More, more, more!

I spent several evenings this week and most of today working on Carolina Crossroads. All the blocks are done, plus several setting triangles and all of the corner units. Check this out:

Look carefully and you will see three Crossroads blocks made incorrectly. I didn't even catch them when ironing the blocks. I totally recommend taking a picture so things like this can be spotted.  Here is the "after" picture.

This quilt looks so good, I am extending another row of Crossroads blocks. Somehow I had ended up with two extra Carolina Star blocks, so will just need to make a couple more. 

If you plan on making this quilt, here are a few tips.  

1) You may need slightly more neutral than Bonnie's pattern directions. My quilt uses the same neutral throughout, and I ended up buying a bit more to extend. I had only a sliver left (string size) after cutting all the strips per the pattern directions.

2) I hope you love making nine-patches because you will be sewing about a million of them. Don't despair; the end will come eventually.

3) Sew the hourglass components and trim them to size. You won't regret taking time to do this.

4) Be consistent with your pressing direction. I pressed IN on the crossroads blocks and OUT on the star blocks.

5) Have fun! This is an easy quilt in spite of all the pieces and triangles. I sewed all the strips sets before cutting, made about half the hourglass blocks and 9-patches, then started making the blocks. I made the rest of the components using Bonnie's leader/ender method. 

If you've made this quilt or Bonnie's Crabapple Trees quilt, you have also experienced the mysterious charm of sewing tiny 1-1/2 inch squares.  I don't know what it is about those buggers. It's kind of fun to see them suddenly grow into a 9-patch.

Crossroads Update

Below is my progress on Carolina Crossroads. Ten more Carolina Star blocks to go!

Last night I posted a Challenge on Bonnie Hunter's Facebook site. I dared other quilters to make this quilt in the colors of their favorite sports team. Wow! Lots of likes and comments!  

Flying and Crossroads

Today's weather was beeeaauuutiful!  Cool, crisp air, sunny skies and light breezes.  I did some landing practice in Nine-Zero-Bravo this evening. She hopped in the air and bobbed up to pattern altitude as I turned from crosswind to downwind. She didn't want to land until I was able to slow her down enough to kiss the ground. Ahh, there's nothing like some air time to reset one's attitude about life.

Saturday's weather was gray and rainy, so what's a girl to do when she is stuck inside?  Sew, baby, sew.  And that I did.  Carolina Crossroads is progressing nicely.  I have all 25 Crossroads blocks (the O blocks) done and 2 of the Carolina Star blocks.  Only 14 more Carolina Star blocks to go and a bunch of triangle blocks for the on-point setting.  Here is a preview:

If you read Andee's blog (moderndiary.blogspot.com), you've seen multiple green & yellow quilts dedicated to her favorite pro football team.  This one is dedicated to MY favorite team - the Broncos! I've been a fan since the early John Elway days.  It has been fun watching Peyton Manning make the team exciting again.

Airplane Maintenance

September is my favorite month in the year!  It's my birthday month, the weather is usually cooler and still sunny, and the leaves are starting to turn into a rich autumn tapestry. This picture is borrowed; it looks very similar to the stream behind my house. We hike along a deer trail in the woods, or drive to a spot further downstream which is a public park courtesy of William Penn. Yes, THE William Penn.  I live in Pennsylvania, after all, also known as Penn's Woods.

The fall foliage really kicks in mid-October. I will snap a few pics from the air in the next couple of weeks. My airplane will have its annual maintenance check at the end of September which hopefully won't cost nearly as much or take as long as last year. She likes this cooler weather. She leaps off the runway quickly and wants to float when we come in for a landing. [I am sighing, wishing I was flying right now!]

Hope you are enjoying the early hints of fall and a nice hike in the woods.

Began Carolina Crossroads

I was making such good progress on my UFOs that I let myself begin another project. <sigh> I know, I know. This year is supposed to be about finishing up, not making my To-Do list even longer.

But I really have accomplished a lot....

The little fox quilt is now a flimsy, ready to be quilted.

I finished another block for Colorado Sunshine (a/k/a Floribunda).

The Mocha Swirls quilt needs only 12 more blocks and I decided to just repeat some fabrics rather than buy more fat quarters. I resisted. My stash is big enough.

So....

I ordered orange fabric and a white with a soft gray print which arrived promptly from Connecting Threads.  Then I began cutting the blues in my stash and filled a box with various strips and blocks. Last night and today I sewed and ironed. Even after all that cutting, I will definitely need to cut more blue strips. It's unbelievable how many strip sets are required for this quilt!  Here is my inspiration:

Royal Flush Complete

Purple is a color associated with royalty, so I called this quilt "Royal Flush".  It was fun to pull out a variety of purples from my stash, a mixture of batiks, scraps from my daughter's toddler play clothes and a few new fat quarters from Connecting Threads.  This came together very quickly, but was on the back burner for a while as I finished other quilts.

I spent several hours last night hand-finishing the binding. After attaching the binding, do you sew the edge by hand or do you stitch it down?  Just curious what others do.  I like clean finish of a hand-stitched binding, but I imagine a machine-sewn binding is more durable for a child's blanket.  What is your preference?

Baby Baby

Remember that Amy Grant song "Baby Baby" that was so popular in the early 90s?

" Baby, baby
I'm taken with the notion

To love you with the sweetest of devotion

Baby, baby

My tender love will flow from

The bluest sky to the deepest ocean

Stop for a minute

Baby I'm so glad you're mine, yeah

You're mine

Baby, baby

The stars are shining for you

And just like me I'm sure that they adore you

Baby, baby

Go walking through the forest

The birds above a' singing you a chorus

Stop for a minute

Baby they're so glad you're mine, oh yeah

And ever since the day you put my heart in motion

Baby I realize that there's just no getting over you

Baby, baby

In any kind of weather

I'm here for you always and forever

Baby, baby

No muscle man could sever

My love for you is true and it will never

Stop for a minute

Baby I'm so glad you're mine "

I'm so glad my baby, my new quilt  Bali Sea Star  is done and mine to keep. This is a pattern from Kim Brackett's book "Scrap Basket Surprise".  Love at first sight!  I bought a couple packets of 2.5" strips of bright batik prints, some brown batik and basic cream neutral fabric from Connecting Threads.  It came out beautifully colorful and cheery, much more so than the Kim's version. The back is a brown and tan batik that was on sale.

Hope you are enjoying the last touch of summer before school kicks into gear. Students in my area began classes this week.  This is my daughter's senior year and I hope she has a fantastic year before beginning her college and adult years. Love ya, baby! (She's the one in the middle)