500

No, not 500 posts (though I'm getting close).

500 tiny stars!

I've been sewing these like mad lately - my UFO for the month was done early (hey, I need to post about that!) and I completed the rainbow scrap challenge top as well.  So it made sense to work on these (no squirrels demanding my attention!?!).  I've also been trying to tidy up my sewing room.

There were a few bags of scraps floating around, waiting for me to take the plunge and sort them into my stash.  For whatever reason, my brain thought they, as random sets of fabrics, belonged in the bags they came home in.  Not any more!

First I cut and sorted from a bag of scraps I bought at a quilt shop in Iowa a few years ago.  I've raided it a few times, but the whole thing just needed to go.  It wasn't a large bag, so I decided to sew those stars first and then dig into another bag.  One thing at a time, right?

This is how you know it's time to stop sewing for the night.

(But you can see the grey I'm using most often very well here.  It shows up a little lighter here than in real life, but you do see the swirls very nicely!)

Yesterday I dug into the bag I purchased (for a very small amount) at a guild UFO auction.  The "UFO" part of the auction was very loose, so bags of scraps were there, as well as unused patterns, hand-quilting frames and the like.

I dumped the bag on my cutting table...perhaps not the best spot...

These were leftovers from doll clothes making that were given to another member.  So I was wary of fabric content and sorted carefully.  Anything with polyester got the boot.  At least for this project!

I sorted by color and cut squares and then folded them neatly!

So much tidier!  And they are now living with other scraps of their appropriate color.  (And on the far left, washed out by sunshine, are all the little baggies of squares to be sewn.)

It feels good to have even this little bit of tidying done in my sewing room.  And instead of a frantic cleaning where stuff gets shoved wherever, I'm taking my time.  It doesn't have to be clean tomorrow.  Or next week.  But eventually I have a plan to make it nicer...

I sewed a while last night, but then it was time to make dinner and such.  So I decided, rather than sew another batch, I'd count.  Because I was pretty sure I'd hit at least 400.  I need 1080 (or 960 if I go a little smaller for the finished quilt), so I know I'm in no danger of making too many, but I thought it would be good to know where I stand.  You know, before I start raiding the stashes of friends and family!

I should have taken photos of my process, but it included Emma sitting on my lap and me laying out piles in front of us - a position she expressed her displeasure with quite a few times.  (Eventually she went and sat on my hubby - he was at least sitting still!)

I thought I'd put 100 blocks in a little sandwich sized zipper bag.

Right.

50 is a stretch, as you can see here.

The box on the right has 300, the box on the right has 201.

That doesn't add up to 500, you say.

Well...I managed to make one star out of the same blue fabric (one I'm not even particularly fold of!) twice.  So one bag has both of those stars, awaiting my decision what to do with the extra.  But they live together now.

The funny part of this was that I counted and counted and counted and found I had 498 stars.  (499 if you count the double.)  Really?  So close!

So, you know I went back up to my sewing room and made two more!  It seemed the most logical way to get these all packed up and only took a little bit of time.

I still have 25 more sets of squares to sew, ready to go.  And a few more locations of stash that need to be explored - projects in the works are in boxes.  I'll go through those and snag squares.  Also, I have a bin of leftover bindings (you know, when you cut it too long?) that I will explore for fabrics not found elsewhere yet.  I think that might get me maybe to 80?

For the next round, I think I'll plan to make a day of it and raid my mom's stash.  I've been keeping track of all the fabrics I've used...

...so I know what colors I have fewer stars and what fabrics I've used.  (My mom and I do have some overlap...it's inevitable!)  I'm pretty sure she'll be happy to share and it will be a fun day of rediscovering her stash.  After that...we'll see.  She's got a BIG stash!

The hubby is headed home early today - everything is running well at work for once - so my me time is limited.  Better go sew a few tiny stars before he arrives!

Happy quilting,

Katie