Monday, November 5, 2018

Weekend Stitching: Second Star to the Right and Other Stories

It was a good weekend for recharging.  Too windy and cold to do much outside, it was a nice excuse to spend most of the weekend sewing.  Though I did manage to tame Mount Laundry and even made a run to Goodwill which decluttered one corner of the bedroom.

One thing I've learned this year is that pulling out a project a month will not help me finish off my UFOs.  It does move projects along, but not all projects can be finished in a month. I did better on finishes last year when I set priorities and stuck with a project till it was done. So as I put my goals together for next year, that will be the plan.  Inverted Stars is the first one this year I've done that with (The fact that it's a graduation gift and needs to be finished just after Christmas pretty much forced the issue).  The final plain border has been added, so it's now a finished flimsy.

Inverted Star block by Jessica Boschem of Common Threads
available from Craftsy as a free download, setting by Kate
   
I'm really happy with how this one worked out.  This is for one of the Scientists in Training's friends who will be graduating from college in December.  The SIT and I agreed on "Second Star on the Right" as the name for this quilt since her friend will soon be heading out on her own to pursue her dreams of being a screen writer (with an accounting degree as her safety net).  Next step is to figure out a back.  

The other goal this month has been to keep up with the clues for the Christmas Mystery quilt.  I've finished two thirds of clue two and all of clue three. 

Christmas Mystery designed by Carrie Randall (Quilter's Hideaway)

The second wreath is still being stitched to the background, but Rudolph is finished.  Those antlers took forever as I kept putting the pieces together in the wrong order.  The seam ripper got a good work out with that block.  I've made a start on this week's clue, but it's still mostly in pieces at the sewing machine. 

That's it for me this week.  Linking up with the typical Monday show and tell linky parties. 

18 comments:

Carole @ From My Carolina Home said...

What a pretty stars quilt, love the name. Your Christmas mystery seems to be coming together, too cute!

Julie in GA said...

Your Inverted Star quilt turned out beautifully! Great name for it too, and I love the Christmas blocks!

Alison V. said...

I'm so excited to see this as a top! I think the name is perfect and I love her "back up plan!" I'm sure that plenty of studios need more people with money smarts. :D

Denise :) said...

Inverted Stars is stunning! It makes me smile just looking at it -- nicely done, friend! :)

Alycia~Quiltygirl said...

Your star is wonderful!! and the christmas - so cute!!

LIttle Penguin Quilts said...

I think your name for the Inverted Stars quilt is perfect, too! It's a beautiful quilt and will be a wonderful graduation gift. Looks like your Christmas quilt project is a fun one! I love the reindeer block!

Barbara said...

The inverted stars turned out wonderful. Your border was a stroke of genious, and your Christmas blocks are adorable. I don’t mind cold windy days either (although, talk to me again in March, and I might change my tune). When we visited the coast last week, we had some rain, and I just stayed warm and cozy and worked on my slow stitching. Very relaxing.

Ramona said...

You've had a productive week. The Christmas blocks are so cute. Happy Stitching!

Bonnie said...

In the past I've chunked a big project to finish it -- but I was really motivated to finish the project. I'm not sure that would work if I felt so-so on the project. I love your little Christmas blocks. And, yep, I could see me having a lot of up close time with a seam ripper with those antlers. But he is a real cute reindeer now that he's done. Here's for moving some projects forward -- whether done or not!

Janice Holton said...

That inverted stars quilt is just wonderful. I love it. I admire how you are constantly making progress on something. I tend to go in spurts and am so inconsistent. :(

chrisknits said...

The top is perfect! She will love the finished quilt and it will be a piece of home for her.

Soma @ inkTorrents.com said...

Christmas Mystery quilt is looks like a fun project. The inverted star looks really wonderful!! Love all the colours in it. Great name too!

-Soma

Quilter Kathy said...

The star quilt is a masterpiece... hope the recipient will appreciate all your efforts!
Love the Christmas project... especially that snowperson!

Marti said...

Oh my gosh, that reindeer is just adorable!

I agree with you on the projects. As much as I'd like to finish a UFO every month, it's just not possible with some of them. I like the baby step goal approach. lol

Louise said...

It's so interesting how everyone is motivated in different ways! I find my UFOs get finished when I decide who the recipient is. Second Star to the Right is looking so great! Do you have a quilting plan yet?

Emily said...

I love how the stars turned out as a top!!!! Lovely! And your Christmas blocks are too cute!

Sandy Panagos said...

It looks like your Christmas Mystery is destined to be as cute the Halloween Mystery! SIT's friend is going to adore that quilt. Good luck to her in her endeavors!

Jennifer said...

Oh, it looks so good! Congrats on the finish and good luck keeping up with the holiday quilt!