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!

 

 

 

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3 Responses to Reach for the Stars: Simply S(m)ashing

  1. Vickie says:

    Your quilt is coming along very nicely. Love how you are open to inspiration from the world.

  2. SandiC says:

    Wow!! What a difference the sashing makes…….your quilt is beautiful!

  3. Pam Grogan says:

    The sashing looks fab! Love how you are mixing up the sashing. Can’t wait to see what you do next!!!

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