Not extremely productive here, but we are managing to make some mess.

Where are the Stars?  Under the cutting table for now.  A new project took precidence, so I hope to whip it out quickly this week.

These log cabin blocks are 12″, with 4″ Bahama Blue “chimneys”, islands of calm.

Here is how they go together.  The yellow with the shiny dots is not as electric as it looks here – it is reflecting the light.

I want to quilt something different in each of the center square.  Any ideas?

I’m linking up with Lee at Freshly Pieced WIP.

A slightly better sewing week, and a little fabric used.  I did buy some, these 3 yards of grays (two Konas and a Bella).  Can’t get much more basic and essential than this, can you?  They will help me use up a beautiful but challenging piece of fabric, eventually.

This week I used one yard to make a commission item, and four yards to make these Christmas door/wall hangings.  (I left the busy border on one, and changed one.)

This week:  +3 yds, -5 yds.

YTD:  =101 yds, -176 yds.

Net used in 2012:  74 yds.

I’m linking up with Patchwork Times.

Not extremely productive here, but I am working a little.  I, who rarely works on more than one project at a time, have started some Christmas wall hangings, just because I want to see a finish.  Those Stars are going to take forever.  I’m not sure about the modern pear green borders on the right one.  I think I prefer the darker green with metallic stars that I used on the middle one.  What do you think?

I did also sew the last five large stars for Oh My Stars.  Still large pieces, but I like them.

See what others are working on at WIP at Freshly Pieced.

Well, I’ve generated a pile of patches and scraps, and done a little sewing, but I can’t record a single finish, so that makes for a very dull report.  I didn’t add any fabric, but a little is on the way.  I hope for great things next week, but I don’t know.  It is so FALL, and I have the urge to preserve things, as well as work on the fall garden.  Also spending some time watching the humming birds before they go away.

Congratulations to @QuiltyGal, at A Quilting Reader’s Garden for making her destashing goal for the year!  I had better get going if I expect to make mine.

This week: 0 yards in, 0 yards used

YTD: +99 yards, -171 yards

Net stash used in 2012: 72 yards.

See more Stash Reports at Patchwork Times

I have 10 of the 15 large stars finished for Oh, My Stars.  I probably should have used the large size to do something more intricate (I will on the last 5), but I wanted to show some of the large-scale prints before they were cut into unrecognizable bits.

The directions are very good, and she is serious when she suggests using  a scant quarter inch for seams.  I wandered from that and ended up re-making two blocks.  I went with pressing the seams open, which is something I’ve never done in quilt piecing, but I thought it might help with accuracy when I get to the smaller blocks.  So far, so good.

Thanks to everyone who has left comments:  Pam, Jaye, landscapelady, mcquilts, Diane, Angie.  They are appreciated.

I’m linking up with Lee at Freshly Pieced.

I’ve had requests to see the whole quilt, so here is Simon in the Garden.  Now you know why I usually use a cropped image-it is wonky!  Every couple of years I block him back into shape, he’s square and flat for about a month, then sags back where he wants to be.  But, hey, I made this in 1993, and I am happy that my work has improved some.  This was a finalist in Quilter’s Newsletter’s contest, “Evening In The Garden”.  You know, back when we mailed in slides to have our work juried in…   The cat is taffeta, there is broderie perse, and quilted 3-D flowers, slightly radical stuff back then.  And all hand quilted- I don’t do that anymore!

I love having Simon’s image around me daily, as he was a truly wonderful cat.

To see more (better) applique, go to Angie’s Applique Thursday page on A Quilting Reader’s Garden (she was so kind to invite me).

Did I mention that I had a lot of Christmas fabric in stash? To see if I was remembering correctly, I pulled it all out yesterday. Yeah, it’s quite a bit. And when I looked at the fabrics I had pulled last November for the Oh, My Stars quilt along by Sheila at Thought and Found, I had a renewed urge to sew them. I joined last year with good intentions. We all told her it was a busy time of year, and that we might get a little behind, but slowly the blocks and then the quilts appeared on Flickr, and I had not even cut into my fabric. It seems a little early for Christmas sewing, but I think it’s now or never. Nonnie just found this quilt and wants to make one, but I don’t think that influenced me. This has been on my conscience all year. This quilt has many, intricate variations to choose from, especially challenging on the little 4″ stars. I know I won’t have the patience for those. I’ve cut some of the large (12″) stars in the simplest design and will see where I go next.

This week: 0 yards in, 6 yards used (baseball baby quilt)
YTD: +99 yards, -171 yards
Net stash used in 2012: 72 yards.

See more Stash Reports at Patchwork Times