What Happened to Sedona Star?

Some of you may be wondering what has happened with my Sedona Star project.  The truth is that it is not at all forgotton.  In fact, I am looking at this pile of half done blocks and templates every day!

Every time I sew I have to move this pile off my sewing table, so believe me, the project is still top-of-mind for me!  In the pile you can see:

• Some of the Month 5 units, still in their baggie,
• Some fused practice circles, which I probably could throw out now,
• Fabric strips and templates for my remaining Month 2 paper-pieced blocks,
• The assembled ring template for Month 1, which I am going to redo with different colours,
• The paper original for Month 2, which I basically use as a "tray" to move it all neatly.

It has been like this since at least June, maybe longer.

But, while it wasn't sewing, I have done some more planning on Sedona Star this week.  Here's my test modification to Month 6:

I always felt that the applique blocks looked a little crowded, to my eye at least.  And I know that my satin stitch is going to make them a little bigger.  So my idea was to use my photocopier to shrink the appliques.  Here I cut out the middle of the template, copied it at 95%, and laid out the shapes in the original sized frame.  I am quite pleased with the result!  It is a subtle modification, but to me it feels more relaxed.

My plan is to set up the blocks with the paper-pieced borders first, and then just lay out the applique shapes by eye and fuse them all down.  This is one time when my low tech sewing room will probably make my life easier!  It is nice to have that flexibility sometimes.

Unwelcome Visitor

Not ten minutes after my last post, we noticed this guy in our backyard:

Yes, it's a skunk.  We smell them from time to time in the evening, and run around closing all the windows, but a daylight sighting is unusual.  We think this one is still young.

Our birdbath is quite a popular watering hole.  It is often stuffed to the brim with migrating birds in the spring and fall.  The sparrows especially like to all pile in at once.  Sometimes I think it would be a great location for a webcam!

And sometimes we have take the bad along with the good.  I suppose all God's creatures have some (inscrutable) role to play!

50 Blocks Done

Today I finished the last three nine-patch blocks, and got them all up on my "design wall." That is one of the most fun parts, isn't it?

I didn't want to over think the layout here.  I put mostly darker blocks around the edges, because those will show dirt less over time.  I broke up any glaring light patches, and tried not to have the same fabric in two adjacent blocks.  Then I took the photo and packed it up again.

This quilt is a lot more interesting close up, rather than from further back.  I think it's main claim to fame is the variety of fabrics - from batiks to prints, modern, retro and reproduction.  You can find some close ups of the blocks in previous posts.

I am pretty sure now that this will be the first quilt that makes it all the way to the end.  It's been a long time coming!