This was in the giveaway pile at my local quilt guild's outside Bee last Fall. I recognized the Jinny Beyer fabrics from LONG ago. But the seams were pretty wonky! I knew who had put that in the pile (Donna) and I took it without her seeing me. She had announced that her mother (long gone to quilter's heaven) - had left it for someone to finish. But who? I had a plan!
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| Pieced 8-Pointed Star with 9 Patch setting units |
I figured I could take it apart and put it back together and make it lie FLAT! Take a look at the back. Yes, this was hand stitched and the seam allowances are very willy-nilly!
I pulled off the 9-Patch gold setting units. It still didn't lie flat.
Then I removed the four red 9-Patches. I gave these back to Donna.
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| Leftover 9 Patches |
Then I knew the hard work was ahead of me. I had to remove all the 9 Patch diamond units, press them, trim them and cajole them to fit together. I was at the point of no return!
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| Four green and four red 9 Patch diamonds |
I trimmed. I pressed. The seams don't exactly line up, but they DO lie flat and you aren't going to look at this up close, are you? As you can see, I used some Kona Snow triangles to set this lovely star back to a flatter one. Here's the back:
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| Back of newly constructed star |
I arranged for Donna to come to my house in November to pick up the new star. She was delighted! And I felt so good to be able to rescue such a beauty so she has something really special that her mom started. What do you think?
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| Donna's mom's new star! |
I know Jinny Beyer is a hand piecer. She is so accurate. Many of us are not and that's why we use sewing machines! And my trusty Bernina 1230 sewing machine was able to restore Donna's mom's star to a shining beauty.
It is so gorgeous Debby! I love how all the little squares are used to form the Star points. You did an amazing job. I am sure it will be treasured.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Joyce! All I did was listen to the star as she told me what to do! Yes, it will be treasured. I know Donna loves it!
DeleteThat turned out so beautiful! You did an awesome job with it. It's nice, too that the 9 patch blocks can be used for a second project.
ReplyDeleteI've made some blocks that has the same issue. They are in "time out" so maybe I will pull them out and take them apart now that I know they can be fixed!
Sandy
Yes, pull out your blocks in Time Out! The time is NOW. Give them a new life. Thanks for your kind words on this work. It honestly didn't take that much time - maybe 2 hours.
DeleteWow, that is just beautiful. What a nice thing to do for Donna. A big pat on the back for you.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Elaine. I did it more for the forlorn block than for Donna (tho I'm happy for her to have this!). And just think how happy that block is!!
DeleteHi Debby! Fabulous rescue! Thanks for sharing all the details. It's gorgeous. ~smile~ Roseanne
ReplyDeleteYes, she really shines now, doesn't she? It really was fun to do and didn't take that long. I was cheered on by her whispers: "Thank you, Miss Debby!"
DeleteWhat a generous and thoughtful gift you gave your guild friend - so very kind of you, and I'm sure she will treasure it.
ReplyDeleteHi, Kay. Yes, she does treasure it. And the star lies flat, too!
DeleteBeautiful. I love to hand piece and am hand quilting table runners now. I still machine piece during the day and hand quilt of an evening while watching TV with hubby. So great that you could help Donna.
ReplyDeleteI would rather scrub floors than hand piece! But to each his/her own and it's a big enough world for each of us to do our own thing.
DeleteOrphan blocks and partially-pieced quilt tops call to me. At least the older ones, do. Now, I can grab them up and know there's a way to bring them to life. I have no problem taking them "back to the studs." Heck, I have to do that with my own from time to time! :-)
ReplyDeleteYes, I've been known to take more than one project completely apart. If you don't like it half-way there, you probably won't like it complete. And those mistakes?! Gotta deal with them.
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