Ta-da! Here is the (full size) result of My Stars, the Sally Collins workshop I took at CBQ last month. I learned that there is so much to pay attention to in piecing, from cutting to sewing to pressing to pinning to sewing to pressing and so on, that if you do each step carefully and correctly, you will come out with a better block in the end. Wow! Now I feel comfortable and even excited to mix a little bit of piecing when I design my appliqué quilts (and this coming from the one who for nearly a year did not even piece borders for my work. Instead I was cutting a hole in the middle of the fabric like a mat board rather than piecing together four strips for my borders.) More proof comes from the latest installment in my basket series, Blue Christmas (below).
When you compare it to the last basket quilt I pieced, the triangle corners, especially the basket feet and that bottom background triangle, there is a world of difference, coming out not only much better, but also more easily.

At the regular guild meeting Sally did a trunk show of amazing really large miniatures, including the ones from her latest book, Mastering Precision Piecing. When you look at the photos of these quilts, you would never know how small they really are. In the photos they look like they could easily be king size bed quilts, not 40 inch wall hangings. Many pieces are as tiny as 1/4 inch. I think some may have even been 1/8. This is just piecing, not paper piecing or anything. The detail is astounding!

Here is the view of the San Bernardino Mountains from my studio window tonight.
It’s not very impressive except for the fact that yesterday night, the mountains were outlined in red indicating where the wildfires were burning. The lights you see are city lights in the foothills, not fire. They’re hazy looking because since the winds died down all the smoke and ash has simply settled in the air. At least that’s good for slowing the spread of the wildfires. Please continue to remember in your prayers the people who have already lost their homes and those whose homes are still in danger, including the firefighters.

Tomorrow I’m off to a workshop to learn Freehand Hand Quilting from Joe Cunningham, AKA Joe the Quilter. I’m imagining it’s something like doodling with your quilting needle. Sounds like it should be fun!