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WIP Wednesday

1 Aug

I’m linking up with Lily’s Quilts Fresh Sewing Day for the very first time.

Lily's Quilts
My biggest accomplishment this month is that I started blogging again! I moved my blog from “SewGirly!” and in the process the entire thing imploded, so I lost all my (5 probably) subscribers and I have had to start fresh. I chose the new name, “Better Off Thread” as an homage to my first true love, John Cusack.
What I am working on this week:

The North Bay Modern Quilt Guild is having a challenge and I just realized that it’s due on August 13th (we’ve had about 4 months to work on it!).  The challenge is to make a quilt (any size) that demonstrates what modern quilting means to me and I also need to try a new technique or style.

Lone Star Quilt

I’ve been wanting to make a Lone Star Quilt for a long time, and I’ve decided to make a scrappy, off-center, one with a few other modifications.  I am also trying to use very little white, which is scary for me!

Lone Star Quilt

Green, Glorious, Green!

I added 1/2″ sashing around the star and there are no “Y” seams to sew!

Here’s a little peek at how I plan quilts out in photoshop.  It’s usually very quick and far from perfect.  I’m not making a pattern from it, but I  like to see colors, placement and seam lines (those are the grey lines).

A step-by-step tutorial for making your own Lone Star Block like this will be coming soon!

I’ve also been working on my “Geese in the Forest” quilt.  It was a huge source of frustration for about a week, but I finally figured out how I want to hand-quilt it.

Hand Quilted Bishop's Fan

I was echo quilting, but I wasn’t happy with the results and it just didn’t feel special enough for this quilt.  Now I am hand-quilting Bishop’s Fans into it.  I read a great tutorial at Quiltville on how to do a freehand Bishop’s Fan, and so far I am loving it.

Happy Wednesday and happy sewing, everyone!

I’m also linking up with WIP Wednesday over at Freshly Pieced.

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Comments:
29 Comments
Categories:
quilting
Tags:
"geese in the forest", Bishop's Fan, Hand- Quilting, Lone Star Quilt

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Comments

  1. Debbie says

    August 1, 2012 at 5:19 am

    awesome dotty star, and what a great challenge for yourself…

    Reply
  2. Leanne says

    August 1, 2012 at 6:43 am

    I am really loving the lone star, it is a great idea for your challenge.

    Reply
  3. Kristy @ Quiet Play says

    August 1, 2012 at 6:44 am

    I love love love your Lone Star! It’s looking just amazing! That green really makes it pop!

    Reply
  4. Lucy @ Charm About You says

    August 1, 2012 at 7:50 am

    Yhe Lone Star is beautiful and very clever! The Geese in the Forest look gorgeous too!

    Reply
  5. mary says

    August 1, 2012 at 8:14 am

    Oh wow, so very gorgeous, love the lone star, colours are wonderful, and I’ve read through and seen more of the Geese in the Forest! WOWEE I have a bit of an obsession with vintage sheets and your quilt is amazing! Lovely to visit here.

    Reply
  6. Erin @ Missy Mac Creations says

    August 1, 2012 at 8:56 am

    Oh, it is truly lovely. And what a fantastic idea to put it off-centre. LOVE it!! I’ll definitely be popping back for your tutorial. 🙂

    Reply
  7. Betty van Os says

    August 1, 2012 at 10:09 am

    The start looks fabulous and so does the green.
    Now I’m off to check out that post on the Bishop’s Fans

    Reply
  8. Kelly says

    August 1, 2012 at 10:38 am

    Wow – I love that lone star quilt!

    Reply
  9. Lynette says

    August 1, 2012 at 11:08 am

    “Two Dollars! I want my Two Dollars!” ;D

    Did you see Cusack in The Raven? I thought he did a terrific job with that role. No other actor would have been so perfect for the character. My absolute favorite movie of his is “Martian Child.” Never tire of watching that.

    Your star is terrific! LOVE the colors – you’ve got a great success with the move away from white there.

    Reply
  10. Melissa says

    August 1, 2012 at 11:53 am

    Your star looks great and that green…that’s pretty much my favorite color.

    Reply
  11. Amanda says

    August 1, 2012 at 1:41 pm

    Your Lone Star quilt variation is gorgeous!! Love the colors.
    Amanda

    Reply
  12. Alex says

    August 1, 2012 at 2:51 pm

    Beautiful lone star! I love the green, and the quilting on your geese !

    Reply
  13. Heather says

    August 1, 2012 at 4:00 pm

    Absolutely gorgeous! I love the colour combos you used for the lone star, especially that lovely green background.

    Reply
  14. Salamanda says

    August 1, 2012 at 5:33 pm

    Love the colours and dots in the star.

    Reply
  15. Colby says

    August 1, 2012 at 6:44 pm

    I LOVE your blog name and your lone star. You now have a new follower!

    Reply
  16. marjorie says

    August 1, 2012 at 7:49 pm

    Oh hhhh I love your Lone Star; colour all of it!! flying geese too, I’ve done a number of both of these and love them

    Reply
  17. Jennifer says

    August 1, 2012 at 8:15 pm

    Love how the lone star is turning out. Don’t feel bad about using photoshop to see everything clearly. I do the same thing with my EQ7. It really does help to see things much clearer no matter which program you use.

    Reply
  18. Katie B says

    August 1, 2012 at 8:29 pm

    Your Lone Star looks so awesome! I love the green. Thanks for linking up to WIP Wednesday.

    Reply
  19. amorette says

    August 1, 2012 at 9:59 pm

    love all the green- and the idea of making it off center- it is a great twist.

    Reply
  20. sharmie says

    August 1, 2012 at 10:54 pm

    i love the quilt!

    your methodi is similar to how i plan quilts too! very cool. 🙂

    Reply
  21. Beth says

    August 1, 2012 at 11:09 pm

    I love your lonestar quilt and your cool modifications. And I think the green is a great choice!

    Reply
  22. Megan@jaffaquilts says

    August 2, 2012 at 4:05 am

    I love your lone star – the green is amazing!

    Reply
  23. Cathy Tomm says

    August 2, 2012 at 5:02 pm

    I like that star on the lime green, Also you are doing some great hand quilting.

    Reply
  24. Julie says

    August 2, 2012 at 9:35 pm

    Beautiful! That green is fantastic, too!

    Reply
  25. Shannon says

    August 2, 2012 at 10:36 pm

    Hi Janice, Your Lone Star quilt is fantastic and I love that lime green. I’m a little bummed I saw it before the big reveal at the NBMQG Meeting. I am in the process of starting up a new blog with possibly a new name too. My old blog has been sorely neglected and I’m ready to start fresh. You are inspiring me!

    Reply
  26. What Comes Next? says

    August 3, 2012 at 4:24 am

    love your off centre lone star – thanks for the sketch of how you lay it out – very neat. Looking forward to your tutorial for it

    Reply
  27. dana says

    August 16, 2012 at 1:37 am

    That star is pretty fabulous!

    Reply
  28. Alison says

    August 29, 2012 at 5:45 am

    Isn’t there just a ton of great info on the Quiltville site? That’s where I first saw the wonky free-pieced letters, too! I am bummed I didn’ t get to see this quilt in person at the North Bay MQG meeting. I will *have* to be at the September one, since it’ll probably be your last!

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. WIP Wednesday | better off thread… says:
    August 8, 2012 at 4:36 am

    […] Posted on August 8, 2012 | Leave a comment The only project I managed to work on this week was my Lone Star Quilt for my MQG challenge.  I just have to bind it, but I’m not going to show the entire quilt […]

    Reply

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