The post about the "lasers"

Am I the only who is running in a hamster ball?  Not a hamster wheel because that would mean that I'm going no where.  But yes, a hamster ball because I run everywhere but never without getting tossed around because I'm always going too fast and running into things.  Like giant green trash cans.

This post has nothing to do with quilting while having everything to do with quilting too. Confused? Me too.

Here was my Wednesday morning {all before 8 am}:

... get up... work out... take a shower... feed the dogs... keep Chaney on track so she won't wear a nightgown and jeans to school {she's really tried this}... make breakfast... pack lunches... explain again to Chaney why she can't take an entire bag of microwave popcorn for a snack... get in the car... back out of the garage... rip the side mirror off my car... stop to freak out... continue backing down the driveway... stop and run back in the house to get Chaney's violin that I asked her to get 3 times... sit in the carpool line... drive back home... call Steve and yell at him... dry & straighten my hair... apologize to Steve... get ready for work... wrestle the dogs into their crates... run my pantyhose in the process... change pantyhose... run late... drive to work with glass falling off my mirror with every bump... sit down at my desk sweating and try to start my day... school nurse calls, Chaney has no fever but is "sweaty and dizzy".  Me too... go back to class, kiddo.

Oh, and the garage door wouldn't close because I knocked the trash can into the sensor.  Steve's answer: re-align the sensor so the lasers match up.  What?  I don't know how to make lasers match.  I didn't even know we had lasers in our garage.

All I'm picturing is throwing baby powder in the air to reveal the laser but I know that doesn't work because I saw that Myth Busters episode.

He's at work and I can't even leave because I'm contemplating the properties of baby powder and lasers.

WTF!... which stands for what the fun, of course. 

Back to the quilting part of the post.  All I want to do is sew at some point this week.  However, I'm so tired and frazzled that I would probably sew myself to a quilt again.  Except this time I probably wouldn't mind because people would expect far less of me with a sewing machine attached to my sleeve. 

I'm choosing humor because it's messy to cry.  Sorry but no perfect pretty pictures today because well, it just hasn't been one of those perfect & pretty days!  I do have a nice post over here all about color though...

Like I said, WTF.  Please tell me I'm not the only one.

Color me this...

It's color theory time over at Sew We Quilt today! 

I'm guest posting all about color and my process around choosing colors, fabric and design... pretty much all my favorite parts of quilting. :)

Reason # 90...

... to organize your stash. 

You turn the world upside down looking for Kona Ash only to find 5 yards of it in one of your cabinets.  I've been meticulous about organizing my yards, fat quarters, etc... but I have yet to tackle my cabinet of yardage. 

Randi was so kind to let me know that she has the ever elusive Kona Ash in her shop and I was just about ready to buy some when I decided to double check the cabinet of shame.  Good thing I did but for all of ya'll who can't find it, Randi has some!

So with all that madness, I laid my star on top of the two shades of grey and decided that I liked the darker grey.  I know.

Just to make sure I called in my creative team.  Well, not really a team... just Steve and the two beagles who followed.  Steve agreed that the darker grey made the star pop more.  And yes, he really said "pop".  He speaks quilt!  Isn't he the best??

Adding the squares and triangles to the star wasn't bad at all.  The Y seams were no big deal.  The worst part was cutting the large pieces of fabric.  So now it's dark and windy so ya'll will have to settle for a sneak peak.

Anyways... someone won the book and ruler and they get to make this quilt too!  I used the highly scientific method of asking Chaney to pick a number from the number of entries. 

Her answer: number 90

NeedledMom!  Congrats to you!  If you will email me your address, I'll pass it along and have your book and ruler on their way.


Thank you to everyone who entered!

Radiant Star {giveaway}

Well, I didn't finish my quilt top like I wanted to.  I can't convince myself that Kona medium grey is going to work in place of ash.  I'm afraid that the points of my star {since they are darker} would get lost in the darker background.

So even though I'm frustrated, let's have a giveaway!  Free things always make me feel better. :)

Eleanor Burns has generously offered one Radiant Star book with the bias stripper ruler to one of my readers.  Both the book and the ruler are amazing to work with and they are the reason I was able to piece my star so quickly.

How do you win?

Leave 1 comment telling me why you want to make this quilt.  I know it's on some quilting bucket lists while others may want to learn precise piecing and matching points.  Or maybe you have the perfect fabric for a quilt like this!

For a 2nd entry, become a new follower or already be a follower.  Leave a separate comment telling me that you are a follower.

The giveaway will be open until Monday, January 30th at 10:00 am CST.  Shortly after 10am on the 30th I will announce the winner and hopefully show off my finished quilt top!

Have a wonderful weekend and wish me luck in finding some Kona ash!

Aunt {Edna}

So I went to Joanns over lunch to do some more crack research for my blog.  Right? 

Right. ;)

Actually I was in search of what is apparently gold in the form of Kona Ash.  I have had the hardest time finding it in a store and I wanted to use it for the main background in my radiant star quilt.

I still didn't find it and settled on Kona Medium Grey.  I'm still not sold so to ease my disappointment, I picked up 1/2 a yard of Denyse Schmidt's new line, Aunt Edna.

I love these tiny dots and all the prints are from a really nice color palette. 

The other thing I love... the fabric quality is back!  After being a little disappointed with the quality of some of the fabrics from the last lines compared to her first for Joanns, I feel confident to put this fabric in quilts again and not worry about how it will hold up over time.

Hopefully I'll love the medium gray and I'll get most of the quilt top finished tonight.  If I do, I'll share pictures tomorrow and I will give away a copy of the book and ruler. 

And if I don't... well, I'll just give away the book and the ruler to feel better about not finishing the top!

Not a quilt in a day...

... because I have a very short attention span.

I suppose that things are just too interesting and exciting around our home.  That and I kept stopping every 15 minutes to show Steve my progress.

Yesterday I focused and had the remaining 7 star points put together in about an hour.  My secret?

photo from elmers.com



Elmer's Clear {Washable} School glue. 

When I decided to do this review, Eleanor's son, Orion {coolest name ever, BTW}, made sure to suggest that I use a glue stick instead of pins.  The only glue stick in our house was one that had purple glue so I asked The Internet and the answer was Elmer's.



excuse the mess!



My first try left me thinking that I could pin faster so I tried that too.  I might have pinned a little faster but once I started doing this assembly line style, I flew.  It was amazing!  Just a tiny dot where each seam matches made things so easy.

It took me another 30 minutes to put the star points together.  All I have left is to swirl the center seam of the star so it will lay perfectly flat.  And BTW, this star is huge!  I can't even hold it point to point or get all of it to fit in my iPhone lens.

Tonight I'm hoping to do the squares and triangles around the star and then tomorrow night I hope to add the borders.  I waited to pick the border fabrics and I'm so glad that I did because I'm really excited about what I came up with while piecing the star.  I think it will fit the overall feel of the quilt well. :)

Now that I'm confident in the process and the steps I know that I could make one of these in a day.  For real.  Eleanor's instructions are that good!

I'll save the rest for my full review.  Oh, and I also get to giveaway a copy of the book and the magical bias stripping ruler so stay tuned for that!

If you want to see the rest of the posts about the process of this quilt:

Seeing Stars

Chartreuse Love

Linking up for Fabric Tuesday too!

Rooftops

 Ever want to shout something from the rooftops?  Like an injustice.  Yeah, me too.  But sometimes you can't always do that so when in doubt, make a quilt. :)

Remember this beautiful picture?  I'm turning more and more to inspiration found in scenes from the world around us these days.  For this quilt; it was both the colors and the rooftops set against the blues from the sea and sky.

I have always wanted to make a skinny quilt like the beautiful ones that Marit makes.  This one measures 36" x 50" and it will be hanging on the wall along our stairs.

It's backed with a print from one of Denyse Schmidt's lines for Joanns. 

I quilted it with random straight lines mixed with rising and falling diagonal lines that mimic the outlines of the various rooftops.

Starting the bottom of the quilt with various terracotta triangles and finishing the top of the quilt with blue skies and one single roof top was a last minute design decision and one I'm glad that I made.  I like to think that it gives this simple quilt some added depth and texture.

I bound it with a tangerine and aqua striped fabric that I've had so long that I can't remember the line or the designer.  I used my new Eleanor Burns ruler to make the bias strips and it was super easy.

I don't keep many of my quilts anymore but I'm so glad that this one is mine to keep!

Linking up for Crazy Mom's Finish it Friday.  Have a wonderful weekend!