Sunday, August 10, 2014

100 to go!

First, I want to say thank you to the Slow Stitching group over at Kathy's Quilts. What a warm welcome! It is nice to have the extra encouragement (in addition to my wonderful regular supporters), when all my projects are such long hauls. :D

If you missed the finish on the stitchery project I showed two weeks ago, it is here. And the second motif, which I was just starting two weeks ago, is finished here. I just made it under the deadline for that one! This one will be next:


But today's post is about my ongoing Texas Star English Paper Piecing project. I started it back in October 2012, and work has been sporadic. I've been keeping track of my progress with the "Texas Star Ticker" in the right sidebar. Then last week I cut the rest of the gold squares for the middles:

About 120 x 2" squares

It is amazing how hopeful I felt with those squares cut! I felt like a horse that perks up when it smells home. And felicitously, this batch of five stars brings the total to 233:


Which means there are just 100 to go!!

Some of you may have wondered where the plan for 333 stars came from. Well, I wanted a quilt that would finish at about 60" x 80", and I thought it would be easier to sew the stars together in diamond-shaped blocks, and then sew the blocks together. I drew up a complicated plan:


And when I counted up how many stars I would need, it came to exactly 333! So obviously, it had to be. I am pretty sure that "333" will be the title of the quilt when it's done. The complicated plan, though, has been abandoned, because with all the points the blocks are just too hard to manage. I will start at the bottom, add each randomly selected star one at a time, and build up row by row.

According to my Daytimer, there are 143 days left this year. 100 stars, 143 days, it should be doable, and I am going to make a push! Also according to my Daytimer, today is the 222nd day of the year. Cool, eh?

20 comments:

  1. That IS cool! Well calculated,and well organised. Good luck with the schedule. The gold squares do look enticing, and I still love the shape of those stars.

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    1. I know, there is something appealing about these stars. That's probably why the quilt stuck in my head for so long! Thanks again for all your encouragement, Jillian! It keeps me going. :)

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  2. Making a star a day makes your project seem doable....not quite so overwhelming. Your embroidery blocks are adorable. Have a wonderful stitchy day!

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  3. Love the bright and pretty colors in this project! :)

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    1. Thanks Deb! I think it will be pretty cheerful when it's done. :D

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  4. Breaking a project down can help it seem doable. I love the fabrics, at first I thought the blue was like a print you would see on a bandana. It goes nicely with that complimentary cheddar.

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  5. Oh wow. This is great. Your plans are a great push to get this done. I'll be watching

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  6. Sounds a bit left brained to me . . . I do the same thing all the time, then proceed to blitz a few anyway.

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  7. I'm impressed by the magnitude of this project. Beautiful fabric. I can't quite envision how you will put them together.....but I guess I'll see that in the future.

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  8. Wow, I'm impredded too. I'm proud of my fourteen stars, and it's a long time to go before 333. Not that I have planned so many of them either.

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  9. Impressed, I meant to write, of course.

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  10. Belleza de estrellas....felicitaciones!!!

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  11. Your stars are beautiful...stick to your plan & you'll be finished with them before you know it!

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  12. I am looking forward to seeing your quilt when it is finished. I love your embroidery finishes also. So very pretty. That elephant is adorable.

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  13. That is so neat! Good luck with finishing your stitches this year - I think you can do it one stitch at a time.

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  14. What a lot of math! I hope it all adds up to a finished quilt in the end.

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  15. I have always liked diamond stars. I would also keep it simple. It will be more enjoyable and doable to complete.

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  16. I am not sure if it's a good thing or not that you have the numbers figured out. It might have stalled me right in my tracks. It sure will be a stunner when it's done.

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  17. Definitely a doable goal:)
    Love the stitcheries you are working on...yum!

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  18. you have been busy, I am sure you will have the quilt completed by the end of the year or maybe even sooner

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I'm told Blogger has been bouncing some comments, so if it happens to you I'm sorry! But the settings look right so I can't explain it. In any case, thanks for reading!

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