Red

 

These are the same 35 asterisks I showed you yesterday, but these are arranged by color. I wanted to see how many of each I had.

Oddly enough, I didn't have any Red ones. Pink, yes, but no red.

So after I got out of work, and made dinner and read a bit, I went into the studio and cut some red squares and then sewed some WOWs on the ends of them. Here are 23 reds and a couple of pinks. Whereas in the weekend's batch I did not PLAN to make two-toned asterisks, some of the fabrics I have chosen here are destined to be part of a pair. I'll figure that out later when I cut them into strips.

Why so many? Well, I estimate I will need at least 100 asterisks for a quilt, and I want to have a good variety of colors, so I just started cutting. I'll have too many, probably, but I'm a big believer in having a good selection from which to choose. Once I have enough and work on a layout, I won't want to stop and make more. I'll get a layout I like, and then I'll shuffle the colors around. I dunno. That's the plan right now, we'll see how it goes. I'm not worried. (You've all hear THAT from me before.)

And I have another idea rumbling around in the back of my head. Can't wait to play with that, and it might turn everything upside down.

Here is the gold and silver asterisk flower that the Selvage Fairy was referring to yesterday. That gold and silver fabric was lame (pronounced "la-MAY"), which means it is made with thin ribbons of metallic fibers. It melts if you press it directly with an iron, and if your needle hits it wrong, it "runs" like you get a run in your nylons, a fact I discovered early on working with it. That's the  big reason there is only ONE of these asterisk flowers on that particular quilt (The Black Box). 

Linda thought the two toned asterisks were a terrific idea, and they are. They came about when I was making a bunch of asterisks for Julie's quilt, No Rules for Julie.  I was making a bunch of asterisks assembly-line fashion when I grabbed the wrong strip and made a mistake. Rather than un-sew it, I continued and made my first two-toned asterisk. It was an AHA moment! After that, I started making them that way on purpose. They are my favorites now.

This is an example of my theory that we all learn more from our mistakes than our successes, and that sometimes when something goes "awry" you have to decide if it is taking you to a place you didn't know existed before, and go!