I didn’t spend ALL day trimming triangles…
I worked on completing Maverick Stars blocks turned into Wonky Wishes blocks ---
Until I had enough of a stack that I could start laying them out.
I’m really liking these…but the setting of them is still stumping me just a bit. I didn’t want to do “ordinary” you know? I want something wowser for them, but maybe wowser will happen all by itself when I put them together?
I know the stars kind of disappear – it’s a very blendy low contrast block, but I like that effect. I love the combination of modern fabrics mixed with old traditional ones and novelties, and a sprinkling of recycled plaids.
This quilt was “continued” as another way to dig into that over burgeoning 2-1/2” squares drawer ---
2-1/2” units are not my favorite size. I generally like my piecing smaller and tend to use the 2” squares more ---so these have grown and grown and grown as I continued to cut them ((Let this be a lesson!! Only store what you are going to use!)) and I have two projects running to use them up. This one…and the Split 9-Patch Leader & Ender Challenge. ((How are you coming on that one?!?!))
Here are 20 blocks laid out on my floor:
I like the light areas of carpet showing between the blocks..
I think a light sashing of some sort….will bring the stars out more the way the carpet has.
It’s not very big….and a little voice is nagging at me that this will not cover either of my sons who are 6'3" and 6'4" respectively…and I need to make it one row longer and one row wider. So I still have 10 blocks to go…that’s 40 more stars.
40 more stars will use up 360 more 2-1/2” squares. So yes, I’ll keep sewing on this one a while longer, watching the 2-1/2" squares drawer recede a bit farther while the sashing idea percolates.
On the Trimming of the Triangles front…
I got tired of standing at the cutting table in the basement. The floor down in the sewing nook is tile. Not only is tile HARD on the feet-- even with shoes on, it’s DANG COLD as well!
The basement is on a concrete slab, and with it being under 20 f degrees for most of the day, even though the air in the basement is warm, the FLOOR is freezing, radiating right up through the bottom of my shoes to my poor chilly feet.
We will be making a trip to town today and on the list is a fatigue mat for in front of the cutting table.
Still, standing and cutting for hours on end is tiring, and after the Hubster had gone to bed, I moved my cutting station to the little kitchen breakfast bar:
That’s my comfy seat cushion on the chair!
Baggies of triangles, a good sharp rotary blade, and Netflix on my Toshiba tablet = one happy girl!
I finished Season 5 of Damages, and emptied the little lunch box!
I am in no way done in the triangle department.
MORE BAGGIES FULL!!
These are from 2 other quilts…the purple ones on the left are from Lazy Sunday. The green/brown and other batik ones on the right are from Texas Tumbleweeds, both of which are making an appearance in the next book due out SOON, so very SOON now….and they have sat untamed in baggies for way too long.
((And is anyone else wondering what they would do without gallon sized zip-lock bags for their quilting parts?! I can’t live without them!))
It’s a small goal to get these tamed, trimmed and pressed so they are ready for another project to snap them up.
It’s mindless work.
But you know what? With as busy of a schedule I’ve been keeping – doing something so simple that does not have a deadline feels like a luxury.
The gift of having a day free to do nothing but watch movies and trim triangles? BLISS!
For info on saving bonus triangles in useable sizes click HERE.
If you have baggies of untamed triangles and want a great way to trim them, click HERE.
For info on saving bonus triangles in useable sizes click HERE.
If you have baggies of untamed triangles and want a great way to trim them, click HERE.
Jason and his buddies will be arriving late this evening. There will be freshly baked cookies waiting for them. ((It’s a mom thing, I know!))
They will get a good night’s sleep and I’ll feed them a good big breakfast and they will be off to Sugar for snow-boarding tomorrow which should be fantastic with the newly fallen snow.
After snow boarding they have to head right back to South Carolina as all have to work on Saturday, but it will be great having them here for one night.
For those working toward our next Mystery Link-Up – it’s getting closer! SUNDAY is the day, not Monday. We are celebrating Groundhog’s Day with a link up post. I’ll leave it up for a week, so you can add your link anytime until Saturday, Feb 8th at 11:55pm EST.
I’m looking forward to all that you have to share!
Have a great Thursday, everyone ---
34 comments:
Hi Bonnie! Wow you made some progress and I really love the "blendy" stars! I think the few brighter pieces make your eye look around for the star and it makes it kind of twinkly looking! I think it's going to be gorgeous!! Yummo on the cookie's...now that the seed is planted I might have to bake today too :). Will warm up my rainy day in FL also. :) I plan on sewing the day away too :)! Have a good one! Vanessa
I love the maverick star blocks and once you laid them out on that light carpet, the stars really showed up to the party. I think light sashing would be a great idea.
There's nothing like fixing food and preparing the home front (cabin in your case...how wonderful) for the kids to come home to. My kids are all married with kids of their own. I still do that! Love being a mom! And grandma! Love your quilt...I think it sparkles...you are such an inspiration to me...thanks!
I agree with you that the light space between the star blocks sets them off nicely, so light sashing would probably be best. A bold/bright color block in each corner, maybe (using up more 2/12" squares)?
This is ANOTHER pattern I'm going to have to add to my Bucket List! Dang! I'm going to have to live to be 126 to finish everything on the list!
Pat in Auburn, WA
2 things just popped in my head-
1 - are you sitting and cutting?
2 - how about WONKY sashing around your squares. Put your extra wide sashing and than use your square up ruler and "wonk" it at what ever angle tickles your fancy!!!
what a cute quilt! I can't wait to see how you finish it. what about light sashing made of strings on a diagonal and wonky friendship stars in the cornerstones/
How about light maverick stars for the corner stones (sashing intersections)? I know, you still need something for the actual sashing strips in between....
Love your quilt and how you are using up scraps. An idea: I keep an old hot water bottle in my sewing room just for my feet. When it cools. I stretch while going to warm it up. It's not a perfect solution but it helps!
I got one of those cushions for Christmas and love it. Since I am a saver of those triangles I will keep this idea in my memory bank
How about dark wonky star points at the ends of the light sashing with dark corner stones that become star centers?passe
I really like this quilt, I'll have to add it to my list of quilts!
The star blocks are wonderful. Those stars just gently glimmer from amidst all the color!
Fatigue mat--good idea! I lived for 25 years on a ground level, concrete floor and I never had so much leg and back pain as I did then!!
Can't wait to see the quilts in the new book!!
I like the way those star blocks seem to be "sparkling"! I also like the light sashing idea. How about a pieced sashing with some low contrast diamonds in it? Have fun with your boys, bake something good, and have a super day!
Enjoy your SNOW days! Sparkly stars on your carpet. Light sashing with fun cornerstones sounds good. My 21/2" bins are FULL to the brim also!
Sooo, this is a test to see if this posts. I just left a post but it must be in cyber land somewhere. Love your scrappy Wonky Wishes. I have 90 blocks done of Split 9 patch Leader/Ender and my Pfefferneuse from from your Spring Fling book is half done while working on Celtic Solstice which will have borders on by the end of the day. Stay warm and Sew on...
it worked!!! Now if I could just figure out how to do the picture thing with my name and profile. Sew on everyone, have a good day!
Love these blocks and I think the stars shine. I would use wide sashing, 4" maybe and make stars as the corner blocks, no borders. Hope you find a good solution for the cold feet.
Love this chatty post. I also love to have Quiltcam on as company - you have Netflix - I have Quiltcam lol! I don't mind trimming - I have a board that rotates that I put on my lap, I set myself up on the sofa, TV on, bin near me and off I go - get up every now and then, and stretch. But them again, I rarely have a gazillion to do!!!
I love the star blocks and think lighter sashing will set them off perfectly. If you were here, I'd send you to a flea market to get your fatigue mat. There's a booth there with lots of them, all sizes. Enjoy your time with the boys.
Myrna in KY
Hello Bonnie, the quilt is great, I love wonky's and yes put in a sashing of lighter material, do you have to put in sashing that is thin? perhaps a wider width sashing would be interesting with a wonky squared boarder. Thanks you all your tips, I enjoy reading about your time spent sewing and quilting, and by the way my kids got me for christmas a heat/massage sweater/boot gizmo for my cold tootises......
Seeing all the blocks laid out, the star points do show up great.
If you decide to sash, how about tiny maverick stars as cornerstones?
Looking forward to your next book, thanks for all you give of yourself.
Sharyn in Kalama
It is amazing to see how the stars stand out in the block with the pale carpet acting as sashing. The stars are so much more distinctive than when you see the individual block picture. I would say you have found the answer to your sashing dilemma - a fabric just like your carpet! Loved watching your latest quilt-cam. Watched it from the UTube archive, sitting outside on our back deck in the sunshine in New Zealand. I am now fired up to make some Maverick stars too but will have to cut lots more 2.5" squares than I have in my stash back in the UK. Happy trimming and sewing!
I love how this quilt is coming along! But I love all of your quilts! Maybe put a scrappy star in the lattice at the corners where the blocks will meet? Just an idea.
I can see the stars in a Dancing 9 patch configuration ... ok, Dancing 36 patch...with a dark strip added on two sides.... and then with the sashing a light color. The "dancing" stripe would add over 1/2 block across, and a full block down in size?
marci 357
Ok, let me get this correct, please ;). You are cutting, snipping and posting as well as baking cookies and this is a RELAXING DAY!
Bonnie, whatever you eat or drink for this energy, please send a case of it to me!!! Mercy friend, do you have energy!
Smiles, JulieinTN
Love the quilt, I too think light sashing and for corner stones, I thought of flip and turn corners for more stars!
I love baking cookies for young men...they are so appreciative!
Loving the Wonky Stars lay out! Maybe do the setting from the Dancing Nine patches? Then you would have Dancing Wonky Nine Patch Stars! You even saved some of the chocolate chips to make cookies-more will power than I have! Yeah, hate the cold cement floor of the basement, but beats no basement! Often perch on a stool to get my fee off the floor. Have a great time feeding the "boys" and enjoying their energy!
string or crumb sashing for the Wonky Wishes???? and brrrr
Hi Bonnie, Love the quilt laid out on the light carpeting. I think the light sashing would be good but maybe you could do a dark star at each of the intersections. Just a thought. I have the same problem with my studio floor - it's a concrete slab. the polar vortex has made it too dang cold on some days to work down there. Stay safe & warm.
I had a hard time seeing the stars until you placed them on the carpet...then they really popped! I agree the light sashing is just what you need!
By the way, I have and use that cushion sitting on the seat of your bar stool ALL the time when I sew. It seems to help a bunch!
I so see wider sashing with pinwheels for cornerstones!! This is going to be beautiful!!!
I really love your twinkling star quilt! Yes the light sashing is just the ticket, maybe made with strings?
As I read your cold floor dilemma. I thought of that foam mat. Then I thought of my little ceramic heater. My studio is at the back of our tny house in an adult community. It's an add on room and sits on a cement slab while the rest of the house has a crawl space. I love my heater. Thanks for all you do for me and the rest of us.
Oh I forgot...How about using those blocks as centers for larger stars? JAT
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