Little Lone Star and other June Adventures

June has been a busy month with the school year drawing to a close and a much anticipated trip to New England. I was not sure just how much time I'd be able to devote to sewing so I made sure I set my June ALYoF (A Lovely Year of Finishes) goal very do-able. Previously I'd stitched together a little lone star using English paper piecing, however it sat for more than a year waiting for the background pieces to be attached. So, my goal for June was to get the background attached so the star would be finished.

 

Now I love it more than ever. Quite a while ago I purchased a half yard of the Etchings print by 3 Sisters just to stash. As I was looking through my fabrics for background for this patriotic lone star it stood out as the perfect choice. I'm so happy to be using this lovely fabric on something I really like :o) I'm not sure what the next step will be for this little lone star...will I just leave it this size and turn it into a wall hanging, or will more be added? I'm going to hang it on my design wall and look at it for awhile to see where inspiration leads.

 

I always think it's fun to see what the back of a quilt top looks like, so here's how the back of Little Lone Star looks. The paper templates are still basted in...I have to admit I like the back as much as the front! I'm linking this post up to the June Finishes Party over at Sew Bittersweet Designs.

So, what else have I been doing this month? I'm so glad you asked because I have a couple fun things to share :o) 



I have a dear aunt & uncle who are so special to me and they enjoy birding. So, back in January I bought this sweet bundle of Charley Harper organic cotton fabric thinking these prints would make a super fun Jane Market Bag. One of my favorite "happy accidents" is the little Nuthatch peaking out from under the strap :o) If you've never made one of these bags I absolutely give it high scores for a well written, great pattern. There are a lot of options for adding custom touches, too. I like to top stitch the seams and add a strip of trim fabric across the top of the pockets. I also added featherweight interfacing to both the straps and the lining. The pattern does not call for interfacing, but I like the bit of structure it adds. On a previous bag I used a heavyweight (Pellon 809) interfacing which made the bag stand on it's own. 

Before leaving on my trip to New England I prepped a couple of hand work projects to take along for quiet moments here and there. I've made some progress on the hand stitched Flickering Stars pillow. 

2010 Issue of Sew Scrappy, Volume 1

This is the first of four stars. Again, I think it is so informative to see what the back looks like so here's a picture of this block being sewn together.

I grow to love hand sewing more with each new project. It is so relaxing and not at all hard to be precise in matching up star points and seams. In this picture you can see the pencil lines used to mark the stitching lines. Accurate pinning on these lines is the key. I learned a lot about hand piecing from one of my students at school ;o) She was in 7th grade and had a lot of experience with hand piecing. She explained how to stitch all the way around the seam allowances when joining rows together - it works beautifully!

June was a productive month in the sewing room. I'd love to hear about what you've been working on :o)