Cathedral Window

Does it ever happen to you when you try something for the first time that you weren't sure you could do, and it turns out perfectly.... you have this sudden feeling that you are a genius. Yes, there were directions. Yes, I followed the directions and none of the actions required any real skill at all. But yet I feel somehow that I am amazing because I made this:

For those of you who are not familiar with this type of quilting, it is a Cathedral Window block, which I have been drooling over since this post.

Look at that beautiful stitching.....

(Not so?) Charming Stars Quilt

This next quilt is a combination of two good ideas that might end up as one blah idea.
The pattern I loved, from Moda Bake Shop Blog called Charming Stars.
The fabric my sister liked because it had the "European Farmhouse" look to it that she wanted. I never guessed she would have gone with something so what I would call "French Country" but none the less Maison de Garance was her choice of fabrics. And I could see how it could work with a nice modern pattern, but I think I chose the wrong one. The Charming Stars quilt done in fandango looks very modern, but I'm afraid my version is starting to look a little too country and not enough modern.
Well anyway, here is the first row:

The block looks like this:

It's very cute and I am realizing how nice it is to use sashing!
The only thing that annoys me is that I can't seem to get the star perfectly laid out so that seems are perfectly even.
Sometimes the points are too wide for the center:

And sometimes they are too small:

Overall, it doesn't ruin the look, it just bothers my desire for perfection.
We will see what the end result is. If Meghan doesn't like it someone else will, and I have plenty of time to make her a different one. I think what I really need is to wait for Moda to make the perfect fabric line for her. I think this one is maybe just a tiny bit too formal, and not modern enough, but the colors are good.

More when it's done....

Number 3 - Baby Bib

Pattern number 3 is the baby bib. This took me all of about 2 hours, including hand sewing the binding.
The fabric is mostly scraps I had and a small portion of yellow terry cloth from Joann's.
For the applique I used only spray adhesive instead of fusible web because as I have mentioned before, I don't like the way it makes the end product stiff. We will see how this holds up with washing. The other part I am worried about is the binding, hand sewn on. Maybe I'm not very good at hand sewing, but it doesn't feel very secure. In the future I might zig-zag stich it, or try out one of my cool new stitches on my machine. Also, binding an edge with sharp corner is very difficult come to find out. With some practice I think I could have done this a little neater. But I don't think the baby who wears it someday will notice much.

Husband love...

Turns out I'm not the only crafty one in the house.  Dan has been working on this for a little while, and now it is finally done!

 I'm beaming with pride, plus the joy of finally being able to reach those cabinets over my microwave and fridge....