Last June to October I took part in the Star Light Star Dark quilt along with Jess from Quilty Habit. I even started quilting it promptly... but then some other projects got in the way. I finally got back to the quilt this month and I've finished quilting it and sent it off to it's new home. You can see the nod to Jess in my orange peel quilting in the center of my large light purple star. Orange peels are her signature. :-)
To recap, I chose to make the smaller, four block, two color quilt which finishes at 51" x 46". Purple was obviously going to be one of my colors. I opted for yellow and orange to be my second color, pulling lights and darks of each of these. In the end, I chose to set my blocks with like colors on the diagonal from each other instead of having the purple half all together.
This was such a fun project. The quilt top went together very quickly and I love the giant size blocks. I opted to use a different free motion quilting motif (some more dense, some less dense) in each section. It's such a great way to test out or practice different motifs without committing to a larger area. Clearly, I like this strategy.
My husband gave me Shape by Shape Free-Motion Quilting with Angela Walters for Hanukkah and I made excellent use of this new resource in finishing this quilt. How did I not own this book yet!? And more importantly, when am I getting Volume 2?
I quilted each quadrant in a different color of 50wt Aurifil thread, Yellow (#2135), Light Lilac (#2510), Dark Violet (#2582), and Burnt Orange (#1133). Here are a few shots after it was washed and crinkly.
I backed the quilt with fabrics from my stash. In a "make it work" moment, I pieced two different prints that coordinated with the quilt top. The orange star print also appears in the top surrounding the large yellow star.
I always label my quilts. And I attach the label before I quilt them so they get really well attached. Unfortunately, this means that sometimes the label is made the month I think I'm going to finish the quilt and then... I don't. Do not let the label fool you. This quilt was finished January 15, 2017. The label lies. ;-)
My binding plan started out by choosing my purple remnant binding and I quickly decided I wanted to make it scrappy. I know I did calculations (way back in September) and made additional purple, yellow and orange binding. The completed binding was then set aside for months. This week, I got it attached to the first side before realizing I had way more binding than I needed. WAY more! The quilt required about 200" of binding. When I was done I had 340" of extra binding. I'm unsure what went terribly wrong with my calculations, but let's just say you'll be seeing this binding again. Or I will get tired of looking at it in the remnant binding box and give it away. ;-)
Overall, I love the bold color and especially the texture of the quilt. My favorite part may be the area around those little purple stars. I'll be using that FMQ again soon!
I had some little helpers for my photo shoot. I don't usually have quilt holders, especially the wiggly variety, but we had fun. They really enjoyed running around the courtyard while I took all of the shots of the quilt on the ground.
Thank you for visiting! I'm linking up to Needle and Thread Thursday, Finish It Up Friday and TGIFF.
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Cathy
I love the yellow and orange with the purple. Hopefully you don't have to wait until next Hanukkah to get volume 2!
sarah
Post authorThank you, Cathy. I sure hope not! ;-)
Paige @ Quilted Blooms
Yay! Sarah, great finish! I hope to get back to work on mine soon!
sarah
Post authorThank you, Paige. I look forward to seeing yours!
Yvonne @Quilting Jetgirl
It sounds like the delay on finishing the quilting worked out perfectly and what a great gift from your husband. Your quilt holders look like professionals! That's a lot of extra binding and with as much purple as I assume is in it, I hope it will go to good use soon. Congratulations on the great finish!
sarah
Post authorThank you, Yvonne. That's a great way to think of it! The perfect project was waiting for the perfect FMQ inspiration! It's the scrappiness of the extra binding that concerns me. I do use a lot of purple, but not as much purple with yellow and orange. ;-) I may be chopping that binding up to use it. Time will tell.
Shauna
I love your color choices, and the mixed quilting looks cool.
sarah
Post authorThank you, Shauna! It was fun to try out new quilting motifs. :-)
Jess
This is a wonderful, happy quilt! Your quilting choices that marry in with the fabric are perfect. I am inspired. :)
sarah
Post authorThank you, Jess! A project like this always fires me up for more free motion quilting.
Elizabeth
Sarah this turned out great! It is so beautiful. I just got the Shape by Shape book for Christmas, it has so many great ideas for sure. I look forward to your newsletter.
sarah
Post authorThank you, Elizabeth. It was so fun to see everyone's SLSD quilts. It's nice to have mine finished. Enjoy the Shape by Shape book. It's great stuff!
Małgorzata
Visiting from crazy mum quilts. What a fabulous quilt! I love that pattern.
sarah
Post authorThank you, Malgorzata. If you haven't seen it, this post at Quilty Habit shows many of the quilts from people who participated in the quilt along. So many beautiful versions of the pattern!
Kathy
That is beautiful! And bravo for the diverse quilting! I love Angela's books!
sarah
Post authorThank you, Kathy. I'll definitely be keeping that book close. :-)
Mel
What a fun finish. You sure seem to be having fun experimenting with different FMQing designs and they add such interest to your tops!
sarah
Post authorThank you, Mel. You are an inspiration in the FMQ department. Often I just want to be done when I get to the quilting step. I think it's important for me to practice my FMQ on these smaller projects so it doesn't feel so daunting when I get to something larger.
Anja @ Anja Quilts
This is an awesome finish! It may have taken you longer than you wanted, but it was worth the wait. Great idea to try different quilting motifs in each block. Now I'm regretting that I didn't have time to play along with this QAL.
sarah
Post authorThank you, Anja. You could always make one now. ;-) What colors would you use? Orange and...? :-)
Jess @ Quilty Habit
That pic with your kids is phenomenal! I love it so much! Your FMQ is the star here (no pun intended). Volume 2 is just as great, by the way. I'm in awe of your finished product!
sarah
Post authorAww, thank you so much! I sent it off right after finishing it. I miss it already. ;-) The pattern is so scrap friendly! I may have to make another one some day!
Pam Arbour
You did a great job. Congratulations on the finish and thank you for all the details. I like to hear and see the process that others quilters use. Don't worry about that binding. I am sure it will turn out to be an unexpected blessing down the road somewhere! I was in the middle of moving, buying and selling a house during this QAL, so I didn't get to enjoy the process personally. I have enjoyed seeing the others.
sarah
Post authorThank you, Pam. It is always fun to participate with a group for a QAL and see how each person's palette and fabric choices develop. I love that the quilting community is rich with opportunities on blogs and Instagram.
Mary
Sarah, I agree with the other commenters that your FMQ adds so much interest to this quilt. I've only experimented minimally with FMQ, but your post makes me want to make it more of a priority. But it seems so time consuming. Do you have any idea how long you spent FMQing this lovely star quilt?
sarah
Post authorThank you, Mary. Hm... I don't know how long I spent quilting it. I'd recommend working on a mini quilt or even just a whole cloth piece for practice. I'm taking the easy way out of my current project, since it'd twin sized and I can't even imagine how long dense quilting would take me. ;-)