Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Thank My Lucky Stars

Some days I forget to pause and be grateful.  I  can often be heard bemoaning the fact that I had to 'retire' from work before I was ready to do so.  It seems easy to find things to grumble and complain about.  But today I thank my lucky stars for many things.  First of all, when I got up this morning the car looked like this...

which gives you a pretty good idea of the blizzard that happened over night.  The radio announcer suggested that things would blow through by afternoon but in the meantime we should stay home if at all possible.  So, I promptly cancelled the three non-essential appointments I had for today and I headed into my sewing room where I have been working on my Lucky Stars quilt.  How blessed I am!  I have a warm and cozy home, I didn't have to fight the storm to go to work, everyone that I love was safe and warm and I had a whole 'bonus day' to spend sewing. 

This pattern (from Atkinson Designs) has been a really easy, peasy quilt to work on but I sure do like the way it is turning out.  Sometimes it is nice to work on something that doesn't require as much unstitching as it does stitching! (read...Lone Star!)  Here's what my Lucky Stars looks like today.  Now the question is, should I add a border?  The pattern doesn't call for one but I think I'd like to make this a little bigger.  What do you think?

As you can tell, my sewing room is pretty tiny and my design wall is a panel of batting hung over the closet doors and tucked in behind my cutting table.  Makes picture taking difficult but it works for now (until I can figure out a different plan or expropriate a larger room in the house).  Happy sewing!


8 comments:

  1. The new work in progress quilt looks great Denise!

    And NO, you can't knock out the wall between my office and your sewing room and take over both spaces. :-)

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  2. Hi Denise! Your quilt is gorgeous! If you feel like adding a border I say go for it, I can never stick exactly to patterns and often add my own touches (or just wing it all together). I've yet to make a quilt though...it's on my to-do-soon list.
    Having lived in Alaska for a good portion of my life, I understand your description of being snowed in and a comfy home. Oh, how I miss those crisp days.
    Now that I'm in Phoenix, AZ I have the opposite! Sometimes we stay indoors because it's waaaaay too hot to step outside. :)

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  3. yay for the snow - great excuse for staying in and sewing and the quilt looks great - and if you want to add a border to make it bigger go ahead - it will look great either way - love the fabrics you've used :)

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  4. Hi Denise
    hurray for the snow. I think your quilt is stunning and am always envious when I see perfectly sewn stars and triangles. Like you I had to "retire" early but on the positive side it has given me more time to sew.

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  5. Isn't it great how you can appreciate a snowstorm? I think retirement is wonderful. And your Lucky Stars quilt is great. Instead of adding "just a border," why not piece a border? This one would look great with a Sawtooth border that repeats the points of the stars. I can picture half-square triangles around this. On each side, aim half of them toward the middle. It's difficult to describe what I mean, but I'm sure you've seen this. Then, you could add one more plain border, if you wish. A pieced border could make your pretty quilt even more spectacular.

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  6. I love your quilt - the colours are marvelous. If you want to make it bigger with another border - go for it. It's your quilt after all!
    I'm jealous of your snow. I'm in SW Ontario, and it looks like you got more snow last night than we've had all winter. It's been weird looking at my grass all winter. Next year - send us some ok?

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  7. It's a beautiful quilt, and yes you can add a border if you want - either a pieced one as Linda suggests, or a simpler one that follows the same size and style as what currently surrounds your stars. That would bulk up the outer border so that it is balanced with the "sashing" between the stars. It will be lovely whichever way you decide to go!
    That is a lot of snow - glad you and yours were all warm and safe.

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  8. Glad you stayed out of the snow storm. My design wall is my dining room floor currently, so I think your panel is great! :) The quilt looks lovely.

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