First Sewing of the New Year

I have two projects to share today. The first is an on-going project - I am making a quilt for my brother with the Carpenter's Star pattern (see previous post). It was supposed to be ready for Christmas - umh, sort of missed that deadline! However, in the New Year, it has been coming along very well. Here are photos of the four Carpernters Stars, just laid together on the top of the bed. The more golden colored square is the middle. Each of the four is 32 inches square. I am now tossing around how to put these together - whether to keep the four together, or to add a border and a small center block. I want to make a border - either in BuzzSaw or Jacob's Ladder, both appropriate to the Carpenter's Star.



Then, I made a purse using the Perfect Purse pattern I've used before. This is going in the Stash Contest at Pattern Review. I used some cordless corduroy that I purchased last year, and the same cotton I used for the bike bag as lining. Sorry for the brightness of the photo - something about the contrast caused a problem with my camera.
What I did differently this time:
- made the pieces "taller" by about 2 inches;
- did not use the center curved piece for the center, but cut a straight piece (this made it easier to get the pocket in correctly;
- put in a purse zipper;
- added rosettes to each end of the single strap.