Old Movie Fest and Boxy Stars!

I've been having a great time up at the cabin solo ---

And lest you think I’m ignoring family, I’m not.

The Hubster is in a tennis tournament all weekend – several matches today and matches tomorrow if he wins today, so he isn’t home.

Jeff is working, so he isn't home!

If I’m going to be home alone – I’d just as soon it be up here where it feels more like relaxation time to me than OFFICE time.  I think there are a lot of folks who work from home who feel like they never get to leave work – that it is always hovering –and sometimes I feel that way too.  I like a change of venue, even if I still AM technically working – it doesn’t feel like it up here.  There is less pulling at me.  ((And of course, who else is going to stock the fridge for Christmas?!))

I don’t know if you can see what’s playing on my laptop ---it’s Alfred Hitchcock’s REAR WINDOW. 

I've got a rather large collection of old classic movies on DVD, most of them gifted by my mom and step-dad over the years.  I’m always excited to see what they've sent ---and a nice little stack arrived with mom’s table runner gift the other day so I've been enjoying an old movie fest while sewing my Boxy Stars top together!

Pressing blocks to Doris Day!

I had a duo of Doris Day –Do Not Disturb and Lucky Me started off the day.  I love musicals – and oh those dresses and outfits and cars from the 50s.  LOVE LOVE LOVE!  How many yards of fabric went into one of those skirts anyway?

As the day progressed I’ve moved on to Hitchcock ---the movie is on pause as I write this quickly, mostly to give ME a break from the creepy feelings it brings!  I love a good Hitchcock!

Blocks laid out with cornerstones and sashings!

Several asked for ANOTHER explanation of webbing the top – Here I’ve folded column TWO against column ONE with right sides together.  Sometimes it feels weird because the block is larger than the sashing underneath…..but this is how you start.  Pick up the pairs of  units from the top of the quilt down to the bottom and sew down the column –sashing to cornerstone, block to sashing, sashing to cornerstone, block to sashing…..all the way down.

Column 3 being added

Column 3 adds a cornerstone to the sashing, a sashing to the block, cornerstone to the sashing, sashing to the block…all the way down the quilt.  Just pick up one column at a time keeping the units in order from top to bottom, and sew them on, leaving the chaining threads between the blocks and the sashings until the whole top is webbed together.

Here we are all sewn into rows ---and there are chaining threads on each corner of each cornerstone holding the top together.

Webbed top on floor.

From here I can cut the rows apart and press them, or leave them connected and press them.  I can sew the whole thing together WITHOUT clipping the chaining threads.  If you DO cut it apart…just cut one row off at a time and add it to the previous row….this way you don’t get the rows mixed up or upside down. 

What I like about this method is that I have already laid out the cornerstones where I want the colors to fall.  There is no guesswork.  There is no getting things out of order – there is no turning blocks around, what you see is what you get!

The free pattern for Boxy Stars is found under the free patterns tab at the top of the blog HERE. It's a great project made from 2.5" strips and squares -- Jelly roll friendly even!  Have you made one?

And tonight I’ll be sewing the rows together ---creeping myself out in a cabin in the mountains all by myself with Alfred Hitchcock!

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