Cotton Constellation

Cotton Constellation

My little quilt galaxy is complete!

This weekend I completed the final two "test blocks" of the Texas Star template and pinned them to my shades in the back room for a colorful constellation. A few things I learned:

Allowances

The seam allowance contraption was incredibly helpful at keeping the seams to 1/4". Training wheels, I suppose, but well worth it.

Get to the Point

Sewing on the bias is tricky. Much easier if the fabric is starched and precisely pinned. I also learned you can burn starch, and in turn, burn the fabric. Following the written instructions are important; someone took the time to write and illustrate them for a reason. On the last two blocks (the green and blue and blue and yellow two, on the left) my seams were much straighter and the blocks went together a lot easier when I followed the pressing, pinning and sewing directions.
 

Reality

I am a messcat. This isn't news, but I had barely finished trimming, pinning, sewing and installing before my work table was a complete mess. My next two projects are scattered about, waiting impatiently for me to get on with it.

Three Wishes

The experiment was a delight! Now I'm ready for the real thing, with some favorite fabric pieces. Stay tuned!

XO Terez

This Heart's On Fire

Flaming Heart {Right Side, Test Print}

Spent a lovely afternoon crafting with the girls in the studio. Between the four of us we completed: *one knit hat (CS's first, congrats!), three origami and one kiragami lessons (thank you, LA!), numerous paper boxes, balloons and hearts, one amazing Banana Bread (this needs capital treatment) courtesy the KimKitch and blogged here, Mamacat's famous cheddar and bacon dip with veggies and chips, one bag of heart gel candies and one complete (well, nearly) carving from yours truly:

Heart On Fire Rough Cut

This is an amalgamation of a couple of different doily cuts from various sizes and a bit of imagination. I'm thinking about carving a keyhole in it but I might leave it as is and clean up the flames and the center heart. Ooooh I love it, though. These photos misrepresent its size--it's about eight inches across, 6 inches high:

I've learned that during the gray-snowy-slushy-back-side-of-winter, my brain craves red. Good thing Valentine's Day is right there in the middle of the home stretch to spring!

XO Terez