Need a bigger design wall!

Next time I'm at a department store I'll look for a big vinyl table cloth with a flannel backing.  I read that they're great for a design wall. 

I haven't sewn the outer points to the center and I'm kind of waiting on delivery of a circle ruler that goes up to 17", which is exactly the unfinished size that the center needs to be.  I've been reading the forum for this BOM and people have had problems with the center being too small so I didn't trim the dark blue outside ring to the trim line yet.

The star points have more of a green look than I intended it too.  The green points exactly match the green in the darker points that also have turquoise blue, which is the color of the dark frame.  It just really has an overall GREEN look.  I guess I posted about that already too!!  I can live with it and the next section that has a dark frame will be in the dark blue of the center so maybe it will all balance out.

Little progress

Haven't done anything on this for a few days, been too tired after work and now I have to work late tonight and this weekend.  :-(

I'm wondering though if there is too much green, not enough blue, in this section.  Maybe I should keep the green/blue dark print but change the lighter green to a blue.  The outside fabric looks very green but it's actually a dark turquoise. 

The second picture is more true to color than the first.  It's funny how things can look so different in pictures.  On the first picture the 1/4 circle is the same fabric as the light small circles but it doesn't look like it is.  One looks white and the other looks green!

The Quilt Show BOM January is done

Love how this is coming out!  And I'm sure glad that I didn't trim the dark blue ring on the outer edge before putting it all together.  It's a little off, a little smaller than it should be if I had trimmed it.  I think the bulk of the stabalizer is the main cause of that since it is sewn on the lines.  I tried a little bit to tear the stabalizer off of the center star in the seam area but it's not easily torn like paper.  I'll try again since I'm not sure that I want to quilt through it and the seams are pretty bulky.

 Started on the February pieces last night.  I think I got all of the points printed that I need but the printer ate some pieces so I need to check that I re-printed everything that I needed to.  I am using a LARGE roll of freezer paper so I have to cut 8.5" x 11" pieces for the printer.  What a pain!!  I ordered two 50 count packages of pre-cut printer sized last night since there is A LOT of printing to do.  Those should be delivered Friday from Amazon so I can work on it over the weekend.

Trying out colors to use for the blanket stitch applique of the points.  All those green threads look the same in this picture but they're not.  The darkest green in the large spool looks to be the best.  That is So Fine! from Superior Threads so will use two strands of it.  I used Sharon Schamber's technique of putting the freezer paper pieces on the right side of the fabric, cutting the shape, then glueing the wrong side to the background with Liquid Stitch before removing the paper.  It is pretty quick and easy and it sticks so well that when I had to remove the bottom 1/4 circle that I messed up on, the piece tore in half.

The Quilt Show BOM started

I received the fabric that I ordered for the BOM last week and got it washed and dried so I was able to work on it over the weekend!  I'm using Ricky Tims Stable Stuff and it's really not that hard of a pattern to do with paper piecing.  The trickiest part was sewing the dark blue outer ring to the inner ring but with careful clipping and pinning it's just the awkwardness of sewing a circle.  I haven't sewn the center star to the first border yet but I don't expect it to be any different (knock on wood).

I don't like iron-on applique so I used Perfect Circles to make the 1 1/4" circles and the large center circle.  After doing a couple of them with the gathering stitches by hand I switched to the sewing machine and a 3.0 stitch.  Just gather them around the Perfect Circle, press, spritz with starch, press, and remove the circle.  Used a tiny blanket stitch to sew them on.

The outer points don't get sewn on until they're combined with the February pieces.