OMG Macybaby! I think I would even pull the curtains. Happy sewing.

There is another way to make pinwheels, sewing 2 squares together & cutting an X thru the middle.
Then sewing the pinwheel. I wonder what size the squares should be to make a final 4 1/2" piece.

Macybaby,
You can keep the snow. So far we have rain. But it is headed my way too. My sister just south of souix city doesn't have snow yet but the flakes have started. Stay warm. Kathryn

Paintmejudy: Thanks for the clues. We have yucky weather and I look forward to spending time in the sewing room. :)

Macybaby: Oh, yuck! That storm system is heading my way and, depending on its path, we may get 6-15". Snowing lightly and blowing hard now.

Dotty: Sent you a pm.

here are my fabrics--wanting a new table cover...did my minimum housework already---have to run to the store---then will settle down to start cutting....

RJ glad to see you back. Love your choices. Very pretty fabrics

This is my favorite way too of making half-square triangles. It's going to be great for using my 5" charms. They will come out at about 3" half-squares and 6" pinwheels, so there will be some waste but not terrible and I'm glad to use up some fabric.

Sorry, I don't know the answer to your question. I had a chart for that but the problem is finding it. :o

Thanks lawsonmugs---it will be a fun ride for sure.

I've got my light/med pieces cut. Still have not decided on the background yet. I figured I'd get some of the pinwheels done and lay them out and see what I like best.

pinwheels
 

I cut my squares 4 1/2" & will trim . Thanks to retired teacher09!!

When I make pinwheels, I like to trim only the inner corner, then sew them together and then do a final trim at 4.5"

I'm assuming we need to be careful to make sure all the pinwheels are going the same direction.

Does anyone know what value the background fabric is? I'm confused, as usual :)

Cathy, I love that snow!! I grew up in upstate NY and we had tons. We hardly get any here.

Did I misunderstand? Is the one blade block supposed to be 4 1/2 or is the completed pinwheel supposed to measure 4.5?

My yellow is the background fabric. And it does NOT matter what value it is, it only needs to Stand out from your pinwheels and the pieces that will be coming next week from your fabrics. Make it high contrast - it doesn't matter what the color. It just needs to Not blend in.

the completed pinwheel will measure 4-1/2" when pressed, it will be 4" when sewn into the quilt. You are making 2-1/2" HSTs, and four of them will make one pinwheel.

I grew up in upstate NY, too, Rochester, right on the lake when those winds from Canada dumped literally tons of the stuff all across the lakefront and into the southern tier. I now live where I never have to shovel snow again! Where did you grow up?

Dotty I like that batik you are using. It's beautiful.

Beautiful batik Dotty. I'm not sure what these values are ,but I like what I picked out.LOL. Thanks to Judy I can make hst with little troubles now. We have made tons of them in the last several train rides and some block of the month and week I made. I used to hate making them. Thanks Judy. These are my fabrics and enough for I think 3 blocks to make a runner. The colors are much brighter and happier. :D:D:sew:

I don't remember seeing your fabrics the first week, Mary. Love those pansies.

Great progress, Lawson. All of my HSTs are cut, sewn, & trimmed. I had to take a break from this train ride to finish a blouse I made for my daughter. It’s only been started since fall! And I’m embarrassed to say how long I’ve had the fabric & pattern. Oops. I’m away from home at the moment but when I get back I’ll make the pinwheels & cut out the other parts. So far, so good!

No I just picked them today and made the few blocks today. Thank you. I love pansies.

lawsonmugs- that's beautiful!!!!!!!!
paintmejudy- I grew up in Utica and a lot of my family is still there.

I don't mind the snow unless I have to be driving in it. But I'm not real fond of 18" of it in April! Usually by April we're done with it - with a flurry or two. Normally I have my potatoes planted by this time.

I've got my HST sewn and trimmed, now to make pinwheels. I'm going for the larger size so I have 144 HST to work with.

What do potato plants look like when it's time to harvest?

The plants usually look like they are dying. You can carefully dig up a small spot to check on them. Use a potato fork. (Looks like a heavy duty pitch fork. ) I never grew any when I lived in Calif. But I have grown many back here in Missouri. I miss all the avacados and fresh artichokes and asparagus there.

like what Mary said - usually you can start harvesting smaller potatoes much sooner, after the plant has flowered. I've gotten them planted in May and still had enough time for a good harvest to grow.

I'm having a difficult time choosing background fabric. I bought mid/dark grey and am worried it won't work. Not enough contrast with the darker reds.

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...psnvmgdcnr.jpg

this is a darker taupe color. Not too bad . . .

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...pssllwkqbz.jpg

I kind of like the light blue, but I don't have enough (1.5 x 4 = 6 yards) so would have to go scrappy for it.

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...psaetx3q0n.jpg

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...ps40dmrwls.jpg

this is a beige/yellow
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...psrctniyp1.jpg

darker gold

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...pshkls3xs7.jpg

lighter grey floral (this is wide backing, but think it could work)

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...psrqwzhnez.jpg

I tried quite a few others - anything real dark blends too much with the dark red, and anything real light blends too much with the pink - so black and white are out.

What do you all think?

Macybaby, I think the gold in the next-to-last picture makes a striking contrast. I’d choose that one, I think.

Macybaby, I really like that gold with them and , second choice, the grey floral. Beautiful fabrics.
Marcia in TX

After sleeping on it and not being "in love" with any of the options, I pulled the white back out and think maybe it will work best after all.

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...pscsubdgdz.jpg

Last night when I was looking at white, I thought it was too "washed out" but maybe that is because I was envisioning going dark and my brain was not adjusting. Or it's that I rarely use white as a background, so I'm not drawn to it.

Or it's that we just got 18" of snow and when I look out the window, all I see is white! The grass had just started to get a tinge of green before this hit, and now we have even more in the forecast. Looks like spring is not going to happen here this year. The first year I moved here, we had 90 degree weather in mid April. That's not super common either, but more common than over a foot of snow.

I'm not great at colors. I like the darker blue in the 4th picture, lower left corner.

I'm having trouble too. Can't even find any to show.

Almost neighbors! I had family in Utica, all gone now.

Mary, love love love your colors!

Macy, all will work, but I love the gray for the background, lots of contrast.

I like the gray flowers best then the white. Lots of pretty fabrics there.

Cathy, I love the red & pink pinwheels with the white background. Not knowing the final project, I don't know how it will look in this quilt. I recently made a table runner with red & white pinwheels.

He’s a keeper for sure. Consider yourself lucky

Cathy--against the white, your pinwheels look like peppermints!

Still working here, but I'll get there. :)

Nice blocks being shown.

Cathy: We didn't get as much snow as you did but it also covered up our grass and the few plants that were starting to show green.


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chart from Missouri Star Quilt: http://blog.missouriquiltco.com/upda...asy-pinwheels/

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