Friday, May 27, 2016

Double friendship

Summer has suddenly arrived!  It was more than 90 degrees on Thursday and it's supposed to be hot all weekend.  Last Saturday it was chilly enough to wear a sweatshirt, but not this weekend!  Plus, we were having a really bad air quality day.  In fact, I don't know if I've ever seen air quality numbers that bad, but I am assured by people who should know that it's going to get worse as the summer goes on.  Should be exciting, no?

With the heat and the bad air, what else was there to do but stitch up a few things?  Here's the big finish for this week:

A decent, if sunny, substitute for a clothesline!

Friendship stars, set on point!  The blocks came from a swap that I did with one of my quilt groups last year, so none of the blocks were made by me.  But I finally put them all together into a quilt that is a little different from the usual friendship stars. I think it loses something in this layout because the connections between the blocks just aren't that prominent.


Since these were all solids, the rules for the swap called for gray "ribbons" in each block.  Who knew there were so many different gray solids?  I used Kona Ash for the setting triangles and corners, which I think looks pretty good. A little light in the picture, but pretty good otherwise.

Why is this post called "double" friendship?  Because:

Yes, that is a gigantic tree!

I made two quilts from the stars!  The larger one at the top of the post measures 76 by 85, a nice lap size.  The smaller one measures about 42 by 42, a good baby size.

I was originally planning to donate both of these quilts, but now I'm feeling a little anxious about that.  I didn't make these blocks, and it's stunning how different the interpretations of a quarter-inch seam are.  At first I started redoing some of the ones that I thought were really off, but then I ended up just giving in and tugging here and easing there so that most of the points and seams would match.  It took a LOT of Magic Sizing to get the larger quilt to lay flat.  I guess I will have to quilt them up and see what I think.  Solids are nice, but they are very unforgiving!

Speaking of quilting these up, it's just about time for a quilting marathon day around here.  There are a bunch of things all piled up and waiting their turns through the machine.  If the air is going to be that bad, I think I should plan many indoor activities.  Time to start piecing together some batting for all these tops.


Hope everyone has a wonderful Memorial Day weekend!  We are planning to go to a state park and maybe to a historical site, too.  If we don't melt!  And can breathe!  Plus there's this Philadelphia treat called water ice that we're planning to try.  Can't be too bad if it's hot and the drinks are icy, right?

Linking to Confessions of a Fabric Addict and crazymomquilts!

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

I love both of these! Once they are quilted, they will be fine. I love the solids.

Millie said...

Those are so pretty. This might tempt me to use solids.

Ramona said...

Both quilts are beautiful. The larger one looks like the stars are spinning. They will be even more lovely once they are quilted.

Preeti said...

How cheerful, Mari, are these quilts? Brightened my day, definitely. Hope you have a fun-filled weekend. I will be quilting furiously trying to finish a big WIP by Monday.
Hugs,
Preeti.

Bernie Kringel said...

I like the looks of both of these. The first picture is great with the sun shining through the flimsy.
I have often thought about the tiny size differences for things like bee blocks and other charity projects where blocks are collected. It must be a challenge to work with piecing that is off a bit in either direction. Hopefully when these are quilted they will work out fine. I think they would both be great donations!

Good luck this weekend - it is supposed to be quite warm here as well. Here comes summer (not my favorite time of year.....)

Sarah@123quilt said...

I really like both of these quilts. It's amazing how different seams can be from quilter to quilter. I think you did a great job putting all those blocks together. :)

claudia said...

O love, love, love these quilts! The colors are divine! You did such a nice job of putting all those blocks together.
Why is your air quality bad? Is it the fires in Canada? Not something to look forward to. I have COPD, so I would have a really hard time of it. Even here where the air is relatively clear, I have a hard time some days because of the pollen.
Good luck to you this summer, I hope the air clears up for you!!!

Colleen said...

love both of these ! The Kona ash makes the other colours seem to sparkle, great choice.

JanineMarie said...

Ah, Mari, both of these are stunning! You did a wonderful job of putting them together and I bet they will both look great quilted. This instant summer is a little hard to take, isn't it? But from what I'm hearing we'll have to get used to it. Here's hoping, it will be lovely at the State Park. I haven't heard of water ice. Is it kind of like a slush drink? That sounds refreshing!

Sew Much For Free Time said...

Oh, Mari! These are both so pretty! I don't think the larger one loses anything by the arrangement. It's stunning, and I could look at it for hours, noticing the way the solids play together and trying to find the "blocks". I hope the inconsistinces will quilt out and you'll end up with quilts you won't WANT to donate (but will, anyway).

I googled Water Ice. Sounds like Culver's Lemon Ice to me! Let us know how it is!

Tami @ SewMuchForFreeTime

KaHolly said...

Wow! Am just loving these! I only sewed contributed blocks together once, a long time ago, and that experience cured me! It will finish up fine, just wait and see!

Pamela said...

I love the friendship stars on point - they kind of sparkle. Love the greys too. The baby quilt is very cute too - the border colour really makes it. Looking forward to seeing these quilted.