Scrappy Star Stitchalong Blocks #1-3, Cherry Trees

I'm participating in Taryn's Scrappy Star Stitchalong, and I'm finding it hugely challenging!  The stars in this charming old quilt are really scrappy -- I imagine the maker either saved scraps with a quilt like this in mind or rooted through every basket of scraps she had! -- and I don't have many fabrics similar to those in the original blocks.  Below are my blocks and the originals that Taryn posted.

Block # 1

Sometime between beginning this block and finishing the quarter square triangles for the second block, I realized I really didn't have any black-and-white checked or plaid fabrics that were remotely similar to the ones in the original quilt.  So I made the decision to use browns instead of blacks, not being a big fan of blacks anyway.  Sadly, the browns I used are not checks, either.  The effect is not even remotely similar.  Also, two of the triangles in the top center block look like they have a purple background, and then someone called them blue....  The fabric I used is a strange purplish brown print.

Block #2

That triangle on the left in the center row....  It looks light blue/aqua to me, so that's what I used.  And more brown in the corner blocks.

Block #3 The two quarter-square-triangle blocks on the left and at the bottom....  I had a gold fabric but it was poor quality.  When I compared this block in the image above with the one in the photo of the whole quilt, it leaned toward a gold/army green so I went with the fabric that had army green and some gold in it.  Taryn identified the corner blocks as purple.  They look more grey to me so I used one of the few purples I have, but sadly, not a print.

I think the original quilt is charming.  My blocks, not so much.  I think I have to decide how closely to the original blocks I want to try to get, or whether I would be just as happy taking inspiration from the originals and going with fabric combinations I hope I will really like.  There's no sense making quilt blocks I don't like because they'll never become a quilt and will have been a waste of time.

These are the current quilt bloggers I know who are participating: 
   > Barb at Fun with Barb
   > Jeanne at Spiral
   > Linda at Koka Quilts
   > Tazzie at Tazzie Quilts
   > Wendy at The Constant Quilter
   > Katy at KatyQuilts
   > Kathleen at A Sentimental Quilter
See others' blocks on Instagram using #scrappystarstitchalong.

Thanks for hosting this stitchalong, Taryn.

I've been trying to decide what makes a quilt charming (instead of devolving into chaos), particularly an antique or vintage quilt.  Is it the fact that it's old?  Do I romanticize the process of a woman who lived 100 years ago making a quilt?  Or is it the fabrics, or the colors, or the layout?  So far, I'm less than charmed by my three blocks.

But I do have a generous supply of triangles I could use, in lots of colors, along with a few light plaids and stripes.

We lost two friends yesterday, the two cherry trees closest to the camera.  The one near the middle of the photo had become infested with bugs and fell against our garage.  Then we learned the near one also had bugs.  These three cherry trees were here when we moved in nearly 25 years ago.  (In the photo below, a construction guy was coming into the yard with this equipment.)

The trees were leaning then and were very tall from lack of pruning.  It was not so much that they provided cherries, because some years they did and some years they didn't.  It was the shade they provided in the yard and to the room where I sew and use the computer.   And maybe even more than the shade was the beauty of the trees when they were laden with blossoms.  It's so sad to lose them.

They really were dear friends and I miss them.  Our back yard looks bare and the sun shines a little too brightly into the room where I sew.  Farewell, sweet, dear trees.

We're beginning to have some cooler days and nights, and the leaves are beginning to fall already.  The brightness of autumn is just around the corner.  Hooray!

I'm linking this post to Oh Scrap! at Quilting is more fun than Housework.  Thanks for hosting, Cynthia.

Edited to add:  Comments are not coming to my email.  If you leave a comment and I have your email, I'll respond directly as well as here on the blog comments.  If I don't have your email, my response will be in the comments.  I'm grateful for all comments.

--Nancy.