Monday, December 5, 2011

Design Wall Monday - December 5th

How's the Christmas preparations going?  If I were giving myself grades, I'd get an A in shopping and a F in holiday decorating and gift wrapping.  Just haven't gotten there yet.  Mainly because I've been trying really hard to finish the Geisha quilt.  I made good progress on Saturday till I realized that the fabric choice for my first border was just lousy.  Of course I didn't realize that until I had both vertical borders sewn on.  After some playing around on the design wall and a consult with My Guy, I unsewed the lousy choice, cut new borders and tried again.


I still have two more sets of borders to add.  This may have to be wrapped up as a completed top for Christmas with the promise the new owner will get it back quilted after the first of the year.  We'll see.  The tree is not up, nor are any gifts wrapped.  Kiddo's Christmas program is this week, plus she has a swim meet this weekend.  Time to sew is going to be a precious commodity this week. 

On the other design wall are the first 5 blocks from Moose on the Porch Quilts Fat Quarter Stars Quilt Along.  


These blocks have been assembled as leaders and enders while I've been working on the Geisha quilt.  I know the block in the lower left stands out since it's the only one that has red corners.  There are still 7 blocks left, so I'm hoping there are a couple more blocks with the corners in the set.  Other than that, I'm pretty happy with how this project is progressing.

That's it for me this week.  Hope your holiday preparations are going well.  I'm hoping to sit down for a few minutes this evening with a cup of tea to check out all the other design walls over at Patchwork Times

15 comments:

Kate said...

Ooh, your stars are looking lovely. And I like this border choice for the Geisha.

Bonnie said...

I agree with everything Kate said! Love that left bottom block. I may pop over to see those blocks for a project I am working on.

Julie Kaye from KS said...

I don't know what your first border was. But the one you have on there now is just perfect. Those blocks are great.

marcella said...

Your Geisha quilt is lovely - those blocks around the panel really set it off nicely. Your border choice is good! Best of luck finding the time to sew on those last two borders. It's a busy time of year to squeeze in sewing.

AnnieO said...

The border looks really good--it is echoing that rich deep blue so well. Glad you found something so right! I have a few decorations up but we don't have our tree--one night this week after work we'll get it, I suppose. The outside lights are up, tho!

Great work on your blocks. I think the red corner one is sriking.

Marg said...

The border on the Geisha quilt is lovely. It's good that you were able to find a better match as that one is a great choice.
Love love your star blocks. What fabric are you using?

seabreezequilts said...

Love the quilt it looks fantastic and that geisha panel is just beautiful. Good luck with the stitching and decorating.

Barbara said...

Beautiful sewing, Kate. I love the quilt, and your stars are nice and crisp.

Shay said...

Oh my goodness Kate those stars look stunning.

Are you happy with the border change? I think it looks fantastic. Go Kate Go!

Lynne said...

It's funny how people's traditions are so different! Our tree (a live one) tradtionally goes up on Christmas Eve (due to the heat) and comes down on January 6! So I'm nowhere near thinking about Christmas in the decoration sense! AS for shopping, I will do all that next Tuesday when I go out to get my haircut! The hairdresser opens at 9am and the departement store is open 24 hours so arrving at the shopping centre at 7am should see me done by ten!

Alycia~Quiltygirl said...

Great Star blocks!!

Barb in Mi said...

Love your Geisha quilt. And the star blocks look great!

Larri said...

The Geisha is just gorgeous. The borders...perfect! And oh. my. stars! Wow-oh-wow! How you manage to do all you do with your busy schedule is beyond me. I'd put a bug in Santa's ear and tell him to send some elves over to your house to decorate. ;) Happy Tuesday!

scraphappy said...

Too bad you had to unsew. Hope it will be worth it in the end though. Star blocks are looking good. I'm sure they will all look good together in the end.

Anonymous said...

Love your framed octagon block and just completed a bunch, using your pattern, for my upcoming Baker's Dozen exchange. Our theme is Oriental using Asian fabrics. Just FYI--the triangles remaining as a result of the cut offs of the 2" squares used to make the inner octagon are the perfect size to use in lieu of the 1 1/4" squares for the corners of the gold outer squares. I just cut off the dog-ears first. Thanks for the free pattern.