You Know You Want To!

Yep! I'm talking to YOU! If you've meandered around blog land much these past few weeks, you've surely been bombarded by Amber's Scrap Jar Stars that have taken our little quilting corner of the world by storm. After piecing 16-patches, and hst's, and corner units, I finally have:

STARS! Glorious stars!
Staci is my partner in crime on this project and when you see her stars, you will be sucked in. I'm telling you, the girl has a special touch. Peek in on her Farmer's Wife blocks too...I am quite smitten with them.
 Amber even shared photos of others who have joined in on the craze. Shelly whipped some pretty ones out before I could blink and Carol just stitched up a storm and created these gorgeous blocks and she even ended up with a chicken in hers. Imagine THAT!  Cyndi  took the plunge too! Then I popped in to visit Darlene and look what she's doing. I don't know - she might need an intervention. :)

We won't talk about the fact that a couple of us have been thinking of stitching up more quilts with these blocks. Christmas anyone?

And I see oodles of comments stating that YOU too are going to make these. The proof is right there in writing so there's no denying it. :) I'm not being bossy. Really I'm not. I just don't want you to miss out on these sweet stars. You'll thank me later. Well don't thank me - thank Amber! You don't have to make an entire bed sized quilt, although some of us do not know how to make anything else. Present company included. Make 1. But I dare you to make just one. :)

July Christmas Through the Year

And here we are again, closing the door on on yet another month. I'm thinking we ought not to be this far into the year yet, but as I have no say in the matter, the calendar keeps flipping at break neck speeds despite my complaints. Thankfully Darlene and Cheryl are keeping me focused and I am faithfully adding to my Christmas box every month. 

So hop over there and see what everyone else has been making for their boxes. I'm betting you'll find something that inspires you. It's not too late to jump in either. When Christmas rolls around, you'll be kissing the ground they walk on when you realize that you have handmade gifts complete before December 24th. Then you too can be snug in your beds with visions of sugarplums dancing in you heads instead of rushing around like a wild woman. Hey, it's worth a try! :)

It was fun to work on these little fellas during the  heat of summer. Yesterday we had yet another sweltering 100° , but I'm thankful we are not having a repeat of last summer where 110° was the norm. Ugh. We're still desperate for rain, and it's keeping us on our knees, but we're holding strong to God's promises.

So, these little frosty men are ready to brighten a few stockings and mailboxes and brown trucks and feed store counters and gift baskets when December rolls around. 

They will all be sporting giant Hershey bars, but I couldn't take the temptation of having that much chocolate in the house and have it just sitting there until December. As much as I would like to say that I have that kind of will power, I cannot sit here and tell you that with a clear conscious...or a straight face. It would be an out and out lie and the chocolate on my face would just give me away.

I found this little pattern a few years ago and stashed him away for the following year. Last year I made a few and I just think they are so cute. This is a Laurie Furnell pattern that she was sweet to share and she has all kinds of fun projects on her blog. Here is a tutorial on You Tube.

You can whip out a herd of these cute snowmen in no time.

Binding Olympics

I love the Olympics! I love the competition. I love the stories.
The other day, my long arm quilter, Jackie, called me and told me my Western Many Trips Quilt was ready. Well, what she really said was, "You might want to bring a crane to haul this monster back home." :)  She said I get the gold medal for piecing the biggest quilt ever! LOL. I'm blaming it on Saska though. When I debated making more blocks, she said, "Make it bigger. :)

'Bigger' is 123x135.

Let the wrestling begin:

So, as the London Olympics kick off, I am excited to sit down and watch the events and stitch on what just may be the never-ending binding:

Let the Scrap Jar Star Stitching Commence!

Staci and I have been incognito when it comes to our Scrap Jar Stars, but, never fear!  They have not been abandoned to the land of UFO's.  After a week of no sewing, I was eager to get back behind my machine. Cities and crowds stress me out. Now that I am back on the dirt road, I can breathe and  after some time with DH, and the lawn mower  - big news! It rained almost an inch here at headquarters and I actually have something to mow! - , the construction of the Scrap Jar Stars has once again commenced:

And you too can join in on the craze right here at Amber's .

 The hst's were paired up:

 the corner units were next on the list. 120 corner units to be exact. So Staci and I rolled up our sleeves and dug in.

Pop over to Staci's and see her progress. Seeing  her  flat seams on everything she stitches made me twist her arm and share her secret. Her piecing is perfection and I have now discovered the magic of Aurifil thread and open seams.

Makes for crisp, flat seams so I bow to the Flat Seam Queen in gratitude.

Yes, I know. They are not very exciting to see, but they are a vital part to the block and having them all stitched and pressed means that we are now in the home stretch for SJS and watching these happy stars come together will bring me much joy.

 Joy is something I need in my life today. I have spent too many days on the phone with tech support for our Internet service. We;re going on 4 weeks now and I don't know if I am getting anywhere. I finally have Internet access although it is 3 am. At the moment I have a new modem that has been shipped to me free of charge because I was so pleasant (or so I was told) which I am now being told I don't need. I have been in touch with India and Florida on multiple occasions for long hours. I have used up all of my cell phone minutes. I have been told time and time again that my patience and sweet disposition are greatly appreciated, but the sweet disposition is reaching it's limit. Hence, these:

are no more. 

Today I was told that I am a precious, delightful creature. I don't feel like a precious, delightful creature today, but let's just go with that.