I See Stars — Janet Szabo

The Tim Holtz fabric I ordered from Fat Quarter Shop came this week, but I was still dithering about what to use for the BU jacket. I pulled out my bin of Tim Holtz fabric—not an insubstantial amount—and laid it all out on my cutting table. I like to do that because that helps me to see which fabrics play well together. Of course, two fabrics I hadn’t considered decided they liked each other. Who am I to argue with fabric?

I am sticking with the Sawtooth Star block because I’ve already wandered far enough off script with this project. The Beachcomber Jacket pattern specifies 12" and 6" stars. I will make three 12" stars—one for the back and each front—but I am also adding in smaller stars because of that two-piece sleeve.

And rather than use the print fabric for the centers of the larger stars, I am going to use additional stars to give a “star in a star” look. (Anything worth doing is worth doing in excess.) That print, by the way, contains a tiny bit of the same teal that’s in the background fabric, which is why they coordinate well.

I’m using the Eleanor Burns Flying Geese rulers to make my stars. I used that same set of rulers a number of years ago to make a quilt comprised entirely of flying geese units. It’s a bit of a strange method and it does waste a small amount of fabric in the trimming, but I found it gives me an excellent result. And I think it will be a more accurate method when it comes to making tiny flying geese for the smallest stars. 🤯

So that’s where this project is at the moment. I make flying geese units whenever I have a moment or two to sit down at the machine. The ones that don’t make it into the jacket will get used for another project.

My friend Anna gave me the baking sheets that I use to lay out my blocks. They are too big for either of our ovens, but they make great design boards.

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I lengthened the Free Range Slacks pattern into a pair of trousers. I want to make some black linen ones for summer.

The weather has improved considerably since last week, though, and I need to attend to outside tasks. I pruned apple trees yesterday afternoon. I have a hard time with pruning because I don’t feel like I do it well. I know the rules and follow them, but I always worry that I’m taking off too much. Of course, everything I prune always comes back with a vengeance, so I should just get over myself.

I’m going to run into the farm store this morning to see if I can get chicks, but this is the last attempt. If I can’t get any today, we aren’t going to do chicks this year.