Winter Star

I think I'm getting burned out trying to do all I want to do!  I really accomplished a lot in January, starting with the BOM and making a top from that block.  I made some fun projects and gifts.  In looking for my next project, I took on a long time desire of making a winter wall hanging for ME!!

My decorating theme in January is snowmen - I have so many I can't put them all out at Christmas so I save them for January. I've wanted a wallhanging to go with this theme and was looking for something with a snow theme.  It took me several weeks of searching and I had thought I found the right one. But when I found this beauty in a Connecting Threads calatog, I realized that this was the one I was waiting for!!  This wall hanging has a very rich look, so much more elegant than the snowman I originally was going to settle for. 

I recreated it using my EQ5 and played around with fabrics.  One of my goals this year is to create everything from my stash and not have to buy fabric.  I had to change the original pattern slightly to accomodate that goal and am very pleased with my results! I used half square triangles to make all the diamonds.  Most match up very nicely and from a distance you can't tell I didn't cut diamonds.

 It's only 42 X 42 so was a small project.  It took me a good 4 days of planning, cutting and sewing, and I even am pleased with the quilting.  My ego took a huge bruising this year at our county fair because my quilting wasn't up to par.  I'm trying hard to improve, but sometimes my desire to finish quickly gets in the way of quality.

I finished the binding tonight and had to hang it up right away.  It'll come down for show and tell at my guild's meeting Wednesday night and then because I used a marking pencil to trace some feathers, I'll have to wash it.

On to the next project!  Or maybe I'll clean my house tomorrow....  It's been neglected lately...