What I Learned Today

30's Lone Star Mock-UpSo I spent my afternoon with Jan Krentz (Okay not HER, but her DVD) and getting my first lone star quilt setup.  I chose 30’s reproduction fabric, for many of my friends this will not come as a surprise.  There is something about 30s fabric that just makes me smile.  It’s bright, it’s cheery, it plays well together, what’s not to like?

I plan on the center to be bright red and will burst out into the cooler colors.  The background will be yellow, and then I plan on adding either smaller stars or some applique in the corners.  Jan’s DVD is a WONDERFUL tool if you plan on making one of these in a strip pieced method.  Her instructions are clear and precise, as is her entire method of assembly.

olfa45So as for what I learned today?  I should be embarrassed probably, but I will admit it, I have NEVER changed the blade on my rotary cutter….ever.  So when watching the DVD, because of the need for precision, she tells you to change your blade.  So I open my package of blade and pop a new one in.  (And I didn’t even cut myself!)  Boy HOWDY does that make a HUGE difference!!!  It cuts like BUTTER!  So the moral of the story is….change your blade.  (I admit I was cheap and didn’t want to spend the $7 on a blade, but it was SO worth it, and made the cutting process MUCH easier and enjoyable.)

So tomorrow I need to get my strip sets sewn together.  Then it’s off to Sew Inspired (my LQS) to get some muslin so I can “block” my diamonds once they are complete.  I also need to see if my 97D foot has come in yet, I can’t WAIT for that little gem!  I will keep you updated on my progress!  Excited to see how this turns out!   😀

Love the Lone Star!

Lone Star Quilts & Beyond by Jan Krentz
Lone Star Quilts & Beyond by Jan Krentz

I love a Lone Star in a quilt.

There is something about all those rings of color that I just love.  I’ve been getting a project together to make a Lone Star of my very own.  I asked friends and other quilters what technique they used, some used a template, some used a pre-printed interfacing.  Then a friend of mine told me to check out Jan Krentz’s book “Lone Star Quilts and Beyond” (which I purchased).  There is also a video on YouTube, and you could rent it for $4.  (Money well spent, GREAT companion to the book I believe it’s a hour and 40 minutes of instruction if memory serves me)

It’s an interesting technique.  I like it because it all makes perfect sense, and she’s very methodical about the process.  So I decided that is the technique I’m going to try.  So wish me luck!  And hopefully I will have some samples to show you soon!

Also a note that my blog will be quiet for a few days, as Karl and I are off to sunny Florida! We will be spending time with our “Philly Family” at Disney World with our god daughter Clare.  So I might post a photo or 2 but nothing quilt-related….unless I find one while I’m there.  😀

Happy Quilting!!

 

Navaho Rose, Almost Completed!

Navaho RoseWell I didn’t get as much done this weekend as I had hoped.  But I certainly got a good deal done, so I’m content with that.  My “Navaho Rose” quilt is almost complete, just need to add 3 borders.  This was a really fun pattern by Cynthia Rang at The Fabric Patch in Ephrata Washington.

It was also my first time making a quilt with “traditional piecing” which wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be.  I use specialty rulers (Nifty Notions rulers – which I LOVE) But I thought it would be a good exercise to make it traditionally, so I was marking squares and sewing on each side of the line to make my half square triangles.  🙂

It’s also the first quilt I’ve put on point, that wasn’t from a “Straight to the Point” pattern, and it wasn’t bad at all.  I’ve heard stories about how it was difficult, but it was really straight forward to me.

So hopefully I will have this ready to go this week and sent off to my FABULOUS quilter Charisma.