See a tiny light at the end of the tunnel....................

Have been working exclusively on the potholder quilt and am thinking I really will have it done for the quilt show!  This evening I will either sew row #3 to the first two rows or handquilt a simple Ohio Star block (one of 2 in the quilt).  And.............have made a major design decision......one block I don't like (hate!) because it just does not look nice when miniaturized!  So I am going to experiment with making a block I have wanted to hand-piece for a while............

I don't have a photo of the entire block in the antique quilt but it is the partial star you see at the top of this photo  (the orange peel or robbing peter to pay paul  was the first block I did and it turned out to be easy Because I had already done a small one in a Jo Morton Club that was Appliqued, not pieced!)  The star block is a Simple Lemoyne Star made complicated with added triangles between the points..........thought it looked easy but spent too much time fiddling with it and have decided a 3" Lemoyne with those added elements is too awkward-looking.  Have to admire those 1840's ladies for their ingenuity tho!  

When my granddaughters and their families left after a lovely visit , I was feeling a little down so cheered myself up with making a miniaturized Panama Pyramid from Linda Collins' Facebook sew-along.  So far, I have made only one but will begin making more Triangle blocks after the  quilt show is over.   I just cut apart a diagram of the block from the machine-piecing template package into 4 sections and added seam allowance when I trimmed.  Block finishes at 3.25".  The diagram on the hand-piecing template set is a bit larger.

Here are some Panama Pyramid sew-along rows and blocks made by my friend, Bonnie......she has a wonderful sense of color and excellent machine-piecing skills!!  

And very organized too!!

Linda's Panama Pyramid Facebook sew-along can be found here

Today is the Day.................

I am going to write a post!  Have been telling myself that each day a week or so and other things seem to get in the way!  Been diligently working away on my Potholder Quilt for the Maine Quilt Show the last weekend in July.........This Old Italian (Snowflake, album, whatever name you want to call it!) was one of the easy ones as I already had made a quilt with 3" blocks from a paper-piecing pattern that I had drawn.

These are the Colors used in the original.....turkey red and orange......can't call it "cheddar"!  Whoops....I see this block is not really finished......8 triangles have been appliqued  on the points of N-S-E-W!

This was a funny little design.....purely someone's original fantasy!

This should have been easy but I made units that turned out to be slightly too small......made new ones and then picked up the wrong ones when I put it together the second time.....third time was right!!

Love this little 4.5" sawtooth star which is the center of a block surrounded with half-square triangles.

When I was at my friend, Judy's, home in Belfast last week for our monthly antique quilt study, she laid the blocks I had in various stages of completion on her rug so I took the opportunity to take a photo.  You can see the bright red/orange star that now has the red triangles in place.  These are actually enjoyable to draft and make .....just don't like feeling pressured.....no one's fault but my own.....should have been piecing more last winter!!

First row is sewn together!  Takes me 20-3- minutes to whipstitch one seam........need to get sewing faster!!!

 Have you heard of Linda Collins' Sew-Along making these Pyramid blocks?  She has developed templates for both Hand-Piecing and Machine-Piecing (rotary cutting) and I have them in my shop.  This is a photo of the antique quilt in her collection.  Her Facebook page about the quilt can be found here.

My first practice block......just Had to take the Time to make One, but I will refrain until the Potholder is DONE!

Had not planned to use yellow for the alternating triangles, but when I ran across this old Smithsonian fabric "The Rising Sun" in the shop attic, I think I may try it......long way off tho!

Now a mish-mash of photos I took just because............

Love Canadian Geese and several pairs have visited as they always do during the migrations north/south but none ever stay for more than a day or two!    Love seeing them paddling gracefully around in the farm pond and I would LOVE for them to have babies to watch!  Next best thing is webcams!

The cows are very happy to be out in the pastures eating green grass and laying around all day!

Sally, our Maine coon who was dropped off here in the fall of 2001,  spends her days laying in the sun, tho she is still a good hunter......but I've thoroughly discouraged her from stalking my birdies!!  Plenty of rodents around here to keep her happy!

My Mother's and now mine, favorite flower............lilacs that fade too soon!!  Enjoy them while I can!