Star quilt - on the bed

Exactly two years after blogging that I'd completed this quilt top I managed to finnally attach the binding. It took a few days of hand sewing to get it all done but now it is complete and in use:

That blue valance does not do it any justice, a quick trip to the shops will fix that. I'm very happy with my stars. The quilt needs a name and a label - any ideas?

Getting closer to a completed quilt

I've been busy quilting away amd look how much I've completed!

Just need to do the borders now.

And here is a shot of the back with the light shining through.

It is very hard to get a shot that shows up the quilting. I'll try again when it is bound.

Under the needle (or Surprise...I'm quilting!)

I've finally forced myself to sit down and get some quilting done on my big star quilt.
I was crazy enough to unpick everything I had done, peel off the backing, replace it with a lighter fabric and then rebaste the whole thing.
It was a big effort but I am much happier with the way the quilting looks on the new fabric.
Lesson learned: don't let the quilt shop lady talk you into a fabric you really don't want.

I chickened out on the free-motion and am using the walking foot instead. It means lots of turning and pushing and so on but I'm learning a lot as I go. I'm finding it easier to manage the more I do and my stitching is becoming more even. Pity I can't sew a straight line...

As soon as this is quilted and bound I will try some more free-motion on a much smaller quilt.

I'm not quite half-way through and so far I really only have one little section I'm unhappy with. I'm prepared to call it a learning experience and leave it alone.

Morning Star details

Some one just pointed out that I hadn't blogged pics of the quilt I made for Ingrid...not sure how I forgot! Put it down to overtime at work, uni assignment due and a short holiday - something had to get missed.

(There are some great photos over at Ingrid's blog - http://lottielulu.blogspot.com/2010/11/eb-doll-quilt-swap-2010.html )

So here it is - Morning Star.

I used fabrics from the latest Storybook Village range, purchased from Fabric Shack with a whit-on-white floral print for the background. I used sixteen diferent fabrics for the diamonds.

The design is based on the 'Starlight Express' pattern from the book 'Jelly Roll Quilts by Pam and Nicky Lintott, but altered to use 1.5in strips and to add an extra row of diamonds.

The binding is made from the strips left-over after cutting the diamonds.

The quilt ended up at around 22 inches square.

I quilted about 1/4in nside the seam lines to define the star and then echo quilted the white background at 1 inch intervals. I used pastel embroidery thread for the quilting to add a bit of interest to the white.

The backing is pieced from fabrics from the same range.

As usual, I have a matching one half-made in the pile of works-in-progress.

Even more stars - look how they twinkle

A week off work has given me time to get sewing - and look what I've managed to acheive!

I'm really happy with this especially as it is the most complicated pattern I've attempted.

It is actually quite simple to piece as it is all strips, but the cutting and measuring require a bit of concentration.

Not one to be working on while enjoying a glass of red!

I got the outer borders sewn on this morning and spent quite a bit of time with the iron and a can of starch before taking these photos. Then I took a trip to the local quilt store to pick backing and binding fabric, batting and thread. The backing is a terracotta-orange colour and I picked up some fqs of the fabrics used in the stars so I can do a scrappy binding. I'll even have some leftovers for cushions if I ever get around to it.

The plan is to get the quilt basted by Sunday afternoon and then work on it for an hour or so every day or two and hopefully I'll have a finished quilt in a few weeks. I've even tidied up the sewing room so I can leave it underway once I start.

I did sign up for the EB doll quilt challenge at the same time - -although I'm hoping to get both finished together.

Stars in my eyes...

Completed - the first block of my scrappy star quilt. Approx 30in square. dodgy photo - when I've done the next block I'll take pics during the daytime ;)

I've wanted to attempt a lone-star style block ever since I started dabbling in patchwork.

I found this pattern in the Jelly Roll quilts book and some scrappy strip rolls in my LQS and decided to dive in.

The diamonds came together pretty quickly and I'm quite pleased with my seam allowances and the straightness of my stiching. The colours in the strip rolls worked fairly well and I only substituted one star center with fabric from my stash. I've tried not to overthink the colour placement but there is one set of greens in another star that I'm not happy with - lack of contrast.

Cutting and sewing the background setting triangles has been a bit more of a challenge. The bias seams in the corner squares don't sit quite flat so I'll need to make some adjustments.

Otherwise, I'm happy.

Three more piles of diamonds and two piles of setting triangles are starched and ready to sew.

And on another theme - an early reminder of Father's day......

Here is my little man and my big man - one is mopping and the other is 'helping'. Check out the action the little guy has already. I might need to invest in a real mini mop for him.

And of course the dog has to be part of the action. I think it took three times as long as normal to do the floor this weekend!