About a year ago Leanne from Devoted Quilter and I started discussing swapping mini quilts with each other. I'm not sure why it took a year for us to actually do it, but she has finally received hers this week and now I get to share it with everyone else!
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| Leanne's Star mini quilt, measures about 18x18"--I am terrible at keeping a record of swap quilts once they are mailed out! |
We didn't create much criteria for the swap, so I did some digging through Leanne's pinterest for inspiration. First I chose a color palette from her color inspiration board (I tried to pick something out of my normal range):
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| "Petalled Palette", picture credit: design-seeds.com |
These colors are so far off my radar I had to go through my stash three times to find something suitable:
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| My fabric pull inspired by the "Petalled palette" above. |
Then I saw she has a whole board dedicated to star blocks, and even though that doesn't necessarily mean she loves stars (she could be collecting them for other people's interests, etc), I decided to go with it. Rarely do people dislike a star quilt, right?? I used this star block tutorial (which I've used before but have no record of, ha).
I love this star block because the piecing is simple, yet the effect is unique. But I wanted something fancier than just a 9 patch in the center, so I scoured the internet for a 6" star block that would work well. I finally chose this Sea Crest star for the many points and negative space that would work nicely with the outer star points:
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| Center star layout. |
Okay, but the Sea Crest star template and instructions had a bunch of silly (read: not necessary) Y-seams and I guess it is supposed to be EPPed. Ain't nobody got time for that (I say that half jokingly because the quilt Leanne made for me is all EPP!! And I have a slow EPP hexie project that requires like 2000 1" hexies. I digress). So I drafted up a paper pieced block (see above)! Next time I do this I want to add a couple of little half square triangles to the larger corner squares to create a octagon shape in the white:
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| I wish I had thought of adding the white where that line is before piecing it all together! I did leave it unquilted, for maybe an illusion of an octagon...maybe? |
I used two layers of batting--one of Quilter's Dream wool and one of Warm and Natural. I left the star unquilted so it would stay puffy.
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| Quilting detail. |
I quilted the grey (Kona Coal) using Aurifil #4241 (very dark grey) for the feathers and #5004 (grey smoke) for the crosshatching and orange peels. I used #2024 (white) in the ditch around the star and white fabric.
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| Quilting detail. Aurifil #5004 is a near match to Kona Coal. |
The binding is Kona Charcoal, and the backing is something from my stash of mysterious origin. But it's blue, and I read somewhere that Leanne liked blue. Plus, those dragonflies are super cute.
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| Quilt back, quilting detail. |
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| Leanne's Star quilt back. |
This swap was really enjoyable, and the quilt Leanne made for me is gorgeous--go see her blog post for all the details! Private one-on-one swaps are the best!
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| Leanne's Star quilt top. |
Quilting is where the magic happens--I love it!
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| Leanne's Star, I quilted the life into it ;-) |
Quilting IS where the magic happens and I love that you say you quilted the life into the quilt. YES! :) I do think that leaving the grey unquilted where you would have added in white is actually quite effective in pulling out the octagon shape - espeically in your last image. I am so happy that the private swaps are working out so much better for you this year.
ReplyDeleteI love those last two pictures...one quilted and one not! What a difference!!! I love piecing, but you're absolutely right that quilting is where the magic happens. I can't imagine ever sending my quilts to someone else to quilt (even though many longarmers do an amazing job). I do love star quilts, and feathers, so you chose perfectly. I agree with Yvonne that leaving that little bit unquilted creates the octagon shape, and I think it may even look better this way than if you added the white, though we'll never know unless you make another one with the white added ;) Thank you so much for making this just for me...I absolutely love it!
ReplyDeleteThe quilting on this is so perfect! I also love the octagon shape, and your feathers are spot on. Awesome job! :) Yay private swaps! Can't wait to selvage sew with you and do moonphases...
ReplyDeleteGosh, this is pretty. I'm crazy about the palette (mmmm ... all that gray!) and the quilting, especially your ring of feathers. Lucky Leanne!
ReplyDeleteThis quilting has turned this mini from just another star to a star on the Hollywood walk of fame! Congrats!
ReplyDeleteThis is gorgeous Renee and as you say the quilting really makes it something amazing. Great choices all round.
ReplyDeleteThe quilting on this is definitely magic. Absolutely love it .
ReplyDeleteYou are a genius! I love that you walked us through your whole process. Very inspirational post!
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely mini!!! Why don't you enter it in the Bloggers Quilt Festival? It just started yesterday!
ReplyDeleteEsther
esthersipatchandquilt at yahoo com
ipatchandquilt dot wordpress dot com
This swap was amazing and both of your projects are so beautiful. Lovely quilting. You are both so lucky!!!
ReplyDeleteSo much love for this!!! And I totally agree - private swaps are way better. :D I'm still amazed at your willingness to mark the quilt. I still haven't worked up to that level of courage yet. :P I have to go see what Leanne made for you now....
ReplyDeleteWhat a difference quilting makes, it gives the piece life. Beautiful quilting and quilt.
ReplyDeleteLove this colour palette and your quilting is AMAZING! Leanne is lucky indeed to be your swap partner! Thanks for linking up with TGIFF!
ReplyDeleteThis is a gorgeous star and you are right about the quilting making all the difference. Great job. Do you use a longarm or domestic machine to quilt?
ReplyDeleteI quilt on a Janome 6300, it is a 9" harp domestic :-)
DeleteThis is a gorgeous star and you are right about the quilting making all the difference. Great job. Do you use a longarm or domestic machine to quilt?
ReplyDelete"Quilting is where the magic happens" so true. Cue sharp intake of breath as per usual, when I first saw your quilting. I checked out Leanne's quilt too, and wow, both quilts are truly works of art and love. How wonderful a swap!
ReplyDeleteWonderful mini!
ReplyDeleteLove the colour palette you used for inspiration. I guess that is the good thing about swaps, it often makes you work outside your comfort zone. Great mini!!
ReplyDeleteRenee, this is fabulous!! The star, your quilting! Beautifully done! The last two pictures are really great - what a difference quilting makes! Did you do any marking for the background or rulers? It is awesome!
ReplyDeleteIt's beautiful. As ever you quilting is gorgeous, i love the peels in the cross hatch
ReplyDeleteThis is absolutely beautiful. I really love the background filler around your feathers.
ReplyDeleteYour quilt really does interpret the inspiration photo well.
ReplyDeleteFabulous! The texture and the whole thing :)
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