{Post 1,223} Shooting Star with Texture

You all know I'm not a professional photographer.  I'm not a professional anything.  I have a hard time getting a good picture of the texture of a quilt after it's washed and dried.  I'm sure it has to do with the lighting and angle and all.  Here are the best two shots of my Shooting Star in all its post-washed-and-dried glory.  

It's not custom, but it's what I can do!  I think it makes those lowly shirt pieces shine :)

{Post 1,218} Shooting Star is Finished Plus New Mini

It almost seems anticlimactic, but here is the finished Shooting Star on the wallbed.  I had never measured how big to make it, but I wanted there to be enough overhang for two people to be well covered (a former guest complained that the quilt on the bed was too small).  This drops about 18" on each side, so I think that is good!  Since it's a wallbed that gets put back up on the wall every night, too long is a complication as well!  Once the bed is against the wall, the bifold doors on each side close over the front, making it look like a closet.

I have picked out my next mini and wanted to try their construction technique before I used my own.  Here is the first star, which finishes at 4" square.  PS:  I used their technique, which was to cut out all the triangles instead of the flip and stitch with squares and rectanges that I usually do.

{Post 1,217} Little Bits of Progress

I'm trying to keep my chin up, but I feel horrible...my throat is so sore.  Just took Benadryl, so I'll be leaving soon......

I did a little sewing here and there through the day.  I also slept like a rock for a while.

Here is my half hexagon quilt.  My husband as quilt holder.  Six hexagons strong:

I also finished hand sewing the binding on my Pumpkin Patch.  We have friends coming to visit in about a month, and I think I'll give it to the wife, who is a very good friend of mine.

THIS is what 400" of binding looks like.  Pictures don't show scale, do they?  Well, this will have to be ironed out then ironed in half tomorrow.  I'm done for today.

Some of you have asked about this two-fabric binding technique.  I used it on this mini.  For my large (queen-sized) quilt, I added 1/4" to the accent fabric, cutting them in 2" strips.  I cut the black in 1-1/2" strips.  Directions for the binding are here.  I used invisible thread for the topstitching on my mini.  

{Post 1,215} Machine Quilting Finished on Shooting Star!

I woke up with a horrid sore throat and feel like I've got a low-grade fever.  It seems like allergy symptoms.  It's sad not to be able to be outside, but it is my life.

I only had about 25" of quilting to do (by 95" wide!) to finish up the Shooting Star quilt.  I was able to get it finished and unpinned from the frame.  It turned out so well.  I took a few photos, but they don't do the texture justice.  

The sample binding went well, but I wanted to add a little more of the accent fabric, so I sewed a sample piece of that, and it turned out great.  That is the next big step for this quilt.  Did I mention that the binding is all done by machine?  I do need nearly 400" of binding, but I know it will be finished soon.

These are all pics of the back except for the first one.

{Post 1,213} More Machine Quilting, New Binding Style & Tumblers

Getting a lot of sewing done today.  I have to leave in 15 minutes for an emergency ortho visit about 45 minutes away, but you can bet I'll be sewing in the waiting room.

My red checkerboard mini is the guinea pig for my new binding style (the one I'll be using on my Shooting Star quilt).  I machine quilted it and will pull the threads to the back and bury them at the ortho's.  Here is the quilt and a closeup of the binding.  I put a bobby pin on the quilt for comparison.  I plan to make the accent color on the Shooting Star binding a little wider.

This is 14-1/2" square.

Machine quilting progress:

One more row on the tumblers (each tiny tumbler measures 1-1/2" tall):

I am thinking another row or two on this, then frame it with a border and quilt it.  

{Post 1,211} A New Experience I Don't Wish to Repeat

I went to a new-to-me place today...a Goodwill clearance center.  All clothing is $1.29 a pound.  I got 9 shirts for $7.  That's the good news.  More good news is that one of the shirts was for a dress-up occasion my daughter has for youth group Wednesday night.  I was meeting my son for lunch afterwards and felt like I had to wash my hands with bleach up to my arms.  The clothes didn't smell, but it was the aura of the place, you know?

When I got home, I washed and dried my new haul of shirts (like I needed some more).  Then I machine quilted a little more.  I got to about halfway on my Shooting Star quilt.  It is a bit tedious for me, so I'm only doing a little at a time.

I was gone most of the day today, but tomorrow is laundry day, so I'll be downstairs most of the time.  Sounds like a good time to do more machine quilting.

{Post 1,209} Shooting Star Quilting Started

This next paragraph might seem disjointed, but bear with me!

Last night I was finishing up some piecing and was still plugging away at my new leader/ender project (501).  I had so many 2" red squares cut out from long ago that I thought I could spare a few for this first item pictured.  I am making some mini quilts for a quilt wall.  I don't know if it will be in my bedroom or sewing room.  Maybe one in each.  Anyway, I pieced and basted this last night (for future hand quilting).  It is 14-1/2" square.  Mostly Thimbleberries.  A few oddball creams thrown in.  It is a charming quilt, meaning the same red was not used twice.

I went round and round with quilting ideas for the Shooting Star quilt.  I am not as accomplished at custom quilting as I would like.  I wanted to do something outstanding since it will be our guest room quilt, but not spend a lifetime on it, you know?  I have an amazing binding treatment I am going to use.  You will just have to wait for that.

Although I was eager to get this started, I had some self control.  Last night I went to bed determined not to start any quilting until I had cleaned out our kitchen desk area.  Six upper cabinet doors that hid a plethora of junk plus four drawers beneath.  Intimidating, but I wanted to do it before my son (who has been visiting at his aunt's this week) got back (tonight).  That is his school desk and where he uses the computer.  Weeeeeell, I woke up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed at...wait for it...3:30 AM!!  I tried to go back to sleep, but couldn't.  I hate it when that happens.  But then I stopped hating and got busy.  Not only did I finish the desk/counter, but I also scrubbed the wood around all our countertops.    The messy build-up and grunge happen so gradually, you know?  I didn't realize how nasty it was until I had cleaned a small portion.  

I ironed my quilt back, so pleased with how it turned out.  Then I loaded this monster.  It. is. so big.

Here is a picture from the front (on the 10" wide black border) and one from the underside.

{Post 1,208} Shooting Stars Back Surprisingly Finished

Much to my surprise, the backing for my quilt is finished.  I just sewed like-width pieces together in 100" lengths, then sewed them to each other in rows.  When I tossed it up and over the design wall to see how big it is, voila!  It was a little too wide, but that is the seed for my next back!  Amazing!!  It's not pretty, but it's functional!  The second picture is when it was in strips on the floor.  Very difficult to judge size there!  I only had a few small pieces of what I had already cut left over.  So satisfying.

A bonus is that I have 60/180 five-inch squares cut for a future shirt quilt as well as a basket of 1-1/2" strips (for log cabins) and lots of pieces for my Shirts Abound coming up (and already under production).

Here is the before and after of my shirt stash.  The 5 shirts on the shelf (which I mistakenly thought were 4 in my previous post) are back there.  I haven't completely deboned them.  I took a sleeve off of each for Shirts Abound.

{Post 1,207} Shooting Star Quilt Top Finished

Here is my whole Shooting Stars quilt top, finished!  It is huge...108" x 94".  Should cover the bed quite nicely.

The black border is 10" wide.  I am debating about how to quilt it now.

{Post 1,205} Shooting Star Blocks Added

This AM I sewed the last 5 Shooting Star block centers.  I took a couple pics in progress for a new e-friend who asked for directions.  I double sew the squares so I have a little HST block for my future pinwheel quilt.

The thing to notice in the picture is that the square is 1/4" away from one edge of the rectangle.  This lets the stars "float" a little inside the black so no points are cut off.

Here is the finished star block center:

Here is the quilt with the new blocks laid out beside it, all ready for borders on them:

After lunch I will be doing much pressing and cutting of shirts.  I am going to make a 9-patch on point in the future with shirts as the alternate blocks, and I will need 180 five-inch blocks for that.  I am going to use up non-favorite shirts for the back of the Shooting Star quilt.  I will use the biggest squares possible, plus rectangles.  I am going to make rows of blocks for the back, not necessarily the same size, but the largest I can to utilize the biggest chunks of fabric.  I figure while I'm handling the fabric, I might as well cut for all of these.  Naturally, all else goes into my scrap bin for half hexagons or string quilts/borders.

{Post 1,202} Shooting Star Blocks United

I finished sewing this center together just a few minutes ago.  It measures 73" square.  Now to decide if this is it, or if it needs to be enlarged.

The little contraption in the bottom right corner is the arm for my sewing machine where one feeds a cone's thread through.  I had to stand as far back as I could to get the whole quilt in the picture!

{Post 1,201} Shooting Stars Coming Along

So far on my Shooting Star quilt, I have 3 rows entirely pieced and sewn together.  After supper (baked fish, baked potatoes, and steamed broccoli), I am going to sew some more while my husband is off working out and then while he watches a movie with the kids.  I only sewed for about 45 minutes today, but it was the one thing I really wanted to do.  Where does the time go?

The "disappearing" block is shown as a close-up after the picture of the first 3 rows.  This measures 73" across and the quilt will be 73" square when finished.  I might enlarge it so that it can be used in our guest bedroom as a bed quilt.  We have a double-sized mattress wallbed in there, but no quilts just right to fit it (except one that I think was taken by one of my children).  Probably should check on that as we are having guests in August.

{Post 1,181} Catching Up

I haven't been posting a lot for several reasons.  The primary reason is that my camera broke.  I thought it was just needing a new battery (the old one was purchased in 2009!).  So I ordered a new one, and it came in after a few days.  Still not working!  I ordered a new camera Saturday.  Of course, that means learning a new camera.    I don't like learning new things that previously were second-nature.  But I shall learn again!

Last week I started putting out patriotic decor.  In January I bought a very faded wooden flag hanger that had potential.  Problem was, I couldn't find it.  Hmmm...

Found it this AM in the storage cabinets in my laundry room.  Oh, yeah, why didn't I look there in the first place?  Well, truth is, I did.  I just didn't see it.  There were a few things in the way.  So I purged and reorganized those four 6-feet tall cabinets this AM.  Here it is on the wall outside my front door.  Picture taken with my Acer tablet (another new skill!):

The search for the missing flag sparked a clean-o-rama here at the Parker Ranchero.  I started with our "under-steps closet".  You know, the one under your steps that has an awkward diagonal receding back wall and little storage space?  The one that you stuff with so much stuff that you can't get to the shelves at the back?  The one where the pile of new return vent filters are sliding all over a shelf?  The one where the box of your paints and brushes has spilled all over the floor, but you can't reach them because you'd have to risk life and limb to collect them again?  What--you don't have one of these?  Well, I do, and now ours has...wait for it...EMPTY shelves and floor space!!!  

The transformation was so inspiring that Saturday I did the next biggest trash heap--my walk-in closet.  My husband and I both have walk-in closets.  They are not huge, but they are there.  Mine would more accurately be called a lean-in closet, because I literally could not step one foot in there.  I grudgingly pulled EVERYTHING out of it (except my hanging clothes) and went through each and every item.  I went through each item on my hanging rod as well.  Ended up with 2 garbage bags of clothes to donate to Goodwill.  

My other reason for starting with these two closets was so I could move some of my seasonal wreaths and non-quilt wall hangings to the understeps closet.  That would keep them all together, and I can turn around in my closet without fear of losing an eye to a grapevine end or a wayward pine branch.

This AM I sewed a little while.  I have my Shooting Star blocks laid out on my design walls.  I put both walls together so I could spread out the whole quilt top.  I have two rows completely pieced and have the third laid out and partially sewn.

On the left side is a signature quilt I am making for a wedding that is in a couple weeks.  The cream has a little print in it.  I'll show a close-up later (after my new camera arrives and is used into submission).  It will be 14 x 16 blocks (4" finished) with a 4" border all around.

The missing block in my Shooting Star quilt is under the foot of my sewing machine.  I'm using the parts for leader/enders while I sew the wedding quilt.

{Post 1,179} Bonus Triangle Quilt Idea

Finally, I have hit upon an idea for a quilt to use up the HST bonus units from my Shooting Star quilt.  Here is the picture I found on the internet.  There was no name mentioned to which I should give credit.  This means a lot more rummaging through my shirts and much more cutting, but I think it will be worth it.  This is not a race, and there is no deadline.

Here's the 4 blocks I've pieced so far.  I wanted to see if it made a difference which way the pinwheels turned.  I inadvertently made 25 of them with one orientation and 25 of the other.  My guess is that if I didn't point it out, no one would notice!  The two blocks in the left half of the block have pinwheels turning in opposite directions, while the two blocks on the right have identically oriented blocks.

{Post 1,176} Four Shooting Star Blocks Together

Here are four of the 25 Shooting Stars blocks together.  I think as I see more of it, I will like it more.  The wheels are already turning about how to quilt this!

This measures 29-1/2" square so far.

{Post 1,175} Shooting Star Shirt Block Centers All Pieced

I am finished with the stars for the 25 centers of the Shooting Star blocks all made from shirts, thanks to Julie's donation of two new black shirts.

Here are all the blocks on the wall:

Here is a close-up of one of the new ones (notice my new black shirt background...dark gray flowers on black):

Here are the 3 new ones with the pinwheels made from each pinned to the center....gives me all kinds of new ideas for what to do with those pinwheels!!

I started doing something new a while ago that has really helped my old brain.  I'm putting it out there in case it helps you as well.  I have a cheap stenographic notebook that I'm keeping on my cutting table.  I make all kinds of sloppy notes in it...how long to cut a border, how many units I need to cut of this or that, how many finished units I have for this quilt, how large a runner for my foyer table should be, etc. etc.  It has saved my sanity more than once.  All that to say that I am keeping track of how many side border pieces for these blocks I need to cut yet.  I have 36/50 of the one-pieced side borders (that measure 9" x 3-1/2") and only 25 or the 100 I need for the other side (each side is two 7-3/4" x 3-1/2" sewed end to end).  I am up to the challenge, and glad my notebook is keeping me straight.  

Since I made up the sizes for this quilt, I'm glad I wrote it all down.  Keeps me from sacrificing some of my shirts because of cutting errors.  

{Post 1,174} Sewing Again

This past week has been a whirlwind of activity.  Now I am getting the house back to normal as well as catching up with our laundry, etc.

This AM I sewed a few more blocks for each of the quilts I'm currently piecing.

Here is a close-up of a block I pieced with a shirt Julie mailed me:  Adds another look to the blocks!  Thanks, Julie!

The other quilt will be on my secret projects blog.  Email me if you want the address.

{Post 1,170} Shooting Stars x 20

Here are my 20 sawtooth star blocks.  The pattern name is Shooting Stars.  Next week will be so busy for me.  My dear b-friend, Julie, is sending me 2 black shirts.  I am going to wait for them to come before working on this any more.


We are traveling to FL from Tuesday through Thursday to attend my oldest son's college graduation.  Then we are hosting an open house on Friday night for him, a birthday party for my husband on Saturday, and Mother's day on Sunday.  

The shirt backgrounds are not that easy to see in this picture.  Stay tuned for more!!

{Post 1,169} Little Pinwheels and Pieces

Here are pinwheels that I'm making from the double-sewn corners from my Shooting Star Shirt blocks.

They measure 3-1/4" as is.  I am thinking I'll put a row at the top and bottom to make the quilt rectangular.

{Post 1,168} Sewing Today

Here is a burp cloth I made for my grandson tonight.  I am making one more that is identical.  The strip at the bottom is from one of my quilt shirts.

Here are some units behind my sewing machine.

This is the view from my sewing machine chair.  

These blocks at the top are what I was piecing earlier.  They are 9" square.  I saw a neat quilt I'd like to make on someone's slide show from a quilt retreat.  I don't have a pattern, but I'm making it up as I go.  These blocks are made from shirts.  Each one gets a frame of shirt fabric.  One piece on each end, then both sides (which are made from two fabrics...half the length of a side each if that makes sense).  I am trying to decide how wide to make the frames.

The littlel pinwheel blocks are made from double sewn flipped triangles.

Anyone interested in trading me a black 100% cotton shirt part for one of another color?  I have 2 black shirts and want a teensy bit more variety.  Contact me if you are interested.