Groundhog Day

Although the day is overcast our groundhog here in Ontario saw his shadow.  Now tell me how that can happen, please?  Ole Punxsutawney down there in Pennsylvania saw his and it was full cloud cover.  I think they are pulling our leg.  We really have no reason to complain here in this area, we haven't really had winter yet.  Still no snow to speak of, just cold days and freezing nights.

Enough of the weather forecasting.  Lets get back to quilting.  Our Guild, like so many other Guilds, does a block of the month.  This year we are doing one that is all paper piecing and will be small -- only 21" x 21" when finished.  Julia found this one in a calendar and offered it to all of us.  I don't normally do BOM, but we get to keep this one when we are done. 

We get one block per month and in May we have them all and can finish up so we can do Bring and Brag in June.  I'm going to make mine slightly larger and give it away as a baby quilt to a local charity.  I would love to know what others are planning to do with theirs although I did hear one girl is giving her "quiltlet" to her granddaughter for a dolly quilt. 

You can find the blocks here.  I think you may have to click on Block of the Month and then each individual star that is listed.  I should have checked that before I typed anything up, but you are all computer savvy and can figure it out, I'm sure.  I will tell you that the whole quilt is not shown anywhere on the page.  I will get a copy of the final wallhanging and post it either later today or tomorrow.  That is kind of disappointing.  I picked the full layout up at the September meeting of the Guild.

The wallhanging is called Wish Upon the Stars.  The only suggestion given was to use a "busy background".  Mine isn't quite that busy, but it has been in the stash for awhile and I like it and it is working for this piece.

Laced Star Block..........5" x 5" when finished.  When Julia showed us the wallhanging that she had completed I loved it.  She had done her's in vibrant colours and everything looked so great.  Julia told us that you only needed fat quarters to complete it and as I had fat quarters of all these colours I set them aside for this quilt.

Key West Star was the second one given out.  I'm pretty much following the quidelines for the colours of each block.  I did change from red to orange as I didn't have any red in my stash that worked with the other colours.

This is called Waste Not Star.  I have no idea why.  I know I wasted some fabric  because I'm really generous in my cuts so I don't have to fiddle.

This is the Thistle Star block.  I like this one, no particular reason, just do.  I could have done better joining the rows, but there is still time to take it out and re-do, if I feel like it.

Swirling Star block.  Mine isn't!!  It stops dead!  See the mistake......over there on the right.  I never noticed until this morning that it is wrong!  I will pull this out later today and fix it.  That is what happens when you forget to trace one line. 

I re-trace everything from the original pattern onto tracing paper.  It isn't as stiff as the bond paper that is in your printer.  I have also used graph paper, but sometimes I get three to four sheets going through the printer at one time, so I have to feed them individually.  I never ever use the original. 

TIP:  Every fall I take a trip to my local Staples store and buy their plastic duo-tang file folders.  Inside the folder I keep the pages for the project I am working on as they become available....BOM, Row by Row, etc.  I put in a sheet protector.......the new ones with the top that folds over so your stuff doesn't fall out.....

they are called secure top.  I keep my notes all together along with -- in this case -- the blocks in the sheet protector.  When the final block is done, I'm not searching the sewing room for that elusive block that was put somewhere safe and now can't be found.  Once I have the fabric selected, the notes in the duo-tang I put everything in clear plastic bags.  I like the clear ones because I can see through them and know which is which.  I hang them on the knob of the sewing room door.  I keep them visible.  It doesn't look good, but I can sure find stuff.