Carlene Foster's Gallery : Stripes, 100% Cotton

One block wonder

Carlene Foster — Sat, 13 Apr 2013 12:03:26 GMT

This is a repeat of the same star block, just by using different corner pieces, they look totally different. Of course, it is me, so it is still scrappy. :) The small sashings bring your eyes out so that it looks like one star is framed in the middle of a bunch of x's. I just thought that was the appeal to this pattern...starting with one thing and ending up with something that appears much more complex than it is. Downfall to this pattern was that it called for 2 5/8 inch squares for the outer corners, and I was using scraps from 2 1/2 inch strips, so I lost most of my star points in the process. Even rounded off, I like them (although it obviously bugs me).

Marti Michel's Wild Rose BOM

Carlene Foster — Mon, 12 Nov 2012 14:45:38 GMT

This was the first BOM program I ever did. And, it was my first experience with Marti Michel's templates....which I have absolutely grown to love. I thought this fabric was soooooooooooo much a have to have because it still strikes me as being so feminine and beautiful. Two of my latest quilts were an effort to use up the additional fabric I had purchased from this line...when I like something, I tend to purchase in bulk, so it seems. I am proud to say my 3 large bags of fabric now fit into one bag. The color choices are waining, and soon there will only be a few scrapts to add to other quilts in the making. I still love this quilt, though.

Iowa Star Scrap Quilt

Carlene Foster — Mon, 12 Nov 2012 14:25:22 GMT

This was a pattern created by a native of Traer, Iowa. This is just up the road from my sister's house, and I didn't even know there was a quilt shop so close to her...guess where I am stopping my next trip? This is the kind of quilt you do when the partiallly used fq's and the scraps outnumber the full pieces. It used a lot of scraps, and a lot of those fq's that I just didn't know how I was going to use them anywhere...ever. Loved the effect....and there will never be another one exactly like this one...ever. Next one I make, I will keep the neutrals very light and not use so much yellow on a focal block.

Roll Roll Cotton Boll Pattern by Bonnie K. Hunter

Carlene Foster — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 00:35:38 GMT

Someone asked if I have done a Bonnie Hunter quilt before.........this was my first one. I have to say, when I hit about step 7 and was told I was going to be making 600 half square triangles, I about choked. However, I endured the excercise.......I mean, afterall, the first rule of a Bunnie Hunter quilt is "NO WHINING"! LOL I love scrappy quilts.

Orca Bay Mystery Quilt 2011

Carlene Foster — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 13:57:55 GMT

Bonnie K. Hunter's Orca Bay Mystery Quilt ran from Thanksgiving 2011 through January 1, 2012. This is my finished quilt top. Once again, Bonnie walked a group of quilters of various skills through a complex pattern by breaking it into managable steps. For me, the twist came at the end with those black/white border pieces...I never would have guessed that was what those were for. I was trying to put them around the Ohio Star units and thinking that the red string blocks would be around the border somehow. The biggest challenge I had putting the top itself together was those blue string blocks....if they weren't placed properly, the flow of the pattern just died in place. There are some of those that got removed and replaced at least 3 times, some 4. I blame it on quilt dyslexia. :)

Bull Run Nine Patch

Carlene Foster — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 15:38:47 GMT

The Bull Run Nine Patch pattern ran in the Quiltmaker September/October 2010 issue. I don't enjoy doing applique, although I enjoy seeing what other people do with it, and I do not have an embroidery machine, so I also don't want to undertake this little joyous hand stitching adventure. To compensate, I blew my pattern out one more repeat and then did the feather quilting around the edge. I like mine and it wasn't as fussy as the published one was.