This Bear Needs a Break

Thanks for visiting my blog. Just thought i'd say, I'm taking a mini-break from the internet at home, so may not post here for a couple of weeks. I have some catching up to do and need to prepare for the upcoming semester (the "Winter Semester" at universities starts in mid-October here). Last night i finished piecing the rose and white irish chain for my Aunt Livia. It turns out her cancer appears to be back, so this was good timing. I've been clearing the decks, sending quilts off to be quilted. I'm afraid if i start another new project, I'll be swept into it and not be able to tear myself away to do anything else. I wonder if other people have this problem.

Last weekend, I visited Brigitte near Bielefeld. She let me fool around on her Bernina and I managed to quilt two of my doll quilts. The last evening, I couldn't hold out any longer, and ended up having a shopping spree at her little fabric shop (see below). Talk about Kaffe Fassett heaven! She also gave me the above charm pack from Fig Tree by Moda. I want to make something really special with it. Just have to figure out what. I'm thinking of saving them for a Tea Leaf quilt I want to make someday.

The fabrics I scored at Brigitte's

Autumnal hues aren't the sort of colors I usually choose, but they're definitely growing on me. I'm thinking of making a Tumbling Blocks quilt with them.

My Stars!

Another bout of obsessive piecing for the Sampler Swap (see below). I made seven of these Golden Samovar blocks over the last couple of days. They're from Once More Around the Block by Judy Hopkins.



Some more stars and "stars" I have in mind to make:
Amish Star
Martha Washington Star
Sarah's Choice
Foxy Grandpa
Grandmother's Choice
Continental
Autumn Hues (tho of course not in autumnal hues :-)
Ohio Star
Ribbon Star

So far none of them are foundation pieced, but i'd like to do some down the line. One reason i decided to do this project was just to test out and practice different blocks and techniques.

Indigo and White Star Sampler Swap

Guidelines

• 10" blocks (or 9" augmented to 10")

• Star or vaguely starlike, i.e. with a pattern that radiates out from the center (see examples above and below)
  

• Each block should contain Indigo or navy and white or cream, but can also contain other colors, esp colors with blue in them, e.g. , greens, turquoise, teal, lavender and violet.

• Deadline: December 2008, with mini-deadlines along the way.

• Every three months, we will send 3 blocks to other swap recipients individually, which means making a few copies of one block per month. You can choose how many blocks you want to send and receive.