I've been sewing steadily on the double 4-patch quilt, and I needed a break. I wanted to experiment with set-in seams, so that I could decide if a LeMoyne Star quilt was even possible. My go-to instruction book is this one, by Harriet Hargrave and Sharyn Craig. Mereth makes her stars with this method and swears by it, so I could think of no better place to start.
It's very comprehensive and in no time I was choosing fabrics and cutting pieces.
I used the measurements for a 6.5" star; the star points are cut from 1.75" strips , and I had a heap of them cut already from my scrap clean up days.
Can't go wrong with pink and green, it's a classic combination.
It didn't take long before I had a completed block, and it wasn't difficult, just fiddly.
The acid test is always measuring the final size. This one was a skerrick too large, but it was easy to trim it down to the correct size.
I did have some trouble with a few intersections, so next time I'll use this handy dandy gadget to mark the intersections so I don't sew into them
Look at that. It's still
available, after all these years.
The cross stitch craze amazes me. I'm enthralled by all those antique samplers being stitched, but I just can't afford to pay $48 for a chart, and hundreds of dollars for linen and silks. It doesn't have to be expensive though, and I dug out my embroidery supplies from the 70s. I did a lot of needlepoint, which is like a half cross stitch, so it's a lot quicker. I have lots of European books filled with gorgeous patterns, so over the next few weeks I'll go through them and maybe design my own sampler.
I wasn't afraid to do tiny stitches. I was making this as a tray cloth for mum, but never got round to finishing it. Now I think I'll frame it.
I have several metres of almost white 28count linen, which at today's prices is about $400 worth. It was never cheap, I had to save up to buy what I did, but I'm glad of it now. I can start stitching straight away if I want. There's so much yardage that I can afford to experiment with dyeing it to get an aged look. I'm looking forward to indulging in a new hobby, especially one that's portable. I may even get a few stitches in when I resume my visits to Adelaide.
I'm amazed by the cross stitch craze too, we've gone from quilting to knitting to cross stitch. I taught my mom to do it in the 80s and she is still doing it, but always on Aida. She's done marriage and birth samplers for every child, grandchild and now she working on the greats! I have one from 1991 that I want to do still, I dug it out recently and still love it. Your needlepoint is beautiful!
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