Star of Wonder Week Four

     Here's a quick update with tips for those of you who are stitching along with the FREE Fat Quarter Shop Star of Wonder cross stitch and quilt patterns. My cross stitch is totally up to date!

    This week, our job was to stitch the dark green leaves-- it's easily done, with each leaf stitched in one session. I'm slow, so they took an hour each. Unfortunately, this part of the design is split between two pages, unless your eyes are good enough for the smaller chart. (Many thanks to Fat Quarter Shop for providing both. xox) My advice is to print out two of the large pages and tape them together. They are symmetrical and all four are the same. The stem is two stitches thick, so be mindful of where the over lap is.

     That being said, as I rotated the piece around, I forgot my little x's would have a different stitch on top for two of them-- I usually go bottom left to upper right on the last stitch because I always have to be different. So when I rotated for the left and right leaves, I forgot to do it the other way. If you don't know what I'm talking about-- don't worry about it! The color is dark, each leaf is consistent within itself and no one is ever going to see my "mistake." I've definitely been more accepting of "mistakes" as I get older in life-- if you are driving yourself crazy with Jack and not enjoying yourself anymore, it's time to re-evaluate your entire life and maybe have a talk with yourself! LOL.

    And now my Star of Wonder quilt-- FAIL! I did not get my four star blocks done this week. Good news, if you are a week behind, like me, at this point-- THIS WEEK'S installment is four super easy borders, so expect me to have everything before next Tuesday. 

    Why I didn't get it done? This:

     I really wanted to finish the June Sew Sampler before July comes in-- that's this afternoon, hee-hee. I frequently am hoping my delivery date is longer than USPS lets on with these boxes, while everyone else is complaining their delivery is slow! I completed the last eighteen Sew Sampler boxes in a row, but I think I need a break. Other things are piling up. So I re-evaluated my entire life and had a talk with myself! I do watch spoilers on YouTube-- and I've decided to shelf the July box for now, and use the next month to finish "Star of Wonder," "Moonbeams," "Pressed Flowers," and I still have a Summer Memories waiting quilt that just needs assembly. The teal box can wait. 

    As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, this summer in Maine is giving me serious SUMMER CAMP vibes-- I said to Mr. SFO just last night, I haven't enjoyed a summer this much since I was a kid! So if I finish both the cross stitch and the quilt by Labor Day, I'm rewarding myself with this as a "merit badge!" 

     It's the Star of Wonder pin minder.

     I was thinking how it would be motivating and fun to treat myself to these little things from the various Fat Quarter Shop stitch-a-longs as I finish. Spooky and Sweet and Moonbeams also had needle minders. I'm starting to have quite a little collection-- some are key fobs, so I have to think of a way to display them better. 

    So that's my story-- summer is jam packed for me, but at least it does not seem to be flying! I am helping my sister move from Florida to Maine (yay!) the first week of August, so I may be out-of-pocket for ten days or so. If you know of any quilt shops that are ten minutes off I-95, let me know-- as long as they also have a bathroom! 

Keep on with the stitch-y summer, my dear friends,
and I will keep in touch as best I can!

xox

Carol