Saturday, January 30, 2010

Feathered Star

OK, back to quilts. I have been working on the piecing for the feathered star blocks. Next time I decide to do a quilt with lots of piecing, remind me that I don't really love matching points, sewing lots of tiny seams or trying to make everything match up beautifully. That said, here are some photos of this quilt in progress. Still rough, but coming along.


Quilt gallery and quilts for sale at: http://community.webshots.com/user/roconnorquilts

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Trust Women


Today, a diversion. I am a firm believer that abortion has no place in politics and should rest in the hands of a woman, her family, and her health care provider. Tomorrow is the anniversary of Roe vs Wade. How private decisions ever became politicized is beyond me, but here we are, 37 years later, still fighting. The murder of Dr. Tiller last year, simply because he provided legal, safe abortions was dispicable. Would those who wish to ban abortion choose a return to coat hanger, back alley butchers? Is that a better solution? Dr. Tiller wore a button that read: Trust Women. Couldn't be simpler. Trust Women.

Quilt gallery and quilts for sale at: http://community.webshots.com/user/roconnorquilts

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Feathered Star

I am excited to be starting a new quilt. I will post a few photos of the "background" in process, which hopefully will feature a face in the center. If all goes well, I plan to give it to a friend who has talked about this idea for quite some time. It has been a long time since I have made a quilt from a pattern, with piecing. And this is fairly precise piecing--feathered stars are all points! The stars are cut using a 'stack and whack' system, stacking repeats of the fabric so they line up perfectly before slicing into diamonds. The final effect is of a kaleidoscope. When I get to the face, I plan to print it on fabric, paint, then thread paint and finally, embellish with tiny beads. Fingers crossed for a happy outcome! Should the top come out well, it will be on to quilting, and I want to do rather more structured quilting than usual--the blue spaces lend themselves to specific designs--I am thinking about something to do with zodiac signs, but we'll see. Long way from that decision yet. Here are the 1.5" half-square triangles, chain-stitched, then surrounding the star. Love that Hoffman garden fabric.

Quilt gallery and quilts for sale at: http://community.webshots.com/user/roconnorquilts