The Framed Star top is done and I'm very happy with how it turned out. These blocks were so much fun to piece, (and so easy) that I wanted to make more and more. I did replace five of the older blocks with new ones, because I thought they were a bit too dark, and I was very glad of the excuse to sew some more. It's not often I love a pattern from start to finish, but I never got sick of these; I may have to come back and make another set in completely different fabrics.

 The pieced border is very simple, but finished the centre off in a nice way. I don't mind quilts that don't have borders, but I felt the blocks ending at the edge was a bit abrupt. The pieced strip was very quick to make, and I sewed it to the large sections of the top before I  put them all together, so that minimised the very long seams.

 And then I added a two inch border of the setting cream as a final frame.

 Now I get to cross it off the list, clear out the project box and fill it with something new, probably my Ohio stars.
Finish one, start one, nothing wrong with that is there?

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 I've been busy sewing my Framed Star blocks together, but I was desperate to have some smaller piecing to be going on with. I decided to perfect my Ohio Star making skills, and cut out a host of bits.

I also finished some other blocks that were laying around, but the stars have been my little compulsion. I can't stop making them, even though their final design is a bit hazy. I'm just super pleased that they're all turning out so neat and perfect, and it's easy to make three or four in between the long seams of the other star blocks.

 My files have  many wonderful photos of antique quilts featuring this block, now I just have to decide which one, or two or three to make.

I've come to really detest the long seams involved in sewing tops together, and now I prefer to sew the blocks into smaller chunks, and usually I just have one long seam to sew at the very end. And I don't mind that because it means I'm Done!

The blocks are now in three large pieces, but I want to add a pieced border, and I'm going to sew that to each section  before I put it all together. I'm really pleased with how it's  turning out, and I can see this being finished within the next couple of days.

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You would not believe the agonising that went on, finally choosing the cream to set these blocks together. Keryn was driven nuts by my vacillitating but was very patient, probably because she is capable of doing the same thing with her fabric choices. I don't know how many times I said "That's it! I'm just using this one!" and then the little doubts would creep in, it was too white, it was too plain, the pattern was distracting, it was too yellow, the design was too modern...Sigh. I had used some very light shirtings in the blocks, and they made lots of fabrics look really dirty next to them.I tried and tried to just sew it together and couldn't. The cream I've actually settled on is still not what I had in mind, but I've sickened myself with all the little broken decisions; I've had enough, and this will do, finally.

Except, when it came down to it, I only had enough to sew three rows together. Aghh! I've bought three lots of cream fabric in three metre lengths, but this wasn't one of them, would you believe it? I knew where to get more, but had to wait until we went to Pirie, and meanwhile the design wall was full of neatly arranged blocks, just sitting there. I put them all into little piles, pinned to the side, because the arrangement of these had taken many hours too, twitching and fiddling until everything was balanced. There was no way I was going to go through that again.

Funnily enough, when I was looking through the Quilts of Virginia book I remembered another project I'd started, this ninepatch on point. It's not like I actually forget these things, but until something reminds me they're just not on my radar.

So, onto the design wall they went, and I'm sewing them together, quick and easy.

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I now have enough of the cream I need, so I don't know which project I'll finish first, but things are moving at last. The actual sewing is the easy bit, it's the decisions that take up so much of my time. Like what to do with three lots of almost identical very light cream.....

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