Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Now for a name

What should I call this one?  Honestly, the pattern flowed out of my head quite easily but the name is being more reticent.  Any ideas?

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It finished at about 55”x 69”.

 This pattern came together very easily.  I was a bit under the weather when I started it and didn’t want to concentrate too hard to keep any star points sharp, so I planned accordingly.  The squares I used for the stitch-and-flip points, both the white ones and the small colour ones in the sashing, are large enough that the bottoms of the star points intersect each other well away from the seam of the center block.  Is that clear as mud?

I am really pleased with the borders.  A few posts ago I whined about having to take the borders off because they just didn’t fit, despite carefully measuring the border length/width across the center of the quilt, and pinning the borders on with a gazillion pins like we’re supposed to, easing evenly as needed.  Out of sheer frustration, and under the influence of a bad cold and laryngitis, I tossed caution to the wind and the rule book out the window.  I slapped unmeasured  lengths of border fabric onto the edges of the quilt, declined to use any pins at all, sewed them on with my walking foot and hacked off excess length at the end.  I recklessly added three sets of borders this way.

Yes folks,  I ended up with my best ever, perfectly flat borders!  So there!  Ok, now do I dare  try this again on the next quilt? Probably not…

 IMG_5873Also border related, I pulled out my trusty pad of graph paper and planned a quilting motif that spanned both the purple and the blue.  Since this was on the edge of the quilt I was able to use the walking foot to quilt it.  There’s no way I could have free-motioned these straight lines!
 









 
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I had fun with the thread choice too. I quilted with white thread in the white spaces and yellow sashing stars, and matched various shades of variegated thread to the different colours.  I like the effect – a little bit more than just the texture you get when you match thread colour exactly, but not as stark as a stitched line of solid contrasting colour.

 If you’ve read this far, I’ll leave you with a photo of this quilt with its sister quilt, Wandering Geese.  They were both made from the same 25 fat quarters.  These FQs were the ones I was petrified of cutting into in case I thought of a better use for them later.  In the end I got two quilts that I positively love!
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11 comments:

  1. First --- you need to know that I positively LOVE both quilts too! I had to do a double-take on the star points after reading your explanation, but that's an ideal way of solving that problem; I'll want to try that soon! I've also attached borders that same way and got by with it okay sometimes. If I'm having 2 or 3 borders, I usually strip them together and then make one miter through all of them; it's easier for me than adding them separately. Your quilting is absolutely beautiful! I have trouble with quilt names too, but I'd probably go with "My Brightest Stars"; they truly are beautiful! ---"Love"

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  2. I couldn't think of a better use for your fat quarters. Both quilts are amazing! When I look at the star quilt the colors remind me of jelly beans or the bubblegum you used to get in the vending machines - Maybe Jelly Bean Stars (I'm pretty bad at naming quilts ha ha)

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  3. Naming...I'm going to think on that... But the quilt is beatiful! I love the quilting you did in the border...and everywhere! What a wonderful use of those beautiful fabrics. And encouragement for the rest of us with a stack we're afraid of as well.

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  4. The way you explained you do your borders? I have done my borders that way since I started quilting. It just seems to make sense. I think I would call your new quilt "Slapdash". Seems that's the way you constructed it and had a really good time doing it!

    Liri

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  5. i love the quilting pattern across the two borders. I am always stuck in that situation so I like your solution. I will give it a try!

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  6. I positively love both of those quilts also! Absolutely stunning. They both bring a smile to my face every time I see pictures of them. You did a superb job.

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  7. Both beautiful quilts! So bright and cheerful! Re. the borders- here's a suggestion. Books will tell you to measure through the centre as edges may be stretched. Well the fact is, it can be stretched through the centre too, especially if you have blocks on point(bias!) So I tell my students to take 5 measurements - 2 edges, centre and 1/4 and 3/4 of the way across. Then average these 5. Use that measuremt. to cut your border strip. To attach- fold strip in half, crease, and in half again- crease. Do the same with quilt top. Now you have 5 points (edge, 1/4 way, centre, 3/4 way and far edge) to pinmatch, and four equal sections to ease any stretch into. I've used this method for years and NEVER had a problem. Works like a charm.

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  8. Both of those quilts are awesome!! And the method you used for the borders....I do that with pretty much any quilt that has borders or really long sashes. I had tried the premeasured method years ago and always had problems. Adopted the sew and whack way and haven't gone back;)
    As for a name...no idea;)
    Happy Quilting!!

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  9. I am in love with the quilts they are so beautifull. For a name I thought "rainbowstars" quilt.

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  10. Found it, I love love that flying geese quilt, I want one!! Karen x

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  11. I love this quit and hope it will be fine for a crib quilt. Please keep creating as you give much joy to many. Piece and blessings, Vicki aka Jimsqueenie82

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