A Pop Star Finish

I'm so excited to share my finished Pop Star quilt with you.  I'm continuing to branch out in the free motion quilting department, and for the first time, I actually quilted three different motifs on the same quilt.  In the past, I've worried about everything looking too busy and just stuck with an allover design, but I'm so pleased with the way this one turned out.

The Kona Navy background just makes these colors sing, but unless you're looking at the quilt in person, it does make it more difficult to tell how it's quilted.

Though these are technically stars, I kind of thought of them as flowers when I decided on the quilting designs.  The main petals of each block are quilted with loops, which really add to the flower effect, and I decided on a very tight organic (read imperfect) grid for the center stars. The grid spacing is smaller than 1/4 inch.  Since I used the center star outline to travel from one area to another, I decided to embrace a "sketchy" outline on them.  It seemed easier than trying to perfectly travel over lines of stitching, which would have inevitably ended with gnashing of teeth.

The background is stippled with navy thread.  You know, because stippling is still my very favorite, and it seems I just can't help myself!  You can really see the quilting detail on the back of the quilt.

Since I've had some of you ask me with other quilts, I'll go ahead and let you know that there is no marking involved in any of these designs.  It's all done free-motion, including the outlines of the stars themselves.

The only fabric I had to purchase for this one was the navy, as well as the red and white backing fabric.  Everything else came right from my cabinet.  I even had these little yellow polkadots in my stash, and they are a perfect little pop of sunshine against the dark background.  I'm calling this quilt a win on all fronts!

Pop Star for Keeps

Happy Monday!  I hope all of you mommas out there had a fantastic Mother's Day weekend!  I had a packed weekend, and part of it included finishing up this Pop Star quilt (pattern available HERE and HERE).  With 18 inch blocks, this one went together pretty quickly.

Little by little, I've been remaking several of my quilts to use as class samples, so this one is for keeps.  I decided to use a navy background on this one to give it a little wow factor, and I love how the colors just pop against it.  I'm still deciding how I want to quilt it. but since we are smack in the middle of our end of season baseball tournament, this one may have to wait a little while until I can finish it anyway.  We practically live at the ball field at this time of year, and I love it!

NTT and Twinkle

Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star...but there is nothing little about these stars- or this quilt!  I am so happy that I got my latest quilt finished in time to share it for this week's Needle and Thread Thursday!

This Pop Star quilt measures 72" x 90," so it is a generous twin size, and with blocks measuring 18 inches finished, I think it makes quite a statement.

Because this quilt pattern yields very few scraps, I went with bold stripes on the back.  This quilt is going to my aunt to redecorate a bedroom for her granddaughters when they visit, and the room already has purple walls.  I chose the richest shade of turquoise as the main backing fabric.  I think if I had chosen purple, it would have been overkill.

I made a scrappy binding from some of my leftover fabric.  As I mentioned before, the pattern creates very little scrap fabric.  So as it is written, it actually doesn't yield enough scraps for a binding, but a few of my fabrics were larger cuts than the pattern required.  One thing you may notice though, is that the binding strips I used were shorter, finishing right at 12 inches.  I worried that the binding might look too choppy, but I think it is fun!  The pictures of the whole quilt really show this best.

This 16 inch throw pillow is the perfect use for the scraps, and I did go ahead and embrace the extra purple with the binding.   I still need to get a pillow form for it, and these goodies will be all ready for my aunt!

Okay then!  Let's get to the highlights from last week's party!  Check out this stunning Anna Maria Horner quilt from Koka Quilts!  I just love AMH fabrics.

This Cotton and Steel mini by Janet at Simply Pieced is so much fun!

and this big block Swoon from Georgia Florida Studio is so striking against the dark background.  Just lovely!

Alright, friends!  It's time to link up your latest beauties.  Party on!

1.  You can link finished projects or WIP's , but just keep it about quilting and sewing!

2. Link to your specific post (not to your home page!) to make it easier for others.

3. Please remember to spread the word and post my button or a text link.  

4. Spread the comment love far and wide!

5. Following me is not a requirement to link, but is so very appreciated!

oh, and PS- in case you missed the giveaways I have going on, you can check it out HERE!

Another Pop Star

As I mentioned in my last NTT post, I've been working on another Pop Star quilt in twin size, and I just finished the top this morning.

My aunt asked for this one after seeing the original, lap sized quilt I made.  The biggest difference between the two is that she wanted the turquoise and purple to be paired with yellow instead of orange.  That's just fine with me, because I don't know about you, but I prefer not to make identical quilts.  Even if I love the colors and pattern, making a duplicate gets a little bit tedious.

This pattern really is super fun though.  Making only 20 blocks for a twin sized quilt was awesome!  It went so quickly. Gotta love 18 inch blocks!

The backing for this one all is ready, so as soon as I can get everything pressed, I'll get this baby basted (ugh) and quilted!  Maybe, just maybe I'll have it finished for next week's NTT- that's my goal!

Needle and Thread Thursday!

Welcome to NTT, friends!  I've been working on a new quilt using a really cute and fun fabric line, but I can't show it to you just yet.  This week, My Quilt Infatuation is party-central!  I am also hosting TGIFF this week, and I want to show you my quilt top finish at the party that's just for finishes!  So, you'll see it Friday!

What I can show you are the pieces for another quilt I've started.  I am making another Pop Star quilt in twin size.  My aunt is redecorating a bedroom in her house for her granddaughters when they are there, and she loved the Pop Star pattern.  The bedroom already has a rich shade of purple on the walls, so she wanted colors that were similar to the original.  I substituted the orange in my original quilt for yellow, and I think it is going to look just as pretty.  I started cutting into my fabrics for this quilt before getting a lovely stacked fabric shot, so you'll have to settle for an in-process photo of my paper plate block sort.

This is my favorite method for keeping all of the pieces for one block together.  I got the idea a long while ago from Megan at Tales of Ineptitude.  It also helps me pair fabrics together easily and see if a fabric or two needs to be switched around.  Once everything is all sorted, I can just stack the plates up and know that my cut pieces are exactly where I need them once I start sewing.  The plates can be easily stacked on a shelf if I'm working on something different, and of course, they can be used again and again, so it's also a cost effective way to keep things organized.  What about you?  How do you sort and keep your block pieces together?

Okie dokie!  Let's get to the amazing highlights from last week...and boy there were some beauties!  Leanne at Devoted Quilter shared this gorgeous rainbow round robin quilt.

Diana from Red Delicious Life shared this fun pink and gray top for her niece.

And finally, after months of hard work, Maryse from Maryse Makes Things finally finished her clamshell quilt.  Isn't it stunning?

Y'all are such a source of inspiration for me week after week!  One of my favorite parts of the day is laying in bed at night with my iPad, browsing through all of the links just before going to sleep.  I can't wait to see the amazing things you have going on this week!  Let's link up!

1.  You can link finished projects or WIP's , but just keep it about quilting and sewing!

2. Link to your specific post (not to your home page!) to make it easier for others.

3. Please remember to spread the word and post my button or a text link.  

4. Spread the comment love far and wide!

5. Following me is not a requirement to link, but is so very appreciated!

Don't forget to come back with your finishes on Friday for TGIFF!  I'll be showing off my latest finished quilt top then!

Pop Star Finish

I finished up my Pop Star quilt this weekend, and I can say with certainty that this color palette is one that I will have to use again.  I love it!

I found the perfect shade of purple polkadot for the backing and added a stripe of the turquoise tile print.  Unfortunately, despite the fact that I thought I measured properly, when I basted it, the backing was about two inches too short.  AARGH!  I had to peel the whole thing off of the floor and figure out a plan.  Luckily I had a just enough of the tile print left to add a stripe to the top to make it long enough.

Basting is absolutely my least favorite part of the quilting process, and I had to do it twice to fix my mistake, but I must admit that it was a bit of a happy accident.  I think the top stripe looks pretty cool!  

One of my favorite parts of this pattern is the cross shape in the negative space.  Plus, the fact that the blocks are 18 inches made this quilt pretty quick and fun to make. This finished quilt measures 54" x 72."  I am madly working on the Pop Star pattern in this size, plus twin and queen sizes, so be on the lookout for it soon!

Unexpected Colors From My Stash

If you're looking for NTT, it is still going on HERE, but I just couldn't wait to share this with you...

When I am choosing fabrics for a quilt, unless I am using fabrics from only one collection (like when I just pull from my stash), I feel like I sometimes get stuck in a rut.  I guess we all gravitate toward our favorite color combos, and my favorites usually involve greens, blues, and aquas.  With my latest quilt, I really set out to try a palette that I've never done before, with colors that I don't often see together, and as the title suggests, I wanted to pull completely from my stash.

When I first pulled these fabrics, I wasn't sure I could get used to them, but the more I work with these rich hues, the more I like them.  Since the prints themselves are all small and tonal, I wanted to make sure there was plenty of interest in the color variation.  I almost substituted the lightest aqua and the lightest orange fabrics, but I wanted to keep the quilt from being too matchy.  I think having the different shades of each color adds depth to the quilt.

The bright sunshine is wonderful for showing off those colors, but it seems to magnify every little wrinkle.  I was so excited to get a photo of the blocks all put together, I didn't even bother pressing the top beforehand, so you'll have to excuse the wrinkles.

This is my latest pattern, and I've decided to call it Pop Star, since the stars literally look like they're popping open.  It's another design that's been hanging around in my sketch book for awhile, and the fact that it is finally taking shape makes me so happy!