Scavenging, scrounging, and accepting hand-outs.

These lovely star blocks were passed to me a while back by Karen (Log Cabin Quilter blog). There are more stars than will fit on my design wall. 

They were half stars when I got them, because the pattern she had used to make them had you assemble the rows with half stars and the stars were completed when you sewed the rows together. I am not following the pattern, so I sewed the stars into full blocks. Apparently I wasn't careful enough, because now that I am squaring them up, I can't get them all the same size. I am probably going to need coping strips, so this is going to take time. I want to create  small cheddar stars around the cornerstones. This will be one big quilt! And there will be enough blocks left to make a lap quilt. Thanks so much for these lovely stars, Karen!

After making my miniature Kim Diehl quilt last month (which, BTW, I am naming "No Big Diehl"), I had lots of scraps that I set aside.  I scavenged more at Kim's class. After seeing what tiny pieces I use, people were handing me what they had planned on throwing away and asking, "Do you want any of these?" I did. : )

I used those scraps to make some Halloween and Christmas ornaments, and then some non-holiday colored ones. I finally got them to the point that now they just need to be stuffed and sewn up.

Of course, there were scraps left from the ornaments, and I couldn't just sweep them into the garbage, so I started making little 4-patches. I haven't sewn the blocks together yet. Can you guess how big these blocks are or how large this will be when they are sewn together? If you have some of these fabrics you have a clue. ; )

At the Carmen Geddes class last month, where we made the leaf hot pad afterward using the fusible product she was demonstrating, there was a point in our instructions where Kris (shop owner) said we could throw away the triangles we had just cut off. I think I gasped, or groaned (maybe both), and she added, "Or you can give them to Janet."
I collected a nice little bag of Fall colored batik bonus triangles that day. Using batiks from my stash, I am making them into small leaves. Still toying with layout ideas.

My 84-year-old mother is working on what she says will be her last quilt. She's not planning on going anywhere, she just thinks she has other things to do before her time here is up. As usual, I got her scraps once she had the quilt sandwiched in the frame to start hand quilting. There were a few units that she had assembled that she didn't use. I am trying to use those units actually sewn by her to make a few blocks.

There were a few HSTs, 3 complete and 1 partial hexie flower, and lots of trimmings from the piano key border of Mom's quilt. I'll be able to make 4 blocks like this if I complete the partial hexie flower. Just need to stitch down the hexie flowers on these two blocks. I seldom work with colors like this. Kind of fun, for a change.

All the wool on my Christmas "Lamb For All Seasons" has been stitched down. (This is based on the Old Glory Gatherings pattern from Primitive Gatherings.)














Until next time, enjoy the moonrise. : )
Janet O.