A Few More Star Blocks

I managed to get some machine sewing done the other night, I made some progress on the star blocks for the quilt I'm currently working on.  I eventually put it all away when I began making mistakes because I was so tired!

I'm looking forward to putting this all together.  The fabrics are so lovely, they are from the French General range, Rural Jardin, plus a couple of pieces I've had in my stash for some time.  I managed to do a little more on the applique block, the large red bow.

I've also had some fun washing these red fabrics, man did they bleed red dye! More like hemorrhage red dye!!  I often make a quilt without prewashing but I plan on using a creamy/white shirting for the background so thought I'd better be safe rather than sorry.  I ended up washing the fabrics 3 times in hot water then I soaked them in a mix of 1 part vinegar to 3 parts water then I used a product that is meant to release all excess dye.  The final rinsing after all that, ran clear, so hopefully I've dealt with the pesky red!  I will, however, be using some of those colour catches when the quilt has its first wash.

2011 is off and running,

Bye for now,

Rowena