August Goal Completed

My goal this month was to make a quilt using some of the LeMoyne stars I've been hoarding. 
This is my Stars and Bars quilt, loosely based on a Missouri Star pattern. It will be donated to our local QOV group. 

Yesterday we had a rainy day (we really needed it!) so I was able to get this quilted and bound with a week to spare--yay! 

The stars across the top are 6" and the side stars are 7".  The stripes are jelly roll strips and the blue inner borders made the math for two different sized stars work out--lol! 

Like last months quilt, I used the Easy Orange Peel pantograph for the quilting.
I like that the design is a little traditional and a little modern.

I was asked about the QOV label on my quilt last month. The labels I use on my QOV quilts are from a panel I purchased several years ago. I don't have a selvage to give more information on them--sorry!
I'm not sure why the label has a space for one's age--is that a thing anyone else puts on their quilts??? I guess if a seven year old made the quilt rather than a 67 year old, it would be something to document, but I think I will pass on putting my age on the quilt!


Linking with One Monthly Goal HERE

Design Wall Wednesday

I didn't need to report for jury duty on Tuesday after all, so I had a "free" day to put together Due South. I think the LeMoyne Stars subbed for the saw-tooth stars worked out okay. Those are the last of my leftover stars. I'm so happy to have that bin emptied! 

The borders are ready to be added after the outer edges of the setting triangles are trimmed. Hopefully I will have some time to do that today. Due South was a fun quilt to put together. I have a few more quilts in Miss Rosie's Farmhouse Favorites book that I'm itching to make. I'm trying finish up old stuff, but it's so tempting to start something new!!

BTW, Willow says: " Don't forget to visit Lily Pad Quilting to vote for your favorite dog, cat or pet themed quilt!"
Yes, a shameless plug for little Willow--lol! 
Comment to vote HERE

Tiny Tip Tuesday (and a progress report)

By now, I'm sure almost everyone has one of these mist bottles for dispensing Best Press. As the starch is used, the bladder inside shrinks up making it difficult (at least for me) to refill. I had been using a chopstick to open up the bladder until one day, being in a hurry, I blew into the top of bottle as if I were blowing up a balloon. How did I not think to do this from the beginning??? So much faster!
Of course, one should always wipe the edge of the bottle before putting their lips on it. Nobody knows exactly what's in Best Press--except for Mary Ellen and she's not telling! 

Last week, I had a "buy one/ get one free" coupon from a Sunday paper insert  for Febreze One Fabric and Air mist. Naturally I couldn't pass up that deal and lookie lookie---it comes in the exactly same mist bottle I've been using for Best Press! I'll be up-cycling these for sure. Being a fabric mist, I'm assuming they mean sofas and pillows and not our stashes.
FYI: If you don't have a mist bottle yet and abhor air fresheners, I noticed several quilt shops selling them at the last quilt show I attended. Check your local quilt shop.  Lots of them have cute "quilty" decorations. I've also bought several for gifts (and myself) from this company at a great price.

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So far, my goal to use up those LeMoyne Stars is coming along nicely. I had 6" stars and 7" stars so I adapted a Missouri Star pattern called Stars and Stripes to use both sizes. I'm so pleased to have used up the stars as well as the red and tan jelly roll strips that have been aging in a bin for several years. 

Sooooo....I still have a pile of these matching stars. 

While looking for ideas to use them, I came across this Miss Rosie pattern: Due South. It requires 11 6" saw-tooth stars. I had 8 of the LeMoyne Stars and they happened to be 6".  I decided if I made a smaller size quilt, my 8 stars would work fine. 

As I was pulling fabrics from my stash for the flying geese, I found all three of the fabrics I had used to make the matched LeMoyne Stars. I chose to stitch up an additional 3 stars and make the quilt the size in the book. Also, I realized I have an enormous amount of fabric and need to make a lot of bigger quilts! For Due South, I have to make 212 flying geese.  I like to use my Quilt in a Day Flying Geese tool that makes four geese at a time so I needed to cut 53 squares of dark and light fabric.

Of course I had to make a test block--compared to what I've been working on lately, these geese are enormous!! Okay, only 3" x 6" finished, but still....

Yesterday I finished the two steps of stitching. and started clipping the back seam (if you use the tool, you know what I mean). 

This morning I finished the clipping, gave my squares a final press and now I will work on releasing the geese! I'm not sure this top will get completed by the end of the month--I feel like it's a bonus since I have Stars and Stripes put together. I do want to get that one quilted but I have jury duty beginning next Tuesday so things are a little up in the air!
In the meantime, I'm off for a little "walkie" with Willow! 

Pets On Quilts/Dogs on Quilts

I'm joining Pets on Quilts with a photo of Willow on my Foothill's quilt.
You may be able to tell Willow looks a little uncomfortable posing on this quilt....

...and that's probably because of this hole she chewed into the top...

....and all the way through to the back! :-(

I told my friend Sandi B about this episode and she suggested I applique a heart with Willow's name over it and move on.
 My applique heart says:
This patch is here to cover up
A bit of damage by a teething pup! 
Willow 2018

Fortunately, I had lots of the backing fabric left over and the patch on the back isn't too noticeable. 

I think this guilty face shows that she knows what that patch is all about! 

When the quilt is folded up and put away, Willow is much happier!
 And I can't stay mad at that sweet face! 

You can see lots more Pets on Quilts HERE

August Goal

My 4" x 5" Anthology blocks weren't part of any goals, aside from a personal challenge to get them finished. These are the final seventeen. I'm thinking I will wait until my next quilt retreat where there is plenty of room to lay all 182 blocks out and do some rearranging before sewing them all together. 

So this is my design wall today. I have revisited my Rapid Fire Lemoyne stars from the Moosebay Muses stash archives--lol! I had a stack of unfinished stars in various states of completion left over from when I taught classes using the Rapid Fire ruler. 

My favorites are the variations like this framed star. 

My One Monthly Goal for August is to come up with a quilt top suitable for a QOV using some of the LeMoyne Stars I've started putting together. I have a couple ideas from the free downloads of Block magazine courtesy of Missouri Star HERE  

If I can finish my goal, I hope to get more of these 3 inch stars made--I'd love to at least double the size that I have so far! 

Linking with One Monthly Goal HERE