Tuesday, November 09, 2010

I'm Seeing Stars


Here are the crumb blocks I showed you last month, all together in a little quilt top.  It measured about 34 inches by 42 inches, and I got it handed off to someone else in the guild to quilt.  This will be a quilt for an ill child, and I thought it looked nice and cheery.  The binding is hanging next to the right side of the quilt.  I thought the rainbow stripe added a nice finish.  I had my usual math challenge figuring out the side and corner triangles.  I even looked up the formulas in a book, and still had trouble!  But when I finally got it figured out, it worked out perfectly! 

I don't think anyone in the guild had ever seen crumb blocks before . . . they were pretty quiet when I showed the top, like they weren't sure what to think.  I might have to do a little demo.  That would be fun! *grin* 

At my other guild meeting last week, we had Sharon T. as the speaker, and she talked about scrap quilts.  She was a fun speaker, and very informative too.  When she asked how many people in the guild had blogs, I think I was the only one to put up my hand.  Now, was I the only blogger, or the only one crazy enough to admit to it??

You might have noticed that there's a new button on my sidebar.  I periodically check out the block of the month at the Block Lotto blog, and last month they were doing the most wonderful scrappy, wonky stars.  I was curious about the Lotto, and noticed that Belinda (Brown Dirt Cottage) had joined.  So when I asked  her about the Lotto, she urged me to join.  So I did!

It was late in the month when I joined, so I hurried and made some blocks, which were 9 inches finished size.  We were allowed to make 9 blocks, and I managed to get 8 blocks done before the deadline. 


Here's my first batch of stars.


I got a little more adventuresome with the second batch.  I think my favorite is the one on the bottom right, with the dots and the crazy center!

Well, the drawing for the Lotto is on the last day of the month, which was Halloween.  So after all the trick-or-treaters were done, I went up to see who had won all the wonderful stars.  I couldn't believe it, but Belinda and I both won!!  We each will receive 48 star blocks.  What a great Halloween treat!  I've already started getting squishies in the mail, which is very exciting.  And I'm already thinking of what I'm going to do with my treasures!  Thank you, Belinda, for "twisting" my arm!!

Last week we had a few days of beautiful weather, so I had to get out and take some photos of the gorgeous fall colors.  The first two photos were taken in the yard. 


The Japanese maple in the front yard, with the sunlight coming through the leaves.  This tree has made me learn to love red-orange!  It's so glorious to see it out the front window in the morning with the sun on it. 


This is the maple tree in the back yard.  These leaves are about 3 or 4 times the size of my hand!

We had storms this past weekend and, sadly, now almost all of the leaves are on the ground.  It's starting to be pretty cold - down in the 30's at night - and it's been raining for 5 days.  We saw deer in the yard again yesterday, which means they've moved down from the mountains.  I guess it can't be denied now . . . winter is definitely on the way.

This was taken in the state forest about 20 miles from my house, up in the mountains.  We took off one day, just to go see the forest.  After the storms this last weekend, there is snow up there now!  Looks like we timed our little jaunt just right!

11 comments:

  1. Isn't blogfriend support wonderful...especially if you are a little off the traditional mark...or a lot! LOL! I am sure your guild friends are giving your crumb blocks some thought if they are adventurous. The blocks are wonderful and I want to try some! The stars are so great too! And Washington...wow.

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  2. Lovely blocks and I just love those stars. I agree. The one bottom right with the dots is great.

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  3. I love the stars and the one on the lower right is my favorite too. I love seeing what others are doing. It gives you so many ideas. I want to run upstairs and start working.

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  4. What a darling quilt - yes, you need to do some educating about crumb blocks! The rainbow binding is perfect. I love your stars - those are in Gwen Marston's book from 1996! They're on my list. My favorite is the same as yours - outrageously cheerful! Congrats on such an awesome win!
    That pic in the forest is just beautiful. All of our leaves are down too, but the ground is still littered with them - it's so neat to see a bare tree and the ground around it just glowing with color!

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  5. Great job on the crumb quilt. I made one in that lay-out a couple of years ago. And I'm always loving star quilts--

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  6. Very cute crumb quilt, and the stars are fantastic! Looking forward to seeing them together!

    Absolutely LOVE that last photo!

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  7. Those stars are so fun! And I know from experience that they're fun to make too ;- )
    Congratulations on your win!!!

    I'm treasuring the sun breaks we've been getting up here. I know they're going to get rarer as the month wears on!

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  8. I love the stars and how exciting it is that you won! I love winning. :) We are just now getting some fall color here...we had a true drought this summer so I wasn't expecting any color at all. I'm just standing in awe at the beauty every day. blessings, marlene

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  9. That is too funny!! I kind of got the same reaction the first time I showed something with free-pieced letters and scraps. I think some of them just really wanted to 'gasp'! I didn't get a whole lot of commentary!!
    I think your little scrap blocks is a great choice for a child...yes, it is FULL of cheerfulness!!
    Isn't been wonderful getting star squishy packages in the mail. I can't wait to get my design wall all cleared off so I can put my stars up there and have a look-see!!

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  10. What a great post, lots of updates. Your crumb quilt is very cheery. Funny, when I do something like blogging or lib piecing, I think I'm the last one to join in, then I realize so many haven't discovered the addictions....hehehe Congrats on the win, love the stars.

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  11. Your crumb quilt is great. I have been sewing a few crumb blocks lately. I finally decided to count them and I have 38 blocks already. I still have LOTS of scraps, so I am sure I can make a lot more blocks. Congrats on winning the wonky star blocks. What fun!

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