Sister's Choice Quilts

Stargazer, Variation

Told you I was going to use up those blue blocks that didn't make it into my first version of Stargazer.  I can't remember when I have had so much fun with making a quilt!  I never make a quilt twice- I may have done it a couple of times in my life, but usually, when I finish a quilt, that's pretty much it for me.  I move on to the next new thing.  But those beautiful blue blocks and center medallion were just too pretty to set aside. 

I started out with blues and the center medallion fabric from Allspice Tapestry, by Fig Tree for Moda.  For this version of Stargazer, I pulled in a stack of brown fatquarters from another Fig Tree group, Gypsy Rose.  They are somewhat softer that the Allspice browns, but I like the way they work with the blues.  We have been talking about this a lot lately--do not be afraid to mix groups of fabric, especially by the same designer.  They may not match, but they "go", and give more visual interest.

This version is so different from my first Stargazer in reds, browns, caramels, and mossy greens!  I feel like the pattern tester Laura Boehnke from APQ, making a second version of a quilt in a different colorway.  I always thought she had the coolest job.  Do you know who I am talking about?  She has worked for American Patchwork and Quilting for years, every month stitching up quilts in a different colorway from the featured quilts.  She is my unsung hero.  I would love to meet her.

Yesterday's comments on how you like to do your backings was so interesting!  You made me think of a couple of other things I wanted to add to the conversation.  In regard to the extra wide backings, I love the concept.  Three yards of fabric, no piecing seams, and there you are.  In my experience though, the quality, or "hand" of the fabric just doesn't seem to be comparable to that of the goods on the front of the quilt.  It feels slightly stiffer and coarser.  One of my commenters stated that these wider goods are made in different mills, which have different looms, which may contribute to that difference.  My friend April, who works at Prairie Queens, mentioned that in their experience, often times these wider fabrics have shifted on the grain, and when they go to put them on the long arm machine, the fabric is off grain.  A couple of readers said they think the quality of these 108" wide fabrics is getting better, which I hope is the trend.

Thanks for all your fascinating thoughts!  It is so great to get so many wonderful and varying opinions.

The Backside of Quilting

This is an expensive hobby we share, isn't it?  I had to go out and purchase the backings for three big quilts yesterday.  Of course the quilts were all larger than 80 inches square, so I had to purchase yards and yards of fabric.  I love it when the quilts finish around 72", and I can go with about 5 1/2 yards of backing fabric, sew one seam through the middle,  and call it a day.  Not these babies, though.  I needed about 7 1/2 yards for each backing, and the damage was over $200.  Ouch.

My fabric store is awesome though, and they save me a big hassle by cutting the fabric into thirds for me, so all I have to do is stitch up those seams and trim the backing down to size.  Does your shop do that for you?  Did you ever think to ask them to?  I bet they would do it for you.  They have those nice big cutting tables and have the fabric all spread out, so it would be easy.  I hate struggling to cut a circus tent size piece of fabric in my little sewing room at home.

I am fussy about my backing fabric, and would love to know how you feel about yours.  I like my backing fabric to be well coordinated with the front of the quilt in terms of color and quality--matching one of the fabrics in the quilt top if possible.  Sometimes if I wait long enough, by the time I finish a quilt top, the coordinating fabric is on clearance and I can scoop it up at a discount.  If not, I have been known to pay full price to get the right look for the back of my quilt.

I hear many people say they don't care what the heck is on the back of their quilts, because, after all, it is the back of the quilt.  They may even pick up something that is of lesser quality at a chain fabric store, or perhaps go with something that in no way reflects the style and color of the quilt itself.  They are looking for cheap, and isn't too hard to find.  

How do you feel?  Is the back of the quilt as important to you as the front?  Will you pay full price for backing fabric if it enhances the total style of the finished quilt?

Stargazer Finished

 

I am thrilled with how this quilt came out.  Thrilled!  I could not have accomplished this without your suggestions, encouragement, and help with finding fabric.  I feel like it is "our" quilt! 

How completely different it is from my first vision of blues, reds and browns.  When that combination just wasn't working with my focus fabric, many of you suggested I re-do the center medallion and come up with a new focus fabric.  Jean, my friend from In the Garden With Miss Jean, happened to be the last person on Earth who had the perfect fabric --the large floral in brown, corally red, and green.  And who was willing to share it with me!!!  

This pattern went together like a dream.  No fudging at all with the borders, and it came out perfectly flat.  The pattern is called Homestead Heirloom and was in the Fall/Winter 2007 issue of Better Homes and Gardens Quilt Sampler magazine.  The quilt was designed by Homestead Hearth in Mexico, Missouri.  They may be a source for the pattern, since the magazine may be impossible to find.

Here is a close up of how the fourth and final border comes together at the corner.  Pretty, isn't it?

 

Seriously, I was going to give up on this project, and let it die in a project box on the top shelf of my stash closet.  Thank you all for your intervention!  I think it is my favorite quilt of 2010!

I like it so much, I think I am going to keep going with all those blue blocks I set aside.  This pattern is so nice it deserves to be made again.

Stargazer Resurrected

When I got home from my weekend of gallivanting all around Creation with Sara, I had many packages in my mailbox.  Smile.  It sure is nice to have so many leads from all of you when I find myself short of fabric.  Always Quilting, Snowy River Quilts, Quilt Patch Lane, and my friend Jean (In the Garden With Miss Jean) all came through for me.  And that mossy green?  Lisa (Stashmaster) gave that to me at least three years ago when she passed on an entire box of Buttercream and Figs fabrics she knew she wasn't going to use again.  The best thing about having friends that quilt?  They have extra fabric they might share with you!

Look at that gorgeous big blowsy brown floral print.  That is my new focus fabric for the Stargazer quilt that was previously brown, camel and blue.   This picture was taken before I remade the center medallion.

Here is the new center medallion.  What a good idea you all had, telling me to just make a new center!  Now I have a quilt that has lots of compatible colors--they may not all match, but they "go", as Stacy and Clinton from What Not To Wear like to say.  This quilt is going to be a large one--as you can see, there isn't enough room on the design bed to lay out all the surrounding rows.  Where is my new design wall, you all ask?  Well, nobody has had time to run over to Home Depot in their truck to get my foam board.  Maybe this weekend.

I really love this fresh new palette, and think the quilt will be pretty nice.  What to do with the rejected blue blocks?  Well, they are too lovely to toss out, so there may be another quilt in my future with the blue blocks and the center medallion I made originally.  I will be making Sawtooth Star blocks until I am 90 years old, there is no doubt about that.

Park Avenue

I think this is such a pretty fabric group.  Park Avenue by 3 Sisters.  I often have issues incorporating blues into my quilts, but this little touch of pale aqua is going to work in just fine.  A nice accent, not at all dominant.  The super dark espresso brown really pleases me, and you all know how I feel about red.   Woo hoo.   The pattern is actually the project sheet Moda offers as a suggestion as to how to use the fabric line. 

I liked it.  For my birthday, I received a gift certificate to Fat Quartershop.com and this is what I chose.  The fabric cuts are mostly one yard and half yard cuts.  My friend Lisa (Stashmaster) says that this collection puts her in mind of Chocolat, a previous 3 Sisters group.  I think she is right.  The colors are similar, but different in tone.  The browns are darker, the caramel is replaced by the murkier tan---similar, but different.  This group should be showing up in your local fabric shops this next week, so give it a once over in person.  I think you're going to like it too!

So, keep an eye on me.  This project is going to be coming right up on the Must Do List.  Along with a little something Thelma has suggested (more on that forthcoming), and a new stunt sewing project.

I have been slightly under the weather this week, and have not done one lick of sewing.  Saw the doc today, and no biggie, she wrote me a prescription that will put me right as rain.  My husband is, of all things, going fishing with some guys this weekend, so I will be on my own.  No worries, my sewing room will keep me occupied.  I should be feeling 100 percent by then, and need to put the border on my Neptune quilt, and get the center medallion finished on my Stargazer project. 

Oh, and I do have a few bindings to sew on, don't I?

I just discovered a nice new blog, Joyful Reader, a blog by Diane.  She quilts, she reads, she has super cute grand children.  Go check her out, and pay particular attention to her book lists.  She reads a LOT and has some good recommendations.  And if she reads something and doesn't like it, she'll let you know that too!

Somebody's Been Busy

And that would be Debbie, of Prairie Queen's Quilt Shop in San Jose, CA.  Debbie does my quilting for me, and she just finished three quilts, each one prettier than the next!

Madeline, in my hands already!  And look at the beautiful feather quilting design.  This is my adaptation of a Miss Rosie Schnibbles pattern called Madeline.  Fabric is Rouenneries by French General for Moda.

Prairie Paisley, just in time for the 4th of July.  Prairie Paisley is the fabric collection, designed by Minick and Simpson for Moda.  Pattern came from a Better Homes and Gardens American Patchwork and Quilting Summer 2008 magazine.

And Moor Is Moor, made with Wuthering Heights fabric by 3 Sisters for Moda.  Pattern is Summer Winds, a Miss Rosie's Quilt Company offering.  A prettier color combination could not be found.

 

And now I am the one who is going to be busy, sewing the bindings on all these quilts....

Thank you

You guys are simply awesome.  Thank you so much for your suggestions and offers of fabric!  I cannot believe what an amazing resource you all are.  If anyone is considering starting up a blog, look no further for a wonderful source of support, suggestions and encouragement.  I had so many of you actually offer to share your fabric with me!  Love you guys!

I have totally re-thought my plan for this Stargazer quilt, thanks to you.  The center medallion is going to be re-made, using predominently browns, caramels, reds, and sage greens.  The blues were lovely, but the quilt just wasn't "singing" with them. 

I got so many fabulous ideas from you all as to how I might make some adjustments, and have embraced many of them in my new plan.  Thank you so much for the time you spent looking on the internet for additional fabric for me, and for giving me your valuable input as to how I might best go forward with salvaging this project.

So here is the new Stargazer plan: 

1) Re-do the center medallion.  Thanks to several of your leads, I have ordered additional fabric from a couple of on-line sources to emphasize the brown, caramel, reds, and sage green.  The fabric should arrive early next week, so in the mean time, I will complete all my star blocks.

2) Eliminate the blue.  It just wasn't working with the reds I really wanted to include in the quilt.

3)  Incorporate lots of fabrics that are outside the Allspice Tapestry collection.  I have tons of other Fig Tree groups that had pieces that worked in this quilt, plus loads of background fabrics from dozens of other fabric designers and companies.  This quilt is going to be super scrappy.

Here are my four color groups:

Chocolate browns.  These are my focus fabrics--they have the browns, caramels, greens and reds.  This is the basis from which we can go forward.  One of my blogging friends had a good amount of the large brown floral, which she offered to share with me.  This will be my predominent fabric for the center medallion and the border.

Reds.

Caramels.

Sage greens.

I cannot thank you enough for all your suggestions, comments, and encouragement.  I really do read through and consider all your thoughts.  I appreciate all of you, more than I can say.

Stargazer Going Down

I am just so frustrated.  All my lovely red star blocks that I made do not work what-so-ever with the rest of the quilt!  What was I thinking?  My inspiration was a pattern in a 2007 American Patchwork and Quilting magazine.  Heritage Stars was the name of the pattern.  It is a Homestead hearth design.

You will notice the center medallion.  Focus fabric is a blue floral with reds and creams.  This is the fabric I chose for my center medallion.  Not a red in sight.

No red.  The blue, caramel and chocolate blocks work great.  Not the reds.

Again--what was I thinking?

So, the question is, what do I do now?  I do not have enough of the Allspice Tapestry browns and caramels to make more blocks.  Blues I have, but not the others.  Do I beg and plead with you, my readers, to sell me any small pieces of Allspice Tapestry browns and carmels you may have in your stash?  I am not above asking--the Internet has nothing in all the searches I have done.

Or, shall I completely shift gears and purchase more reds from compatible Fig Tree groups such as Patisserie, Gypsy Rose etc, and make a red version of this quilt?  And pack up the blues, browns and caramels?

Or, do I bag the whole project and write it off as a complete waste of time?  I have put in so many hours of sewing on this silly project.  Why didn't I buy the kit when it was offered in the magazine in 2007?  I could have had the exact fabrics that were shown in the magazine.

   

 

  

Star Gazing

I have been having fun this past week.  It was my birthday over the weekend, and I celebrated the day with my sister Kate, by going to a UFO (Unfinished Objects) sewing group.  I think it may be going on a year since Kate and I attended this sewing group, of which we used to be "regulars".  Kate started working full time, and I had two part time jobs, and the once a month Sunday gathering just didn't fit into our schedules as easily as it once did.  But she has cut back her hours, and I am unemployed, so it just seemed right to head back to our old stomping ground and former quilting buddies.  I am so glad we did!  We had a blast reconnecting with our friends and working on our UFOs.

The project I chose to work on is one using primarily the Fig Tree group Allspice Tapestry, which came out over two years ago.  My pattern is a medallion style quilt which incorporates borders of stars in two different sizes.  For some reason, I set the project aside in favor of something else, and pretty much forgot about it until my recent sewing room clean out.  Gosh, this is a very beautiful fabric group, and this project began whispering in my ear "Finish Me....."

I touched upon this topic a week or so ago, when I said that it can be a good thing that quilt designers have a "niche" so to speak, of a color palette that remains true over a period of time and a number of collection releases.  As I mentioned, Allspice Tapestry is a Fig Tree collection, designed by Joanna Figueroa for Moda.  Two years ago, I had a pretty good assortment of blues, browns, corals, and butterscotch fabrics to use in my quilt top.  However, since Allspice was released, Joanna has come out with several more collections of fabrics that have pieces that coordinate perfectly with the older group.  It isn't totally matchy matchy, but it all "goes".  I pulled corally reds and my favorite butter yellow French map fabric from Patisserie,  some yummy blues from her Dandelion Girl collection, and some backgrounds from Mill House Inn.  Four different fabric groups that all play together very well.

So you see, if you are a fabric collector and have a favorite designer or two, you can mix up their designs from one season to the next and come up with a very congenial selection of fabrics that make your quilt top even more interesting than if you had just stuck with the fabrics from one group alone.

Dancing Eyes

 
I received an interesting comment last week from Peski Patti (no blog).  I would be so interested to see if you agree with her or not.   Let's get a dialog going as to our preferences.   I will quote her comment here: 

"One thing I don't care for in a quilt is a block or two that make my eyes 'brake'. It is usually a darker block than the rest. My eyes like to roll over the quilt with no interuptions."

I have always been in the habit of making sure that I include those "brakes" to the eyes in my quilt tops.  I love the effect of "dancing eyes", where your eyes roam from one seemingly discordant block to the next.  In my Neptune quilt above, don't your eyes seek out the blocks that contain the navy blue?  See, I like that effect.  I think it makes the quilt top actually interactive with the viewer.  The person studying the quilt is forced to become more engaged with the design, in my opinion.  You just can't help looking for those odd ball blocks.

So what do you prefer?  Do you like it when your eyes are soothed by the uniformity of color and value in a quilt top, or do you like the "dancing eyes" effect?

Thank you Patti, for giving me something to think about!