Wonky Stars

I decided that my liberated patchwork quilt that I revived this week needed a little something extra in addition to the black sashing--something as the cornerstones.  So I decided to make 3" (finished) wonky stars as the cornerstones.  These, again, are made with Gwen Marston's liberated quiltmaking techniques.

Since I want these to finish at 3", I am starting with 1 1/2" black squares to which to add the triangle star points.

I also used 1 1/2" squares, cut in half diagonally, for the star points, and sewed them onto one corner of the black square, making sure that the triangle would cover the corner of the black square when folded down.  I pressed that corner down, then added another triangle to the opposite side.

Of course, these all had to be trimmed down to 1 1/2" squares once the star point triangles were applied and pressed.  That's the fussy part of this whole process!

Then the block gets assembled in rows.

And that's where I ran out of steam for the evening!  I'll get these blocks sewn together tomorrow and start on the next round as well!

More Strings

I have to admit, my enthusiasm for fiber crafting is kind of low.  I'm not sure why this is, but I just am not working on any projects that are just grabbing me right now.  I continue to work on my orange sweater, and even finished the body of it the other day.  Now for the sleeves...

And I continue to work on my string-pieced blocks--a few a day.

Today I made eight blocks; yesterday I made nine.  I know, I know, real exciting, right?!

I've been reading this blog lately, and thinking about doing some refashioning of my own thrift store finds.  Trouble is, it's a lot harder to refashion thrift store clothes when you're a woman of size like myself.  The woman that writes that blog is seriously tiny, so it's relatively easy for her to find clothes in larger sizes that she can cut down to fit herself.  Not so me!  It definitely makes for more difficult thrift store and yard sale hunting when you have to start with clothes in larger sizes.  But I do love a good thrift store/yard sale find!  So maybe you'll be seeing some of my own refashioning projects on the blog....

A Lazy Day

I've spent an extraordinarily lazy day today, not doing much of anything!  I am re-reading Game of Thrones, so I spent some time reading and then I took a nap!  This evening my husband Chris and I went to the grocery store and out to eat, and then when we got home I did a little more string piecing.

Here you can see how I've pulled off the paper from the back before pressing and squaring up.

In this picture you can see the little bowtie blocks that I'm using as my leader/ender project (a la Bonnie Hunter) lurking under the string blocks.

These little blocks are so fun, and they allow me to use scraps that otherwise would probably be thrown away.  Right now I'm just having fun making blocks, and not really thinking about how I'm going to set them into a quilt.  I already have some sewn together, so I may just continue on in that same vein, setting them side by side with no sashings or cornerstones.  I'm hoping they will look rather like a basketweave when finished.

Stringing Along Again

This evening, after my walk, I decided to work on some more string-pieced blocks.

I made six blocks, again working on my Singer 338.  Not a lot, but more than I started with, right!?

The funny thing is, as I pull the string pieces out of my bin, the amount in the bin seems to be growing rather than shrinking!  How does fabric DO that?

I have a feeling I could make a hundred of these blocks and it would barely put a dent in my string stash!

A Little String Patchwork

I've been getting that quilting urge again lately, so this evening I headed down to my studio and worked on a project that has been hanging around for quite a while.  I began this string quilting project probably two or more years ago now, and it has been patiently waiting for me to return to it all this time!

This is the piece that I had completed so long ago.

And these are the blocks I worked on tonight.

I only worked for about an hour or so, and I got ten of these fun 6 1/2" blocks made.  These are an "anything goes" type of block--I just start pulling strings out of my big bin of string scraps and sewing them down.  I do use a background paper to paper piece these onto.  The only rule I try to follow is to alternate light and dark strips.

I was working tonight on my Singer 338, a machine that I use quite a bit and just love.  I love the color of it as well as that fact that it's an old-fashioned workhorse of a machine!

I love vintage machines, and have several that I have gotten at garage sales or on craigslist, and I particularly like machines that were made in the 1950's and 1960's.  They are just so cool, and they were built to last, unlike so many inexpensive machines today.  This particular machine was made between 1963-1965, so it is at least 50 years old and still sews perfectly.

Happy Cinco de Mayo, everyone!