Monthly Archives: May 2014

Reach for the Stars: Blocks 10 and 11

Eleven blocks down, three to go. I’m heading into the home stretch on my Reach for the Stars sampler quilt! Before I reveal my new blocks, let me refresh your memory with a photo of the original Reach for the Stars quilt designed by Terri Krysan of Lakeville, Minnesota:

RFTS by Terri Krysan
Reach for the Stars by Terri Krysan

Copyright Quilter’s Newsletter. Used with permission. Photo by Melissa Karlin Mahoney.

So striking! Quilter’s Newsletter magazine is presenting instructions for this quilt in seven consecutive issues. The current issue is the fifth, with directions for Blocks 10-12.

Here is my Block 10:

RFTS Block 10
14″ Square with Sashing

My Block 10 bears no resemblance whatsoever to Block 10 in Terri Krysan’s quilt. I departed from her design because I found a block I liked better on — of all places — a coffee cup I’ve had for over 20 years:

2014-5 Nebraska coffee cup
Inspiration on a Coffee Cup

See the block just above the capital N of Nebraska? That’s my Block 10!

Here’s that block on point, as it will be in my finished quilt:

Block 10 on point
Block 10 on Point

 

It’s neighbor, Block 11, is also a renegade:

RFTS Block 11
Block 11, Straight

I dreamed this one up myself, though it’s probably been done before. The black squares in the corner blocks were an afterthought. I think the block is much more interesting with the addition of those 1″ squares, don’t you?

Here’s the block on point:

Block 11 on point
Block 11 on Point

 

Here are the blocks together. Did you notice that they both have fussy-cut centers?

RFTS Blocks 10 and 11 collage
Side by Side

I challenged myself to incorporate a fussy-cut element into each of my blocks without repeating any of the images.  It’s a good thing I have only three blocks left!

 

 

 

Posted in Reach for the Stars sampler quilt, update | 5 Comments

Banana Appeal

My quilt Banana Split has been back from the quilter for several weeks now. I finally got it bound and photographed, and now it’s ready to be presented to you:

May-2014-Shoot-LR-1
Banana Split, 40 1/2″ x 50 1/2″ (2014)

 

If you look at the fabric in the centers of the stars, you can see where my quilt got its name. Here’s a close-up of one block:

Banana Split, close-up of one block
4-Patch Wonder Block, 11″ with Sashing

The centers are all 4-Patch Wonder blocks, my name for blocks made of four repeats yielding a faux-kaleidoscope effect.

Banana Split was beautifully quilted by Debbie Scroggy of All Quilted, LLC. I went to Debbie’s studio and together we selected the thread and the quilting motifs (spirals in the main body of the quilt and in the corners, and piano keys in the borders). I expected the thread of choice would be a pale yellow. Much to my surprise, it was a deep gold that looked the best when we pooled all of the contenders on the quilt top.

The thread had such a lovely sheen that I asked Debbie to put it on the back of the quilt, too:

May-2014-Shoot-HR-2
Back of Banana Split

 

The panels on either side of the big star block above show the focus fabric I used on the 4-Patch Wonder blocks. The circle in the center is a kaleidoscope made from the same focus fabric. Here’s a close-up of the big star:

May-2014-Shoot-HR-2 - Copy
Dawn’s Big Block (18″ Square)

The more I look at this big block, the more I like it. I was just goofing around when I made it but now I think it has real possibilities. Four blocks would make a perfectly sized baby quilt. I’ll hold on to that thought, as I have a couple of baby quilts to make in the next few months.

In the meantime, I have plenty of works in progress that need attention, not to mention the stack of UFOs (Unfinished Objects) I am committed to whittling down this year. Happily, Banana Split is no longer in that category.

 

 

 

Posted in 4-Patch Wonder, faux-kaleido quilts, kaleidoscope quilts, update | 2 Comments

Reach for the Stars: Simply S(m)ashing

Oh, my. What a difference sashing makes on my Reach for the Stars quilt-in-the-making! (Reach for the Stars is a queen-size sampler quilt designed by Terry Krysan of Lakeville, Minnesota, with directions coming via Quilter’s Newsletter magazine over the course of seven issues. The current issue (June/July 2014) contains directions for Blocks 10, 11, and 12.)

I had nine of the 14 blocks  pieced except for the sashing strips. I decided to add the strips before proceeding with the next blocks. Let’s have a look at my center medallion (with one of its two sashing strips) and my nine blocks without the sashing . . .

2014-4 RFTS so far
Dawn’s Blocks Before Sashing

. . . and now with the sashing:

2014-5 RFTS 9 blocks with sashing
Dawn’s Blocks With Sashing

Quite a difference, eh? It makes me eager to get started on the next blocks, even though I’m not wild about Blocks 10 and 11. I’ve already made changes to four of the blocks so far, and it looks like I will be doing the same with at least a couple more.

I was pondering what I might do about those blocks when my eyes fell on my coffee cup:

2014-5 Nebraska coffee cup
Eureka!

You just never know when and where inspiration will strike. I brought this cup home from a trip to Nebraska about 20 years ago. See how the quilt blocks are in the shape of the state of Nebraska? I’ve occasionally thought about making a similar quilt in the shape of my home state of Oregon. It never occurred to me that this cup might solve a design dilemma on a completely different project.

Check out those two blocks on the upper right, just to the right of the big heart block. They just might be making an appearance in my version of Reach for the Stars!

 

 

 

Posted in Reach for the Stars sampler quilt, update | 3 Comments

Bertie Goes Traveling

Bertie, subject of the wool appliqué project I wrote about here, has flown across the Atlantic Ocean and back.

2014-5, Bertie in Progress
Bertie’s Year (July), designed by Bonnie Sullivan

The pieces above have all been whipstitched in place using single strands of embroidery floss. On the long flight back from Zurich to Newark, I intended to add the leaves and blueberries and maybe start embroidering Bertie’s legs. Instead I spend the 8½-hour flight binge-watching Season 4 of Downtown Abbey:

downtown abbey collage
Upstairs with the Earl of Grantham and Lady Mary, Downstairs with Anna and John Bates

 

My husband and I decided to break up the jet lag by spending a few days in New York City before heading home to the west coast. That gave me a chance to visit a certain shop on W. 25th Street:

2014-5, City Quilter bag
The City Quilter!

What did I buy, you ask? A couple pieces of “Grand Central,” a line from City Quilters that came out last year when Grand Central Station was celebrating its centennial:

Grand Central fabric from City Quilter
Grand Central fabric from City Quilter

The aqua fabric depicts constellations on the ceiling of Grand Central Station. I don’t know what I will make with these fabrics but I couldn’t resist them!

 

 

 

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Bathroom Renovation: Before and After

This post is long overdue. After all, the contractors finished our master bath renovation almost a year ago. When I posted the Week 12 photos last June, the bathroom was complete except for the plantation shutters and wall décor. My plan was to show before-and-after photos as soon as the shutters were installed. That day came and went, and now – lo! these many months later – I am ready for the final reveal.

In a way I’m glad I waited. It was great fun revisiting the renovation process as I scrolled through all of the photos taken during the 12 weeks of the renovation.

The biggest change was adding a custom shower in the northwest corner:

nw corner before and after
NW Corner, Before and After

The shower was an important addition to the bathroom. (Whoever heard of a master bath without one?)

Opposite the new shower, on the northeast side, we removed the big Jacuzzi tub and installed a vintage clawfoot tub:

NE Corner, After
NE Corner, Before and After

Much more befitting a home built in 1913, don’t you think? And the new single window opens, providing a delicious cross-ventilating breeze.

I was hoping to position the marble-topped vintage washstand (see first photo, above) against the half-wall opposite the clawfoot tub but it turned out to be a few inches too deep. After searching in vain for a narrow vintage table that would fit in that space, I had one made:

table between halfwall and tub
Console Table

 

On the wall opposite the table is a small stool made by the same craftsman:

2013-10, bath stool
Bath Stool

The wood is African mahogany.

A new custom vanity, mirror, and light fixtures updated the south end of the bathroom:

se corner before and after
SE Corner, Before and After

Much less fussy.

sw corner, before and after
SW Corner, Before and After

The wall on the right between the towel rack and the door is the perfect space to hang one of  my table runners (in this case Purple Haze, from my pattern Full Moon Rising II).

Even after a year, the novelty of having a renovated bathroom hasn’t worn off. Do I miss anything about the old bathroom? Surprisingly, yes. I feel a twinge of nostalgia for that floral wallpaper:

wallpaper 1
Birds, Blossoms, and Butterflies

I had a partial roll left over — can you believe I saved it for over 25 years? — so I lined the drawers of the vanity with it.

 

 

 

Posted in bathroom remodel, update | 4 Comments