Night & Stars - Gwennie-Inspired Medallion Quilt

The summer nights of my childhood were devoted to being outside with friends.  We played hide-and-seek or tag, badminton, croquet, or rode bikes.  Summer evenings were long and leisurely, at least as long as half a day.  We played until dark began to creep up and we searched for the first star to make a wish.   By then the lightening bugs flew around us like little stars sailing through the dark.  We caught them in jars to watch the magic for a few minutes.  When the dark descended deeper we sat on the porch steps or on lawn chairs, visiting and enjoying the night, until time to go inside and to bed. 

Some nights, after a good soaking rain, my father and I took flashlights out to search the sodden ground for night crawlers.  We had to be quick!  We envisioned our next fishing trip.

On autumn and winter nights my mother and I sometimes went for walks, bundled in sweaters, or coats and mittens.  Down our macadam street away from the houses toward the edge of our little village we meandered with no destination and no hurry, just a time to enjoy the night.  The stars shone bright and high and we came home refreshed and ready for sleep.

Many childhood memories came to mind as I brainstormed ideas for this "childhood" border.  Several would have made great borders, but night and the stars won.

As it is now this quilt measures about 35" x 39 1/2".  The blue border will finish at 6". 

The theme for the next border is log cabins, chosen by Cathy at Big Lake Quilter.  I love log cabin blocks!  There are so many kinds and so many colors to choose from.  They have many more seams and this will be a bigger border:  I better not procrastinate anything about this border.  Another round of fun begins!

If you'd like to see other Gwennie-inspired medallion quilts, click over to Cynthia's blog, wabi-sabi quilts, where you can see plenty of luscious beauty!  It's not too late to join!

--Nancy.
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Two Stars a la Gwen Marston

I've made two stars a la Gwen Marston's instructions (more or less).  The stars themselves are closer to white/natural in real life.  They look cream/yellow because of the nighttime photograph.

I thought it was clear in my mind how to place the triangles onto the squares to sew them but when it came down to it the placement was a challenge.  The star points were sometimes too close to the edge.

I wasn't aiming for perfect stars but I do want the tips of all the points inside the edge of the square.  I don't think the one below will measure up to that expectation.

The top star will finish at about 4 1/2", the bottom at 5 1/2".  Both are too large for the way I'm imagining their use.  They may -- or may not -- become part of the Gwenny-inspired medallion quilt.  I find them a little fiddly to make and somewhat wasteful of fabric (which is less of a problem because I'm using scraps than it would be if I were cutting yardage to make them).  I don't expect to need more than five to seven of them but I won't know till I get them made and lay them around the center.

I'm linking this post to Oh Scrap! at Quilting is more fun than Housework and Needle and Thread Thursday at My Quilt Infatuation.  Thanks for hosting, ladies.

Thanks for visiting.  I hope you have a great weekend.

--Nancy.
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