Ohio Stars

Ohio stars!  Do you love them?  I do -- they are my very favorite stars in the quilting world.  These are some that will finish at 6" that I've been working on periodically.  They are all cut (72 I believe) and are pieced with 1.5" scrap strips and real muslin that I have starched within an inch of its life to keep it from raveling.  I think I plan to set them with plain muslin squares -- I need to check before I start working on them again.

These little cuties are from the Orca Bay mystery quilt that Bonnie Hunter is sponsoring.  Same block and will finish at 6".  I have 13 more black stars to go.  I have always made Ohio stars with light background but I have fallen in love with the dark ones!  Aren't they cool?  One more thing to put on my "to do" list at some point. 

When it comes to mysteries -- I don't try to figure them out.  I just do what I'm told and don't spend a lot of energy or valuable piecing time trying to layout the quilt.  I'd be wrong anyway.  There are three components left -- and I am not going to be surprised if we don't see those red strings around the stars before it's all over.   The other two components are stumpers -- particularly the black triangles (that look like a whale's eye to me).  The fabric requirements called for a lot of red and the strips is all we have done thus far -- so I'm curious to see if that's border or if these "whale eyes" end up in the border.  More will be revealed on Friday and in the meantime -- 13 stars are calling my name!

If you're interested in the progress of other quilters on this journey, click on this link and you'll see all kinds of great layouts.....and beautiful star blocks.

As an aside -- our backyard is full of robins. I'm not sure what they are thinking but I'm concerned they are going to have to work pretty hard to find food on frozen ground.  I'm not talking just a few -- I'm talking 20+.  Maybe they're passing through but watching them forage on the frosty lawn is a bit concerning!

I hope you all are finding some time to piece while you clean up the leftover from yesterday's joy!  Jan

Be Joyful....

I wish for each of you....

PEACE, LOVE AND JOY during this special season.

Jan

Mahalo!

Think this is bright enough?  I'm happy to report two finishes this week and both are out of the house and delivered or in transit!

 This is the Mahalo quilt listed in my 2011 "to do" list and was made for friends that offered us their condo while we were in Hawaii for our niece's wedding in September.  Obviously this saved us a boatload of money and was very convenient as we were right in the heart of Waikiki Beach.  Since this was my first time to visit Hawaii (but I hope not my last), I have to say that Waikiki is sort of like Michigan Avenue in Chicago, the strip in Las Vegas, and sand -- all rolled up into one!  A quieter locale next time will be great but I am so grateful for the opportunity to have seen Oahu (literally -- we spent a lot of time circling the island) and to have done it with family.

During our sea kayaking adventure we happened upon a quilt shop that had all kinds of great Kona Bay and Hawaiian prints as well as any other fabrics you might need.  They were not on bolts but rather still on the cores that I presume come from the mills.  AND THEY WERE CHEAP.  Most were $4.99 a yard.  How can you pass up fabric at that rate (did I mention the weight of the fabric put our checked bag over the  limit and to avoid an extra fee, we had to distribute it among remaining family members?).

Anyway, we also found some precuts and those were used to make this quilt.  I had trouble getting the color right in the picture -- there were two shades of dark blue, black, purple, and obviously orange.  This is far from the most beautiful quilt I've ever made but I believe it was appreciated.  Each of us took time to sign the back and write about what we loved while we were there and our appreciation for their generosity.  So, there are permanent "thank you notes" on the back.

 The pattern is from Kim Schaeffer's Cozy Modern Quilts which is a lovely book.  My caution to anyone who is considering this book is that she seems to want to boil every quilt down to 3 steps and the cutting instructions are incomplete.  You have to take a few minutes to study the pattern and look at the fabric placement and then make your own notes.  I know a few people who didn't -- and they mis-cut by following the directions.  This is not a good book for a new quilter but it is a great book if you're looking for simple pattern that are striking.

I also finished a small "mug rug" for a friend.  I'm still practicing letting go and doing more free form piecing and this was done "quilt as you go" so as I sewed a strip, I quilted through the batting and backing. These little scraps were 1" x 2" Cherrywoods that she was using while here for our quilting weekend in early November. I could not let them go to waste -- they were too cute so I just randomly pieced them and then started cutting.  It finishes about 4" x 6" which may be a bit small (at least when trying to miter the ends of the binding).  I think there has to be an easier way -- and I'll definitely investigate before I do another one.

Red Letter Days

This particular quilt is entitled "Red Letter Days" and was made for our son and daughter-in-law to commemorate their wedding in 2008.  It is made from "leftover" napkin fabric!

Late in 2007 (with a Derby Day wedding in early May the following year), I was asked if I'd be willing to make napkins for the rehearsal dinner as well as napkins for the reception dinner.  And the answer was "I'd be honored".  That was an uninformed response because I had no idea I would have to quit quilting for three months to order, wash, cut, and sew napkins (unlined!).

From Thanksgiving to Christmas, the bride looked at fabric and I calculated yardage.  By the end of the year, we had ordered enough Kaffe Fassett fabrics to make 96 napkins for the rehearsal dinner as well as various manufacturers (Kona Bay, SSI, Marcus, Kaufman, etc.) to make about 200 napkins for the reception.  In the process, she determined that Hancocks of Paducah had the best selection and created a "wish list" on their site.  If you've ever shopped at Hancock's of Paducah, you know they present pricing in 1/2 yard increments.  She hadn't and didn't notice.  In her mind, she was selecting all half price fabric!  Not so much but this didn't seem to be the time to pinch pennies so I kept that little tidbit to myself, shopped online, and looked for sale prices at various shops where I could find them.  In the end, we had 4 Kaffes in greens/blues and about 20 different reds.

After playing around and making some samples from my stash to get this down right, I cut squares at 21" and did a double roll of about 1/4" all the way around.  I started mitering corners and decided that was nuts.  I referred to the method as "turn and burn" -- my fingertips got singed/steamed plenty of times!  Napkins finished at 20" square -- +/- a bit.

They were beautiful on the tables and the bride and groom were happy.  And I had lots of scraps -- lots and lots of red scraps and intended to use every single one up -- down to the selvage.  Hence, "red letter days" is made from leftover fabric and was intended to be a memory quilt of all of the different fabrics.  The label commemorates various special days in their relationship -- first date, engagement date, wedding date, among others.

I also washed all the napkins after the events.  We wanted to make sure we got them back from the various sites and I surely didn't want them to mildew.  Let's just say it was the right thing to do but was disgusting.  We also found that some napkins disappeared as mementos of the wedding.  Who can blame anyone for that.

The bride and groom were then able to bundle the napkins and give them as gifts to various friends and family members at Christmas that year.  Everyone loved them as you might imagine....and the newlyweds were able to save a bit of money on gifts.

I have used red in just about every quilt I could -- certainly in some Bonnie Hunter mystery quilts.  I am down to just a few 1.5" and 2.0" strips and STRINGS!  Fast forward to Orca Bay at Quiltville where today's clue is 5.5" red string blocks.  I am all in.  I don't have enough strings to make 64 blocks -- but with my 1.5" strips, I'm pretty close and shouldn't have to cut from my stash too much.

It is my hope that I will be able to use every single piece of the creepy bird wing fabric that I used on the back of "red letter days" -- I will be very happy to see it go!

I hope you're finding time to piece!  Jan

Postscript:

They are done!  64 5.5" string blocks -- pieced, trimmed, and un-papered.  I have never ever stayed up with the steps in a mystery (of course I've never been retired when one was being offered either).  I am happy to say the napkin selvages are GONE.  The creepy bird wing fabric is ALMOST gone.  All my red strings are gone.  The basket is empty!  So, as far as I'm concerned -- these are free blocks!    But these are just the tip of the iceberg for reds, I think -- based on yardage.  I hope you all are stringing away -- I love looking at the blocks on Bonnie's mystery link up -- so many red fabrics I'd love to have in my stash!

A week with Bonnie

Orca Bay Mystery by Bonnie Hunter.  Clue 3.  350 half square triangles.  Really?  After Roll Roll Cotton Boll and having to make 600 HSTs one week (month), this sounded manageable.   Not necessarily a walk in the park -- but not too bad.

And it was manageable.  After cutting the black strips, all the neutrals were already in my overflowing 2" tote and we were off and running.  At the end of the day (before sunset even), they were done, pressed, and double counted to make sure I really had them all.

So, what to do with the rest of the week?  I had expected a clue of epic proportion after getting by with the little 3.5" strings the week of Thanksgiving.  So -- maybe I should pull out my other mystery quilts from Bonnie and get them back on the front burner while waiting for the next clue?

The easiest was to get the binding on Carolina Christmas from two years ago.  We've actually been sleeping under it without binding once it got chilly before our furniture got here and one quilt wasn't enough.  I had been to Iowa to quilt this during a summer visit to a friend and hadn't even gotten it trimmed a before we started sleeping under it.  Once our island was installed, I could at least trim off the extra batting and backing. So Saturday was the day to get the binding on and get it washed.  It's back on the bed in proper order and I can mark it as COMPLETE!  Another finish before the end of the year!

Now what?  Oh dear....I know.  Roll Roll Cotton Boll.   Since I was sure I was pretty far along with the various steps, this should be a piece of cake.  Alas.  I am SO wrong.  I have two blocks done, all the strings complete and cut in half and most of the border pieces partially sewn into little strips but not even finished, much less assembled.  Basically, the quilt is cut out and each step has some work done on it.  Without instructions -- what was I thinking? Oh, yeah, I know -- that I was farther along than I was.

Last year at this time I was knee deep in the holiday stuff that we're all involved in but was also managing the acquisition and integration of a competitor and all the "people stuff" associated with it. A 12 hour day was a short day and a 15 hour day (with some weekends included) was more in order.  It was tough and they were cranky about all the changes. I was cranky too! Quilting was not on the front burner and staying up with the clues was impossible.  Apparently printing instructions was something I didn't think I needed..... we'll see about that in a few days.

So, I'll be spending the week with Bonnie after all.  Working on RRCB, sorting out where I am, and seeing what all needs to be done to get this top completed at the same time Orca Bay is looming.  I suspect there is a doozy of a clue coming since we haven't even gotten to touch the "red" or primary fabric and so much is needed.  I should put a new blade in my rotary cutter while I'm thinking about it and change my needle now!

I hope you're getting time to sew and making progress with whatever you're working on!  Jan

Postscript:  After putting 8 of the blocks together, I remain amazed at how well they go together and match -- so long as I pay attention to the 1/4".  Such a pleasure.  If you want to see what's going on with Orca Bay,  you can link to her post today and see everyone's progress.

Done ... and done!

Another finish!  YIPPEE!  This is the wedding quilt that I fussed about in an earlier post.  This was a case of procrastination -- pure and simple.

 I'm thrilled to say the wedding quilt is bound, labeled, wrapped, and delivered.  Out of my house and off my list.  Considering they were married in mid-October, it's not exactly early.  But it's done and hopefully the bride will love it.  Her favorite season is fall and her color palette is autumnal.

 

This is from American Patchwork and Quilting (one of my absolute favorite quilting magazines!).  When I saw the cover and considered what fabric I had with me in our temporary living apartment, this was just what the doctor ordered.

I was able to get it assembled and made a quick trip to Chicago to visit friends and take advantage of one friend's generosity with her Gammill.  This one (and three others) were quilted in two days and then home I came since Thanksgiving was the following week and there were more boxes in the house to unpack (or hide).

I used a faux Minkee backing since winter is upon us here in the states.  Note to self (and all other quilters out there):  watch for after Christmas sales of "blankets".  About three years ago (or longer) we cleaned out Linen's N Things (about a year prior to their going out of business) when they had "blankets" on sale for about $12-15 dollars.  They were king sized and were two huge pieces of faux Minkee (not fleece) that were bound together. All we had to do was cut the binding off and we had two huge pieces of plush fabric with no seams.  I have two left and always keep my eyes out for sales at Bed, Bath, and Beyond, Wal-Mart, K-Mart or any other home store that might be clearing out their bedding section.  They make a huge mess when you cut them apart (best done outdoors if you can) but it's so worth it.

I hope you're finding time to piece and finish any holiday projects looming over your head!  Jan

What was I thinking?

Is it Thanksgiving weekend?  Yep.
Is Christmas coming?  Yep.
Have we just moved into a new house and can only get in half the garage?  Yep.
Do I have way more stuff to put up than I have places to put it?  Yep.
Did I succumb to the Orca Bay Mystery quilt on Bonnie Hunter's website, Quiltville?  Yep!!!

So, what's a quilter to do?  Why, dig through strips and cut some fabric!  And sew and sew and sew.  Starting with 448 quarter square triangles.  I'm happy to be able to use from my 1.5" strips that have been cut over the years.  I did have to dig into my stash for the 1.5" strips of black since I used most (or all) of them when I made two quilts this summer.  So - instead of going to all my blacks, I decided to just cut all the black strips from the same fabric.

And then what to do with all those?  Why make 224 cute little hourglass blocks of course.  They will finish at 2" when the top is done.   Step one...and I'm about 40% done.

But that doesn't mean that I shouldn't spend a few minutes while family was visiting someone else over the weekend to pull out my garbage bag of strings and pull out all the blue strings for Step 2.  It's only 72 string blocks at 3.5" square -- in blue.  It's actually a pretty easy step but after making some practice blocks last nite after delivering son and his family to the airport 2 hours away -- I ran upstairs to see how this would work.  I'm using stationery from my father's business which is old and perfect for this.  It's 25 years old but I couldn't throw it out -- I knew there would be a use for it!  Was I right or what?

So -- I need to get my act together, get the house back in order, take care of leftovers, pick up the toys -- but I'm not gonna!  After church today, I'm going upstairs and sew because the house can wait.  At least for another day....

Did you see the new button on the right of my blog?  Quilter Blogs.com is a great service where almost 1800 quilting blogs are screened and published in one place as thumbnails and you can scroll through them to see what appeals to you.  It's great and worth an icon on your PC, iPhone or iPad so you can peruse all those blogs when the mood strikes!

I hope you're finding time to piece and surf Quilters Blog.com!  Jan

Do Over ... and I'm OK with that....

I love this quilt -- Kim McLean's Lollypop Trees.  If you've never had a chance to take a peek, it would be worth your while to check it out at Glorious Color.  I knew I had to make it when I first saw it.

Of the 16 blocks, this is the only I've made and I've decided that I love the black background -- but I think I would love it even more with a multi-color polka dot fabric that found its way into my shopping cart.  And with only one block done, I'm not too heavily invested -- unless you consider the countless hours I've spent thinking about it.  Then it's been on my mind for over a year!

I learned a lot from this one block.

1. I was able to brush up on my skills on my freezer paper appliqué .  
2. I bought one of those cute donuts of beautiful pre-wound bobbins in a rainbow of colors and can just be happy looking at it.  
3. I "had" to buy more Kaffe Fassett fabrics in order to have a wide variety to choose from.
4. I learned a lot about staying true to the focus colors for each block.   For this particular block, it looks like a clown was sick all over the black fabric - there's no continuity to the colors.  The blocks that have been posted on Glorious Applique (site devoted to Kim's patterns) are wonderful and I'm drawn to those that have one or two focus colors.  My block started out with purple and pink and then I got too carried away so I'm actually pleased with the chance to re-do the block and learn from all the things that could be better.  Just more fun with Kaffe fabrics.  

Now -- the hard part is that it has to stay on the back burner because of other priorities!  Alas.

I hope you're finding time to piece -- and appliqué!  Jan

Mental Health Weekend!

What a great weekend.....so much fun -- so much laughter -- and so much catching up.  

After being gone from Chicago for two months, two very dear friends came for a visit to see rural Kentucky, do a little quilting, and catch up on our lives.  Skype is good.  Texts are good.  Email is good.  Old fashioned phone calls are great -- but face to face is the best!  So much to show them and so much to do -- along with projects and brainstorming and dreaming/planning.

You may have read a previous post about Whittle's Fabrics.  Just 30 minutes from where I live is a fabric shop like no other I've been to before.  First run fabrics are $3.50-$7.00 per yard because of low overhead, no advertising, lower cost of living.  The selection is not like a quilt shop but if you're looking to build a stash, buy backings, buy neutrals, get some wide backs, pick up a few batiks, love Civil War prints - this is the place for you.  We estimate they bought 122 yards of fabric!  Seriously....122 yards.  And I should mention, I went back earlier this week and picked up about 30 more after "shopper's remorse" set in and sadness developed over not picking up "more" of some fabrics.

 In addition to a little shopping at Whittles, we were able to squeeze in a trip to the Zappo's outlet (2 pairs of boots, three pairs of shoes bought -- all for less than $200); visit Among Friends which is an incredible quilt shop in Louisville KY with so many samples that's it's almost overwhelming -- and a notions wall to die for.  I believe another 20 yards may have been purchased there.  And finally -- lunch at Lynn's Paradise Cafe which is an absolute hoot!  Wonderful food.  A decor unlike most that you've seen.  Good service.  And fun.....before the airport.  Alas.  Too soon they had to wing their way back to the Windy City....without me.

The good news (for me) is that I'm driving up next week to visit and get some long arming done on a Gammill that one of them graciously shares.  I'll have a car load of fabric and a little Featherweight that didn't make the trip back to Chicago so that some shoes/fabric could!

So-my quilting mojo is renewed, I've gotten to see people I care about "live and in person", and I am reminded that friends are friends -- wherever you are.  Acquaintances are "local" and usually stay acquaintances -- friends go with you in your heart, wherever your heart is!

I hope you are finding time to piece and sew and visit with friends!  Jan

PS -- the quilts in the post are relevant only in the fact that these were the ones on the beds that they slept it.

Signed, Sealed, Delivered!

As you can see, I'm linking to Amy's Creative Side's Bloggers Quilt Festival.  There are lots and lots of wonderful quilts featured...so be sure to check it out.  You won't be sorry but you will need an extra Diet Coke or cup of tea!  She's an incredibly creative quilter and sponsors this opportunity for additional sharing among bloggers throughout the world!

This little quilt has had a long and unwanted life.  I finished it about 2 years ago and even put the binding on -- just didn't stitch it down.  I loved it but never could decide "who" it should be gifted to.  So, it lingered in the UFO pile and I'd pull it out, do a little stitching on the binding, and put it up.  It was truly an orphan.

I had finally decided that our four poster bed needed a quilt and that one done in 30's reproduction fabrics would be perfect.  This block has lots of names, I think, but it was called "Grandmother's Choice" in the pattern book I found.  I downsized the blocks to finish at 5" because I thought smaller blocks were more appropriate for the tiny motifs in the fabrics.  I calculated I would need 72 pieced blocks for the full size bed.

I WAS WRONG!  By about half, I think.  Ultimately, I made the 72 blocks and started to lay out the quilt and all of a sudden, it was a large lap and a long way from being a full size quilt with some drape.  I was done -- I had no desire to repeat history and make more blocks.  It was time to move on and do something else.  All of that probably contributed to my apathy in getting it done and presented to someone.

But, the good news is that "all's well that ends well".  Our search for a home has been a journey with lots of twists and turns and our realtor has been a gem.  We have used her twice before and she's been wonderful when we decided to retire and return to Kentucky but couldn't find a home that met what I was looking for.  She actually "cold called" the people that ultimately sold us their home.  She had seen a "for sale by owner" sign months earlier and knew the location and size were what we were looking for so she called to see if they would like to do a private listing for some "out of town" clients.

Once our sale was final, she scheduled some much needed and fairly serious surgery.  My husband asked if we had a quilt for her as a token of thanks and I knew exactly which one to give her.  We just had to have  our furniture delivered so I could find it!  All I had to do was finish the binding to give it to her before her surgery this week.  I think this must have been who it had been waiting for as it's perfect for her.  So - it has a home, she has a snuggle quilt to use in her recovery over the next month, and I'm happy it's finally where it needs to be.

I hope you're finding lots of time to quilt (and are NOT having math issues!).  Jan

PS - don't you love the shadow of the "invisible man" behind the quilt?

Over and over and over....again

 Another wedding quilt...but with a slightly different approach.

I learned very quickly in the making of this quilt that I am not cut out for 80 blocks of the same fabrics and same pattern.  I thought this would never end...

This pattern was selected after the mother-of-the-groom and I went on a great shopping trip for fabric.  She had never shopped for a quilt before but she knew exactly what colors she was looking for since the bride said she wanted to decorate her bedroom in brown and a deep rich red.  Easy to say until you get a in a great shop with lots of selection and then it's not so easy -- but it is such fun.

Ultimately -- she chose beautiful Moda fabrics in those colors (with a little bit of blue) and I used various creams from my stash.   And from there, I had to choose a pattern and then make 80 blocks!

No more!  The wedding quilt made out of scraps that I'm working on these days is much more satisfying.  I had always thought I'd make a two color quilt -- they are so elegant -- I no longer think that's likely to happen!

I hope you're finding time to piece!  Jan

Repurposed .... and loved

This will never go down in history as one of my "most creative" or "most intricate" quilts -- but it may be one of the most appreciated.

When my brother-in-law's aunt died, he and his brothers were charged with cleaning out the house and dividing up property since she had no children.  As the only quilter in the extended family, I was given a little cardboard box that had these eight pieced blocks, the cardboard templates, her little rusty pins, her drawing of the block on the back of stationery from her work (I love that part!) and the scraps of leftover red fabric and what appears to have been a sheet or a man's shirt that was being repurposed.  One block actually has the writing from the cleaners on it.

Now -- what in the world do you do with this?  You put it on the shelf and forget about it -- that's what you do!  And I did.

A few years later, I found the box and was looking at the blocks -- can you see the boo-boo she made in setting one of the corner blocks--and decided maybe I could make my brother-in-law a quilt for Christmas out of Aunt Hortense's blocks.  He did not have a quilt from me and I wasn't sure he would really even like to have one -- but I felt certain that he would appreciate the effort.

So - I played with layouts and knew that to stretch eight hand pieced blocks into a large lap quilt, it was going to take a lot of fabric, setting blocks, and letting go of some of my "rules".

And it began: I laid it out a number of ways, "scooched" and wiggled the blocks to square them, and made this quilt.  All I can say is -- it was so worth it!  This is a treasured and appreciated piece by my brother-in-law and may be one of the most loved quilts I've made.

Perhaps someone will come along who doesn't know me and finish something I've started one of these days....I hope you're finding time to piece and quilt!  Jan

Is patience really a virtue?

I want to quilt....

I don't want to

~ clean
~ deal with contractors who don't show up on time
~ make decisions that really don't matter
~ live without furniture and most of my fabric
~ buy stuff that's not fabric or for people I love
~ feel anchor less

But -- for another 2 weeks, those things have to happen and I have to squeeze in a bit of quilting and a bit of family and a bit of "me" time.

I know it will be worth it because I see the progress but I miss my furniture and having a comfortable chair to sit in.  Somehow, sitting on the stairs doesn't really suffice!

I will have to continue to whine and live through all the wonderful things you all are doing.  Have you seen Janet's Trailing Vines quilt -- while I have 15 Lollypops blocks by Kim McLean to do -- I think I want to do the Susan McCord quilt that Janet is graciously writing instructions for.  See -- I have better things to do than clean....

Keep piecing and I'll try not to whine again!  Jan

Procrastination.....

Well -- let's be frank.  Procrastination can be fun when you're a quilter.  There are lots of dips and turns and creativity that can come as you work on one project and are distracted by another.  I am certainly guilty of that this week.

The cover quilt for the October issue of American Patchwork and Quilting came at just right time.  I needed to make a quilt for a special friend's son who is getting married and most of my fabric is in storage.  Lucky for me -- I brought all my FQ and smaller pieces for our foray into temp living and the bride loves all things Autumn -- particularly the colors.

So -- with the blessing of her soon-to-be-mother-in-law, I started cutting 2.5" and 3" squares out of my browns, reds, oranges, deep yellows, greens, and a few purples -- and every scrap of "neutral" I had that fell in the buttercream family.  This quilt requires 50 blocks and each block requires eight HSTs at 2.5".  I am one of those quilters who cuts the squares at 3", does the double seam, and then after pressing them open, trims every single HST to 2.5".  I could have avoided this "fun" by cutting the original square at 2 7/8" but I prefer the accuracy.  The tiny little pile with the red paisley on top is the stack of "trimmed" blocks -- the mountain still needs trimming and squaring up!

This has been a marathon of sewing and sewing and sewing followed by  trimming and trimming and trimming -- not to mention pressing seams open.  You get the idea.  The pile felt insurmountable.  The wedding is in mid October.  I need to be making stars and stars and stars.

But -- instead, I got sidetracked and started playing with the scraps.  I have never been taken by the "crumb" fever that has been prevalent since Bonnie Hunter made the very valid point that scraps still cost $9 per yard (and now $10) and need to be used.  Jo at Jo's Country Junction has been hosting a "Crumb Along" and I've been reading along but not crumbing along.  Until now. And I just had to make one 6.5" block which took much longer than the star.  This is not good.  My scrap bin exploded and I know how big the basket of scraps is that is packed and coming in three weeks.  I do not need to get started with this -- but it was kind of fun and it's so rewarding to be using little pieces that are too small/thin for strings.  Oh, dear......

One down and  49 to go!   Keep piecing -- no matter how small!  Jan

PS -- I'm linking to Lily's Quilts Small Blog Meet (button to the right).  She regularly sponsors this as a way for smaller bloggers to get some new readers and possible followers.  Check out her blog as well as the Small Blog Meet!  Both are worth your time!