Stretched Star Project

I had a few questions about the beginnings of this quilt. Before they were signed, I ironed freezer paper onto the back of large pieces of high-thread-count muslin then cut them into 4-1/2" squares. I marked the stitching lines with a blue water-soluble marker before the party so the signers would know where their script boundaries were! I would have hated to cut off a blessing with a seam line. We had a basket for each child's blocks (there were 3 children and 3 different patterns, naturally). The corners (that look like little bow ties when the blocks are assembled) are 2-1/2" squares.

One day after school was finished, the kids and I made up some unsigned squares with words of encouragement and parts of Bible verses to even out the number of squares.

My sewing time is severely limited these days because of school. eating. school. laundry. school. chauffeuring. Are you seeing a pattern here??

Stay tuned for more progress. Does anyone have an idea how to maintain the pattern design while enlarging the quilt to be twin-sized? I want to add more color (not so much more cream). I want to add borders but don't want to spend a lot of time piecing them. I also don't want to just use one single piece of fabric. Any ideas (especially with pictures!) are appreciated.

~Joan

The Race Is On...

This is one of our first-year square foot garden squares. What is that green orb about halfway up along the left edge?? Could it be??


Let's move in for a closer look. Our first watermelon!! The reason the race is on is because I am not sure this little beauty will have time to ripen before the frost comes. It will be close. I need to check into how one makes a little support net before it breaks off from the sheer weight. Our plants that started as seeds never made it past the primary leaves, so we bought an established plant. Next year, I'll be watching those seedlings myself more closely.
We learned a lot from the garden this year, and look forward to doing better next year. Now that the boxes are built and in place, it will be much easier.

~Joan

Extra Seating...Finally!

Finally! I started this little project a l-o-n-g time ago. I remember hoping to get it finished before a friend stayed with us for college spring break...this past spring?? This is the hearth for our fireplace. When you have ten in your family and visitors often, you look for any extra seating you can get. This fabric is a thick, upholstery fabric. It was much more difficult to sew than I would have imagined, but it is finished.

I am the proud new owner of a new camera as well, so I hope to get back to blogging more frequently soon.

Drop me a line if you're still reading this!

~Joan

PS: We do NOT have fires in the fireplace...it's just too warm here most of the time. If we do want a fire, the cushion can easily be removed, however. I love the rich yet warm red color. I looked at a lot of fabrics before I picked that one.