Morning Star

In addition to the bitty blocks, I'm jumping back into my feathered star project. It's my slow sewing project, although it feels like most of what I'm working on is slow sewing. I've actually got two rather tight deadlines I need to work on, but with all this learning to be a teacher skill building I don't have as much time to sew as I thought. It is nice when I can sneak a few minutes in here and there.

View from my machine. And a finished Star, of course!

So far, this is the third start I've completed. This one is called the Morning Star, and I've been enjoying playing with the color placements. Maybe for the next block I'll do a dark background and a lighter star.

Some details. Not as precise as I'd like, but not too shabby. 

Because these blocks are pretty difficult to get precise with using the freezer paper method (it's better for larger sections, I think), and being my first paper piecing in months, I can live with the imperfections in this block. Plus, I kind of like how it gets a little character. 

In all it's glory! Or at least as much as I can capture with an iPod. 

Still thinking about what kind of camera to get, so my pictures are fairly low tech. I did get myself a new toy to ease me into South Texas life: a brand new sewing machine!

New Juki TL 2010 Q

I'm so excited and wish I had more time to sew! My old machine was a workhorse, in fact in the 40ish years it's been in the family it's never been serviced, and it's never shown signs of needing to. The biggest complaint was a foot pedal that was starting to stick, and some other general wear and tear items. I'm super excited to get to know this machine. So far, so good. Super smooth sewing, and I love how easy it is when there's an automatic thread trimmer! So fancy!

Linking up with WiP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced!

Feathered Star #4

Block in the city. 

I've got my first feathered star complete as part of my slow sewing project. It wasn't too bad, just four foundation pieces to trace. I like to use freezer paper when I make a project that reuses the same piece multiple times. Especially if the pattern comes from a book. This way, I don't have to deface the book by ripping any pages out to get a flat copy, and I don't have to worry about finding a copy machine! I just lay the freezer paper (wax side down) over the block I want to trace, and put it on a hard, flat surface. Then I trace the lines using a drafting ruler.

First block, traced pieces, fabric pull. 

After I picked the fabrics and creased the papers, I set to work. As you can see in this shot, since you don't actually sew through the paper with this method you can use them indefinitely (or until they lose their sticking power). 

in the top segment, the paper is still attached to the fabric.
When you're done, just peel it off and make another.

I'm getting better at my precision using this method, though some of my points are a little duller than I'd like. I'm sure by the end of this I'll be an expert!

Completed star

Details, details. 

As I was finishing up Dino wanted to remind me it was time for dinner. He was pretty insistent! 

My 'helper'. 

Long Term Project {Feathered Stars}

I want to try and share more process shots. Often times when I just complete one block I feel like that's not enough to share, and then suddenly I haven't blogged for a month. While blogging is not really something I want to force myself to do, I enjoy the process of reviewing what I've made and sharing it with other people who enjoy the craft. So, with that in mind I'd like to share my new long-term project.

One of my favorite designers is Carolyn Friedlander. I love all her collections, and not only do I love them, but I also use them! Some fabrics/designers I love and might even buy up, but then they languish in my stash. I love that I can both be inspired by her collections and actually use them!

Another thing to note: I am kind of stingy. So, I don't usually buy up whole collections, even when I love all the fabrics. I'm trying to work through what I've got - a real 'waste not, want not' kind of attitude. But with the release of Doe I couldn't resist. And then I also tracked down some Botanics. Welcome to the stash guys!

Doe FQ bundle and Botanics Jelly Roll. 

I love how these collections work so well together. 

Most of the prints from Architextures are kind of hard to find these days. I never had a full bundle, but I've got some scraps that I'll be able to incorporate. Incorporate into what? Well, my mom got me the book 'A Flock of Feathered Stars', a while back, so I'm going to make a feathered star sampler. 

One half of the inspiration.
Very traditional colorways.

I'm going to use the paper pieced patterns from the book to make each of the stars, and then try to have fun with the settings. We'll see how it goes, but I'm looking forward to this long and slow process. I'm not going to set a timeline. I may make a block a week, maybe one a month. I'm anticipating this will take at least a year to finish, and that's fine with me. Sometimes slow sewing is the way to go. 

Feathered star for my RTQ center piece. 

Here's one I made for a different project. I enjoyed the process, but put the book down. Now I'm looking forward to exploring the stars and see how they and the fabric speak to me.

Linking up with Molli Sparkles Sunday Stash!