Yet One Star...

... this week ;o)

this morning I supposed, I won't sew today... at all...

but on the cutting board were the trimmed pieces of yesterday's 12" star. 

Then I got an idea... bling!

They might be large enough to use in the middle of the 8" star!

I had to try it... NOW! 

I do have 'plenty of time' to clean up some other time...

So I need four 2 1/2" x 2 1/2" units for the middle part...

Voila!

the 8" variation star of 'County Fair is there ;o) 

 Hmm... this looks more beautiful than the previous one...

Of course I couldn't hold myself... I had also cutted pieces for one small block of Milky Way.

And you know the sewing is much more tempting than the cleaning...

Oh, I could have sew all day and night long these blocks,

if only someone would cut me more of patches needed for them...

But perhaps I'll start now to make some household work...

I WISH you again A CreAtive WeekEND!!!

Stars

After two weeks break I sewed four stars for my starry quilt today.

I tried to focus on Pinwheel stars... but there is only two pinwheels and one... odd... variation of it.

Do you remember last week's Designer Mystery block 'County Fair'? Then I dreamed of doing a star variation of it...

... and now it's here;o)... the biggest star on the left.

If you like to sew it, I give you cutting instructions for the middle part of the star. The points of the star are made same way as in the Basic Sawtooth Star pattern.

Fabric A: cut two 3 7/8" x 3 7/8" squares

Fabric B: cut one 3 7/8" x 3 7/8 square

Fabric C: two 3 1/2" x 3 1/2" squares

Fabric D: cut one 3 7/8" x 3 7/8 square

Fabric E: two 3 1/2" x 3 1/2" squares

Oh, maybe it's better that I give you also some sewing instructions?

First draw a diagonal line on the wrong side of the Fabric A squares. With right sides facing, layer one Fabric A square with a Fabric B square. Stitch 1/4" from each side of the drawn line. Cut apart on the marked line. You will get two A/B units, which should measure 3 1/2" x 3 1/2". Repeat this with Fabrics A/D.

Now you should have four HST units on your sewing table ;o). 

By the way... I pressed all the seams open.

Then draw a diagonal line on the wrong side of the Fabric C and Fabric E squares. With right sides facing, layer Fabric C with Fabric A/B unit and Fabric E with Fabric A/D unit. Pay close attention to the direction of the Fabric A/B and Fabric A/D units. Stitch on the drawn line and trim 1/4" away from the seam. Don't throw away those trimmed pieces! You can sew the middle part of 8" star of them!

Now you should have two Fabric A/B/C and two Fabric A/D/E units, which should measure 3 1/2" x 3 1/2".

Sew those units together... you see assembling from the photo above.

Tadaa! 

You have now sewn the middle part of the star...

should we call it as a variation star of 'County Fair'?

 Oh my, there is many little stars undone...

What else I have done...

Virtual Quilting Bee continued last Friday... ... with Going Dutch block #4.

I like the other blocks, but somehow the third block is not my favorite. It's so different than the others...

if I tell you the true, I regret now that I used the blue Fat Quarters of Beach House to it.

I also got ready the fifth block of Pumpkinville BOM...

and started to applique the row of the pumpkin cars;o)

Now I have updated my doings... what is going on there at yours...?

I WISH you A CreAtive WeekEND!!!

Hat Trick...

... is the first Another Year of Schnibbles (= AYOS) project in this year. The pattern is one pattern of the Carrie Nelson's Vintage Schnibbles collection. As Carrie is telling in pattern sheet, this quilt is named after famous hockey players, Wayne Gretzky and Gordie Howe, who have done a lot of hat tricks. (Hat trick = one player scores three goals in one game.)

I got a lot of boost of that story, because I'm a big fan of Finnish hockey team, Leijonat.

That is the reason why I chose these colors: combinations of golden (or lion) yellow and blue / white, which might match with this Kaufman's fabric.

 When I sewed the nine-patch blocks together...  I became more and more unsure of having this quilt as a wall-hanging. That was my original plan. It would be nice on the table... but then it have to be a square...

I also thought hardly the color of inner and outer borders...

... whether the inner border be white or mint green... and the outer border... would it be cream or blue/yellow/brown...

Well after a loooooooong thinking, I made decisions!
Hopefully the right (=nice) ones;o)

The inner border will be white on white fabric and the outer border will be pieced of different kind of cream fabrics.

And if I'm doing a square shaped quilt, I'll add those blue cornerstones...

Here's my version of 'Hat Trick' next to the original pattern....

Hmm... I like this!...

... BUT finally I decided to make it as a square shaped.
With a good imagination...

I almost see hockey sticks on the ice... and Leijonat rushing in the rink...

I own this quilt to the 1995 World Champion Team, Leijonat, because in the final match Ville Peltonen did a legendary hat trick against Sweden. 'Den glider in... den glider in i mål igen...!' Then in 1995 it was the first time, when Leijonat won the GOLD medal!!! And I do have many unforgettable memories of it!!!

Sherri & Sinta Renee are hosting 'Hat Trick' parades on May 1st... make sure to check the other 'Hat Tricks'

Fenix is still little bit unsure... 

... whether this is a nice table cloth? 

So maybe we will quilt it later;o)
...and first we have to find a suitable (=nice) backing fabric...

I wish you a happy end of this week!!!

PS. I'm almost cured...but still coughing, köh-köh!

The Flu...

has had ME in it's grip this past week...

and I'm still keeping more a handkerchief in my hand than a needle...

In my sewing room is heard...

 more male voices than voice of the sewing machine.

But yesterday I forced myself to sew at least one block this week!

 It's block eleven of 2012 Designer Mystery called 'County Fair', designed by Julie Comstock.

When I look the block closely, I clearly see a new pattern for my Starry -quilt.

ATsCHIII!!!! 

Oh, I'm so sorry!!!

Luckily we are not now face to face... and you are safe behind your own desks...

I have found a lot of new inspirations in these two books...

... above is a Finnish version of the newest book by Arne & Carlos 'Neulo kesä kotiisi',

below is the book by Ayumi Takahashi 'Patchwork, please!'

Tomorrow I'll try to spend some time 'in Pumpkinville' ;o)...

I'm now appliqueing block six...

hopefully I'll finish it tomorrow

Above is block five, which I got ready last Sunday...

before this horrible disease struck... ATShiuuuu!

Sorry again!

See you next week

... hopefully in more healthier atmosphere...

Bon Noel

was our Stitch Along Project in April...
and my version of it is DONE ;o) 

You can read more of this and the other lovely SAL projects here.

Happy week!

Sometimes...

... UFO (= unfinished object) gets a new shape.

'Honeycomb' was Le petit project in August 2011. I decided to use a 'Cherish Nature' charm pack for it with amber background fabric.

But I never sewed it further than this...

... and when I found it again...

I had a new idea for it, but I didn't need those amber colored triangles.

So the seam ripper got a job!

I have long wanted a new cushion cover that would have made of hexagon pieces.

At first I thought I could tell you about the details of the making the cover...

... therefore I took a lot of pictures...

but laziness struck me just right now!

So I'll let this collage 'talk' to you.

If you have any questions how I made this pillow cover, please leave the comment and I'll try to answer.

  

The cushion is 45 cm x 45 cm.

It would be nicer with smaller hexagons, but I didn't want to waste 5" charms so...

the hexagons are now 2" finished. 

Ompelin tyynyn takaosan muutaman vuoden takaisesta Pentikin sisustuskankaasta, 

mikä sopii mielestäni mukavasti etupuolen luontoteemaan :o)

Before I fall asleep... I'll show you this week's stars.

 The biggest one is 12" Radiant Star. Then there is 8" Patchwork and Diamond-Hearted Stars. And two little ones are 4" Diamond-Hearted Stars..... kroh....

Kroooooooh! 

What? Oh, yes I'm still here.....hardly.....

to say you......... krooh.....

GOOD NIGHT or DAY............

 krooooooooH!

I have so much...

... to tell, that I don't know where to start!

or should I now leave something out, without telling and do it later...

Well, I'll start from the most recent 'case',

which is 2013 Aurifil Designer BOM block 'Heart and Soul'. It is designed by Katy Jones.

By the way I noticed that I have totally mixed up terms: diamonds and precious stones. I have all the time written diamond as a general term for precious stones. Sorry, if I guided you wrong... but from now on I'm making Aurifil blocks for my jewel quilt. AND April's block got it's colors from yellow diamond.

When I searched information of diamonds and their colors, I found many interesting things.

1. Did you know that as a power stone diamond brings clarity and ideas?

So no wonder, if I realized the difference between diamond and precious stone;o)

2. Richard Burton gave to his wife Elizabeth Taylor a gift, a heart-shaped yellow diamond. It was the same diamond, which Shah Jahan gave to his wife Mumtaz Mahal in 1621. And she was also the inspiration to Shah Jahan to construct the famous Taj Mahal.
But have you heard THIS?
3. The Tiffany Yellow Diamond is one of the largest yellow diamonds ever discovered. And the diamond is known to have been worn only two women, one of whom is Audrey Hepburn. She wore it in 1961 publicity photographs for Breakfast at Tiffany, which inspires me to sew the Aurifil blocks in the spirit of precious stones!
Yes, I know, what a funny coincidence;o)

When I found out about all this, it was EASY to find fabrics for my 'Heart and Soul' block. At least one fabric from Fig Tree Quilts' Breakfast at Tiffany's (roses), few other yellows and grays... and of course one written print fabric.

What a hilarious feeling to see all my jewel blocks together!

And you won't never believe THIS! 
When I sewed the aquamarine block I heard 'Demanten på Marssnön' song twice on that day and TODAY, when I sewed the diamond block I heard song 'Moon River'... very strange...

Shall we now Go-lightly forward...
or are you already bored with my tales?
maybe one... or two... short stories?
... if I promise to be quick;o)

Last week a nice postman delivered me this lovely quilt pattern. It's Joanna Figuero's 'Milky Way'.

Wov! STAR blockS!

I have never fancied making of those kind of stars... but Joanna promised this: Beautiful star blocks created with a simple strip technique make this quilt a joy to assemble . . .  and only 9 blocks.

Now I had to admit that she is RIGHT! This star block with Joanna's instructions was a real joy to assemble!!! I heartily recommend this pattern!

There is only one (or exactly 8) critical points, where the seams should meet properly. The point is near the red arrow on the photo.

The wrong side looks quite pretty too;o)

Do you miss my Oh, my Stars?

 Here is this week's stars...

... and you might already guess that Fenix found his favorite one...

... quickly without any hesitation;o)

I'm not sure, but if you happen to be a fan of Schnibbles, you might heard this already...

Sinta Renee and Sherri started a new year of Schnibbles. This time a theme is something like Vintage Schnibbles.

I'll tell 'Hat Trick' tales (= more detailed info of fabric choises and so on) later...

I think you are already tired and ready to move to the other blog...

So finally one more picture...

Not any serious decision with Mill Girl's border...

What do you think? Should it be squares made of hour glasses?

WoW! THIS was a LONG story, a real test of my English skill too! 

I think it's better leave you now...

if you are still there...

... and wish you

an extremely pleasant weekend!

Christmas Theme Embroideries

Does it sound odd to talk about Christmas in Spring / Easter time?

Not at all, if you look out and see this...

... a lot of snow at the backyard!

Anyway IT IS first of April 

and it 's time to start the next project in a SAL group.

I took a head start on Easter...

April's project is Bon Noel -wall hanging from Natalie Bird's Tis the Season booklet.

 To my own wall hanging I chose these three patterns.

If you are familiar with that book, you may notice, I did some changes to the stitcheries...

Mill Girl's quilt is progressed little since last time.

We have now pieced all the blocks together...

... and now we reflect the border.

 In the pattern the border is made of hour glass blocks...

I have those patches cut

... but something bothers me...

Do I like it? Is it too colorful or restless or flashy for my taste?

... if I use gray background, not cream...

Krr! I have only dark or mid grays in my stash.

... or shall I do other kind of border...

What about log cabin or stripe pieced border?

Well, it seems we reflect this more... and deeply ;o)

a HAPPY new WEEK to YOU all!!!