A Second Star
Given all the office renovation and moving of things required for that, not much crafting was done. However, I did get started on the second block of my stack n' whack quilt. I also convinced my scanner to let me get an image of the fabrics that I am using as background fabrics for the quilt.
The top left and bottom two prints are Kaffe Fasset prints, the top left is a Fun Quilts print. All of these fabrics were selected to co-ordinate with some of the colors in the Feeling Groovy fabric that was the main fabric for the LeMoyne Stars. Although I started out thinking that each block would have a corner in each color, after putting a couple of stars on a background of just one color, I became convinced that the solid backgrounds helped pop out the stars better. So, since I am making 12 blocks, I will have 3 blocks with each print as the background print. Here's my first block with the greenish colored fabric.
I really like the contrast betweent he bright orange flowers and the gren background fabric. The yellowy tones are just perfect together. And I'm also generally pleased with the piecing. The important lines and junctions are where they are supposed to be.
The only thing I am not so happy about is that the block should be 12.5" x 12.5" and it is closer to 12 x 12. Somewhere along the way I lost 1/2 an inch. I don't think I lost it to the seams, but I also didn't notice any strange issues with the sizes of the pieces, either. So I'm going to have to do a little measuring compared to the first block and my existing pieces to see where that 1/2 inch went.
Since serveral folks commented on how impressed they were with my piecing, I thought that I would try to show off some of the tricks that I learned in my class that helped to make my piecing look nicer. So for my next block, I'll try to take good pictures to help show off the process for anyone who might be interested.
That orange looks fantastic with the green! What a great way to make the star pop!
Thanks for posting the pictures of the quilt blocks. They're beautiful! And through your explanations of the process, I'm learning more about how it's done.
I love this one (too)! The contrast is beautiful. My mom did a lot of quilting when I was young and learning to sew-I used to help with the piecing and pressing as I learned. It makes me itch to give it a try myself-alas that will wait until I have a sewing/crafting room. The knitting is more portable for now :)
I love how the piecing makes the florals look so abstract. They remind me of the 70s psychedelic look (I'm sure I misspelled that, but you know what I mean. Cover art of "Yellow Submarine".)
Looks great! It is easier than you think to lose a half inch (or quarte inch,etc). For me, it is usually a combo of things being just a wee bit off that all add up. Your color choices are wonderful and I very much look forward to your tutorial & pictures.
It's lovely! I'd love to see some of the tips from class.
I am loving your stars! I am impressed with your quilting skills and after such a short time too!
I am really tempted to go back to it myself.
Very happy to hear your latest good news. I'm a bit behind with blog-reading but yours is always a great place to drop by. I love your quilting designs - the colours are gorgeous. All the best for August.