Blue stars nearly finished

I collected a bunch of blue friendship stars from friends

for a group quilt project.

The parameters were that the stars had to be blue, the backgrounds neutral,

and they had to spin the same way, and finish at 9 inches

I dispersed the solid stars among the rest of them,

and then offset them by 3 inches to make them dance.

It all went together quickly, and I had enough blue scraps to make the piano key border.

One friend donated three metres of indigo fabric for the backing.

I had a few stars left, so I pieced together the backing,

but not without some serious calculations.

And I have just enough yardage left to cut the binding.

Here's the finished back.

It doesn't look nearly as complicated as it was.

I love little pieces and I don't mind making 500 seams in the front,

but I'm grumpy about more than one seam in the back.

It's not quite a finish, except that I finished both the top and the backing this week,

so I'm claiming it.

Linking up with Confessions of a Fabric Addict

Progress on star quilt

I've finally finished machine quilting this star quilt.

It's been a WIP for too long.

I deliberated a long time before I started quilting

and although some of you suggested it called out for hand quilting

I didn't go that way.

Instead I used a dark beige 50 weight Aurifil thread on top and bottom

and played around with lots of free motion designs.

This is a scrappy quilt celebrating the marriage of friends.

It also celebrates the many patterns and surprises 

in a long term relationship.

I think of this quilt as an "I Spy" quilt for adults.

I've quilted in their names, their wedding anniverary

and lots of loops, swirls and even a few bad stitches.

I'm putting the binding on soon and sending it to a local quilt show.

And wondering about the SSOB banner on the right?

Come back on Monday for my stop on the blog hop celebrating Julie Sefton's new book:
Build -A-Barn: No Pattern Construction.

I'm linking up with other Friday finishers over at
Confessions of a Fabric Addict
and Crazy Mom Quilts
and TGIFF

Getting started on quilting

After months, maybe almost a year of indecision,

yesterday I finally just went for it.

I'm using a light beige 50 wt Aurifil thread

and making loops in the background

and some designs in the stars.

I'm happy how this is going so far.

It's early days, but it feels good to be moving on it.

I'm linking up with 

The Needle and Thread Network

It's a plus that I'm finished

A Positive Addition

42 by 42 inches

machine pieced and quilted

I'm sharing this plus quilt now,

although I finished it before Christmas,

because it's now in the hands of its new owner.

Well, maybe not quite.

It's in the hands of the owner's mother,

since baby is still gestating.

The mother and I sit on a board together

and we gave her gifts after her last meeting before baby.

The expectant mom (and the dad) are both accountants,

so that makes this plus quilt even more special.

I used a mash-up of four charm packs,

including fabrics with numbers and plus signs.

It's now waiting bedside for the new owner.

This isn't quite a finish, but a big step forward.

My friendship star is pin basted,

with the help of Mr. Scraps and Scraps Jr.

I find it difficult to baste on the floor due to back issues,

but these guys, one almost 20 and the other 40 years older,

managed just fine.

I'm planning to start quilting on it next month.

I'm linking up with other Friday Finishers:

TGIFF

Crazy Mom Quilts

Confessions of a Fabric Addict

How should I quilt this?

For months, I've been waffling over how to machine quilt this.

Should I quilt the stars in a darker thread?

But how do I jump from one star to the next?

Should I just straight stitch through all the blocks?

Or meander around the stars

and quilt only in the light?

I'm also considering an all over design

where I would quilt in words and motifs

in a dark neutral thread.

I hate breaking thread repeatedly 

so I'm not keen on many starts and stops.

But I really want to get this done soon.

After all, Yvonne (below) started hers months after me

and she's nearly finished hand quilting hers.

if I was hand quilting,

I would stitch 1/4 around the stars

or in the ditch around them.

Ideas, please?

I'm linking up with the WIP Wednesdays at The Needle and Thread Network.

Friends quilting friendship stars

I spent part of my weekend quilting on a frame with my friend Yvonne.

She's hand quilting a double quilt in time for her nephew's wedding

in three weeks.

Does this look familiar?

Y. was inspired by my friendship stars

and I gave her my leftover bits.

Mine is still a flimsy, but not for long.

Monday design floor

I've got my friendship star quilt laid out

and a few rows sewn together.

It's definitely scrappy, based on a loose colour scheme

of neutrals, burnt orange into red and any shade of green.

Yes, I know some of the stars spin the other way

and that some blocks are shoofly

and others are just plain nine-patches.

This is a marriage quilt that speaks to the complexities and fun of marriage.

The friends who are getting it

had a really short engagement

and there was no time to make a wedding quilt.

I'm linking up with Judy at Patchwork Times.