ideas. This quarter, ending on November 1, is the theme of dreams.

I don’t remember any of my dreams these days, but when I was young I dreamt frequently and some of them were happy and others sometimes scary. So I decided to show a young girl having some sweet dreams.

I found a fat quarter of a starry blue. I chose to fuse the images using Wonder Under. I cut out each one in a rough square and then fused them, using parchment paper to release them. Now that they were stiff it was easy to trim them down with sharp small scissors.

For a backing I fused this to a 9 x 12″ piece of Bosal N-R double-sided foam.

Finally I ran a simple pathway of stitching line going from the little girl then up and around all her dream images.

The challenge for me this time was to improve my fusing skills. Now I feel more confident and I’m happy with my project.

For the end of October we ended up with 8 inches of snow, a chance for some nice photos.

I’m linking up with Angela at http://superscrappy.blogspot.com/and Cynthia at http://quiltingismorefunthanhousework.blogspot.com/

One thing I learned last week while working on my stained glass window quilt was the difficulty in working with black. My Pfaff sewing machine is very functional. It has an LED light shining on the stitching area, more than my other machines had. Other than that I have the ceiling light.

In order to see my stitching line with all the black, I had to get really close to the needle area to make sure it was lined up.

When the project was complete, a lightbulb went off in my head. Why don’t I have more light on the subject? My answer, as usual, was to check on Amazon to look for additional lighting.

I wanted a floor lamp with flexible lighting and found this model, which had more than enough features.

It arrived on Monday and was not difficult to assemble. It has a very heavy sturdy base and the top flexible LED lamp. It fits very nicely alongside my sewing table and is just what I needed for complete coverage of the area. I keep it on the brightest lighting level and there’s no need to change that.

Voila! Isn’t it great? I don’t know why I didn’t do this a whole lot sooner.

I really didn’t get any quilting done this week because I am still continuing to have physical problems which keep me from sitting at the machine for any length of time. I did manage to wind a few bobbins.

My project for next week will be finishing a challenge wallhanging for the Endeavourers.

The fall colors have been lovely here, but they are on the way out. With the cold weather setting in I hope you are all staying warm and in good health.

I’m linking up with Angela at http://superscrappy.blogspot.com/and Cynthia at http://quiltingismorefunthanhousework.blogspot.com/

My Stained Glass Window turned out better than I could’ve expected. Framing the batiks in black was something I have always wanted to do, so doing the charm squares as part of the Rainbow Scrap Challenge was the perfect answer.

Despite some lingering health problems I was able to finish the project this afternoon. It was just in time to get it photographed with the help of my friends. The indoor view looked nicely finished with the added 2 1/2 inch black border.

I’ve decided not to quilt it, but to keep it for myself and hang it where I can enjoy the colors. Quilting it would destroy the effect of the stained glass.

The weather cooperated perfectly. Despite on and off rain the sun came out in late afternoon just in time for the final photo.

if you look closely you can see the quarter-inch seams shining through, which gives the squares a three-dimensional effect.

I am really thrilled that this project turned out better than I expected. I now have my own stained glass window like those in beautiful cathedrals.

I’m linking up with Angela at http://superscrappy.blogspot.com/and Cynthia at http://quiltingismorefunthanhousework.blogspot.com/