Hi everyone. How are you all today? I am happy to say that it is getting slightly warmer and today was full of sunshine. Hurray! There may even be a hint of green out there. Hurray! I was inside most of the day, except for a walk before it warmed up, but thankfully there are windows, and it. was. lovely. Sunshine just makes you happy, you know?
Today I have a very small top to show, but it's also lovely and somewhat complicated. Here she is (yes, quilts are "she"):
I told you it was really pretty!
A few months ago, my friend Preeti reviewed a book and made a beautiful quilt from it. Since I had never made a quilt with diamonds, she loaned me the book and I chose this small top to try the technique. Why not challenge myself, you know?
And it was a challenge, too! The cutting went just fine, and piecing the bigger diamonds was pretty easy, but then the bias edges made putting everything together a bit challenging. Some blocking and a lot of Magic Sizing and it turned out just fine. Next time, sizing (or better, starch) before cutting and piecing would be a good idea. A *lot* of starch would be an even better idea.
This top measures about 23 by 23 right now, which is small but a good way to try out a new technique. I used hand dyes for the colorful fabrics, and I am just thrilled with how it turned out. The tree above is curved, so the top looks a bit distorted, but I am pretty proud of the fact that it turned out both flat and square. And the points match (mostly!). I feel like this is a win!
And now-- Some of you have noticed that I haven't been posting a lot, and I really owe some of you a thanks for the nice notes I've gotten. The truth is that, apparently, ten months of unrelenting stress is my limit. Something had to give, and the only "optional" thing in my life was stitching time and thus also the blog. Believe me when I say that this has been a real loss for me, but it's saving my mental health. I miss it terribly, and I will post more at the rate that I have for the last six years eventually. Thanks for sticking around and sticking with me through this, and really-- thanks for checking up on me. You can't know how much I appreciate it. (And don't worry, I am still buying plenty of fabric and paging through a lot of patterns and making plans!)
ANYWAY. . .this lovely little quilt is called Cactus Star, and the pattern and templates are in Diamond Star Quilts by Barbara Cline. You can find the book HERE, and read Preeti's review HERE. For now this one little quilt is enough for me, but there are some beautiful quilts in there if you love diamonds.
And just to end on a much happier note, I had some visitors very close to the house, right outside the door to the patio:
Yep, I'm ready for a fence. A little close for comfort! Hope you are all staying well and healthy. Spring is coming, in more ways than one.
Sharing at Midweek Makers, Finished or Not Friday, and Confessions of a Fabric Addict.
24 comments:
Glad you are doing a bit better. Don't want to add to your stress, but a fence won't keep your little buddies out of your yard unless it's REALLY high, and then you might feel imprisoned. Fence in the food you plant and the flowers you love, or sit back and enjoy the nature parade. They come up and ring my doorbell when I don't serve a dinner they enjoy!!!!
Are those deer? Believe me they are more scared of you. I have deer in my backyard all the time, but they are very use to people. They will keep their distance, but will ignore you once they are 25 - 30 yards away. I call them city deer since they roam around the neighborhood from the metro park. They are just looking for a easy meal from your landscaping. The fence will have to be at least 6' as a 4' fence is easy for them to hop over.
That is a stunning quilt centre, block or whatever. You are very talented and I have enjoyed reading your blog. Hope you feel comfortable keeping up with it. You only need to do what you want.
I had that book to review but I never made a quilt from it - yours turned out really nice -- love your deer
What a pretty block, it's so striking in its design and the fabrics you used. I'm glad you feel you are doing better and will continue to post, but especially glad you are still sewing and making beautiful things. We have deer, turkeys, raccoons, squirrels and the occasional opossum in our backyard. Even had a fox and coyote one year. The joy of living in a wooded area!
Your Cactus Star is going to make a stunning quilt, Mari! Stress affects people in different ways. Kudos for recognizing that something had to give. Here's hoping your stress will melt away soon!
The Cactus Star would make a lovely center to a larger quilt or a pretty wall hanging just on its own. I think many people have gone through ups and downs, mentally and emotionally, this last year. Some quilters handled it by going into overdrive, while others, myself included, suffered from periodical lack of motivation. But spring is coming and the vaccine is finally getting distributed and there is light at the end of the tunnel. I hadn't seen much of our deer this winter, but six of them paraded across the backyard this morning, so they haven't gone anywhere.
Pat
It is a gorgeous quilt!
WHOA!!!! You blow me away!!! I guarantee it is WIN and I am putting it in writing. The worker who took more breaks was more productive and did better work. Do you know why? Because during those breaks, she was sharpening her tools :-) Big Hugs and Be Safe.
Cactus Star is gorgeous, Mari! Congratulations on sticking with it through bias edges and all! Having been a teacher in my work life (now retired), I can only imagine how stressful this last year has been for you. So glad you are still able to have some stitching time and a post now and then. We'll all still be here, cheering you on, whenever you are able to be back! (How many weeks until the end of the semester, lol?!)
Stitching for me has been a way to keep some of the stress at bay. But now, a year later, I am feeling the effects mentally (like so many). Spring is coming here, too - and even with the deep freeze we had I am finding tiny bits of green in most of our perennials (I figured they were goners). Hopefully my long term chronic depression will ease once again as the greens overpower the drab of winter.
Hopefully with the coming of spring, will come less stress. As soon as I saw your beautiful little quilt I thought “Christmas Cactus”, and the name you gave is perfect. Great job!! Sewing is usually my stress relief, but when even that fails I have been losing myself in books this winter.
Oh, those diamonds are a tricky beast, but you did a great job! What a pretty design, like a Christmas cactus flower. I understand about reaching your limit. I couldn't bring myself to write a single word on my blog for months, even though I'm still sewing. And I'm retired! I can't imagine having to work, too. Keep doing what you need to take care of yourself, Mari :)
Your cactus is very nice! I read Preeti's review at the time and decided this wasn't for me. We have our own deer family that relies on our neighborhood for feeding. I have reached the point of bringing in my one bird feeder at dusk every night or it's empty and surrounded by paw prints in the morning. Still, we enjoy them. I was enjoying a lot of sewing at the beginning of the pandemic, but I'm burning out some now and doing more reading than sewing. I think spring will help us all as we (slowly) get vaccinated.
The block reminds me of Christmas Cactus. Very pretty!
I have missed you but I have been on the stress train for 18 months!!! I started coming down in January and the first 2 weeks of February here it came again- then the Texas Blizzard and numerous other things, so here it is Friday 5 March and I am trying to catch up to my blogs and my posts. I am praying that next week begins well also as soon as I can get my back fixed and think that the Insurance problem of 8 months is just about ended! I know that it is a part of life, but I think everyone has had enough of 2020!
Take care and we will all enjoy your posts as you have time to do so. Enjoy Spring - we are hoping for El Nino which will bring us a lot of rain!
Your quilt is a beauty! Great work with diamonds! Hugs
It is beyond complicated !! You must have been looking for a challenge. I've never seen this one before. Fantastic job!
Your Christmas Cactus is amazing! I would never have guessed this was a new technique for you. Perfect fabric choices, too -- I recognized it as a Christmas cactus immediately, before I read the name. :-). Thanks for linking up with TGIFF this week!
Wow that is a beauty!
Cactus Star is so beautiful!! It kinda makes me think Christmas and at the same time - desert cactus!! how pretty!! Hope your stress goes away, I don't think the body can handle that much all at once - hugs
Complicated but oh so pretty!
It is stunning! The complicated piecing paid off. Plenty of Best Press is my friend on a project like this.
Absolutely stunning! Barbara Cline does some AMAZING stuff, I made a multi star quilt of hers from "Just Triangles!" Her books are VERY well written and easy to follow - takes some time, but then anything worth doing...Thanks for sharing. (Love those little deer!)
I saw your Cactus Star at a link up and had to visit to say how beautiful I thought it was. What immaculate stitching. If only you could share your piecing skills! Meanwhile, we must be sure to take care of ourselves during these weird days and little pressures like writing and posting can also feed some stress. As you can see, your friends are all here waiting for you.
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