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Reminisce: Scrappy Hunter’s Star Quilt Top

April 14, 2014 jennifer Quilting and Sewing

Phew! It seems like I haven’t finished much this year in the quilting category but I have a finished quilt top! This one makes me happy and I hope you’ll indulge a bit of rambling as I share the reasons why. Back in 2011 I finished a traditional Hunter’s Star quilt , red and white, which has been snuggled in, spilled on, stained and loved and then used some more.

I love this quilt, largely for it’s bold design but also because we’ve loved it so much. Interestingly, I also get new comments on that blog post all the time, and as I was pondering that a few months ago I suddenly saw the design with new eyes. I pictured a scrappy, colorful version, larger than my original quilt and with a small print instead of a solid for the contrasting background.

Bonnie Christine’s first fabric collection, Reminisce, was the perfect fit. I love the fabrics in this line. I sketched, calculated and began to cut, but other pressures with the holiday season came along and I set it aside. I was pulling it out to start sewing in February when I had the opportunity to participate in the Sweet as Honey Blog Tour for Bonnie’s new Sweet as Honey collection. My first idea for the blog tour was a Hunter’s Star pillow, which I made by adjusting my measurements yet again and using a natural linen with the fabric she sent me. I especially loved how the hand quilting turned out:

As you can read in my post, looking at those little beehives generated another idea with Bonnie’s fabric which came to life in my Hexagon Beehive Mini Quilt:

When the blog tour was over, I returned to my idea of a scrappy Hunter’s star quilt and got to work. Here is my finished quilt top:

**edited to add: Because this quilt top uses 10 inch sqaures and is perfect for a layer cake, I decided to post a tutorial.

You can find it here.

The eight pointed star pattern doesn’t emerge as readily in this version, but still I love it. I love the tiny black polka dots, love the colors and patterns, loved hanging it from my cherry tree that’s suddenly covered in blossoms.

This quilt top also reminds me of a beautiful principle taught by Twyla Tharp in her book, The Creative Habit. I read it a few years ago and one of the parts I loved most was the chapter about scratching for ideas. What stuck with me was her discussion of big and small ideas. She writes about big ideas as things that often come to us when we’re wanting to catch people’s attention, make lots of money, or make a name for ourselves. They are often difficult to execute and can become all-consuming. On the other hand, small ideas may be less significant but are often things that keep generating more ideas. They feed creativity. Sometimes the small ideas end up being best. I guess the biggest reason this quilt top makes me happy is because for me, it’s a celebration of small ideas. I get ideas all the time and some are better than others. Some of them take shape and others seem to fight me. Some of them I don’t have time for while others send me down an unexpected path. This little idea of re-thinking my picture of a hunter’s star quilt block has been a small idea that generated more ideas, more opportunities, and especially more joy in creating. I’m sure someone, somewhere, has already done this with this block, but I’ve never seen it. I certainly didn’t create the hunter’s star quilt block, but I’ve loved following the trail of my own vision, bringing to life something I have only seen in my mind’s eye. This is something we quilters do all the time, interpreting patterns with our own colors, variations and twists. It’s one of the things I love most about the quilting community – watching how we all inspire each other and are in turn inspired, with more creative outcomes than we can count. Little ideas generate beautiful things, and the more we do it the easier the process becomes.

When I look at this quilt top, I see a physical reminder of the journey of creativity that comes through small ideas. That journey brings me joy and is an experience I hope will always be part of my life in some way or another.

I hope it’s part of yours, too.
Thanks for visiting!
Jennifer Linking to Freshly Pieced!

6 comments fabric, happiness, quilting, sewing

Tone it Down Quilt Blocks

March 26, 2014 jennifer Quilt Alongs, Quilting and Sewing

Like many others, I fell in love with Lissa Alexander’s Tone it Down quilt which was featured in the January/February issue of American Patchwork & Quilting . I loved the instructions for strip piecing, but loved the scrappy low volume look more and wondered if I’d be up for so many hundreds of little pieces (approximately 2250!). Early in the year I decided to make a test block, choosing navy blue and green as my two colors, and I loved it. Still, it sat, in spite of the quilt along.

Last week I made a huge mess in my sewing room, pulling out most of my low volume prints and cutting into them until all the background pieces were cut. I’ve made one block every day or two since, and with every block I make I like this quilt more. It makes me happy to be using so many different fabrics that I love, and doing a bit of fussy cutting in a few spots has been a lot of fun.

The block above is the brightest so far, and I really love that little boy in the center, and also the pink typewriter. I pieced it on my youngest son’s birthday, and it reminds me of his happy smile.

I’ve been starching all the pieces before I sew, which takes time, but I’ve been able to piece the blocks together without any pins. While not perfect in every spot, I’m happy with the accuracy of my seams.

I love the way they look together, although there will be sashing and lots of little nine patches between them when the quilt top comes together.

After finishing a block I’ve been laying out the next one so it’s ready for me whenever I have a few minutes to sew. So far I’ve been lucky and no little hands have scattered the pieces. After the first four blocks I feel like I have a system for chain piecing and I’m getting faster. What sounded overwhelming at first has become enjoyable in these bite sized pieces and I’m sure I’ll have all twenty blocks done soon.

Maybe it’s just because I haven’t had much time to sew this year, but the sight of my sewing space is really making me happy this week! It feels so good to do even a little bit of sewing.

Jennifer Linking to Freshly Pieced Also, I almost forgot! My sister is giving away a free Craftsy class over at Sisterview.
You should enter!

8 comments quilting

Making Space

March 20, 2014 jennifer Housekeeping, Musings on Life and Beauty, Organization

Today is March 20th, the first day of spring. I discovered my first daffodil in the yard a few minutes ago and thought that I’ve got to hurry up and get outside to deal with my yard! There is work to do and miracles to watch as everything comes back to life.

I was scanning one of my Pinterest boards a few months ago, noticing that many of the home decor pictures I’m drawn to in the last year or so are more sparsely decorated than my own home is. It made me wonder if my style is changing, or if the craziness of my family made these really simple spaces seem calming to me. The question has been floating around in my mind for a while and I concluded that it’s time to act.

I set aside the month of March to go through everything we have in storage in our house and get rid of as much as possible. Keeping my commitment to myself has meant zero sewing (yet still my brain is scheming) and lots of 15 minute time segments going through another box or pile. I want our family to learn a simpler way of living, one that leaves margin in every area. I want more space for people, for things that matter, for spontaneity, for reading and writing and dreaming and talking. I know I’ve said this before, and I realize that it’s probably an ideal I’ll always chase with varying degrees of success, but this month my goal has been creating margin in our living space. Less, less, less. While I know that getting rid of “stuff” won’t solve the larger challenges we’re facing, it’s my first step in trying to tell the Lord that I’m willing to do whatever He wants. In having less “stuff” to take care of/clean/store I’m hoping I’ll also make space in my mind for more important things and room in my schedule for more service.

And then my husband went snowboarding and crashed on his head. We were grateful – very grateful – that no serious injury was sustained. His ribs were bruised but not cracked and his neck and spine seemed fine. Until 4 days later when suddenly his legs had no strength. Today, 10 days later, everything seems to be ok. He’s banged up but fine, but it took a toll on me emotionally. A new (and dreaded) assignment at Church came his way and all of a sudden I felt like I’d been pushed off the emotional cliff I’d been so carefully backing away from. The irony of it all is that lately I’ve been studying the life of Abraham and particularly his willingness to sacrifice his son Isaac. I’d taught a lesson on the subject and had prayed for the ability to be like him. And then there I was, facing something I had no inkling belonged on the table and I did not want it. At all. Now that I’ve had several days to process it (and feel certain that his health is fine), I’m sure things will work out, likely for our good, but I’d be lying if I said this chapter began with a willing heart. Oh well. I’m obviously no Abraham. Thank goodness for repentance!

Today I feel trapped because the next steps in my mission to make more space for life require another set of strong arms, and they are all at school. I keep walking into my sewing room, wanting to start something but not knowing what to work on. So here I am, blogging!

I’m not sure I’ll accomplish all the tasks on my list for the month, but it’s been a great experience. I sort of informally started the 40 bags in 40 days thing, and have already said goodbye to more than 40 full bags. That’s a good thing, because I have no intention of taking a 40 day break from sewing! I chose to start in all the areas where I have primary stewardship (plus the basement) and make sure I’m setting the right example for my children, who will be asked to do the same thing in their spaces when I’m done with all the other rooms in the house. I’ve had a clarity of thought that makes my heart sing. I find myself lingering in the areas where I’ve accomplished my goal because I love how they feel. I think it’s working. I’m making more space for the life I want.

Jennifer

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