Starburst Quilt Finish

Starburst Quilt | 76"x76" | Fabrics Listed Below

I am very happy to have completed the Starburst quilt, my first finish of 2013! I made this quilt during the Starburst QAL, hosted by Melissa at Happy Quilting. At 76"x76", it is the perfect size for snuggling. It is very cuddly! Since the background is so dark, my coffee probably won't be attracted to it either. Win! I love this quilt and I am a selfish quilt hoarder, so this quilt will remain in my house. :)

Fabrics:
This quilt was all about playing with color! The only given on this quilt was that I was going to use the 4.5 yards of Robert Kaufman's Quilter's Linen in Midnight that I already had on my shelf. I bought it for another project, but it was a little brighter than anticipated.

The inspiration for the colors I used in the stars was actually from Pink Castle Fabrics Stash Club. I loved how the first three months (pink, aqua/turquoise and navy) looked together on my shelf. When I started pulling fabrics and noticed how beautiful the green looked against the navy in Andalucia (by Patty Young), I decided to use lime green as well. 

Other colors schemes I considered: For inspiration, I looked at several fabric lines with a navy base. I also considered Red/White/Aqua or Pink/Aqua.

Quilt Top Fabric:
Background: Quilter's Linen Midnight (Robert Kaufman)
Pinks: Metro Living Circles Fuchsia (Robert Kaufman) • Heath in Light Pink (Alexander Henry) • Squiggle in Pink (Benartex) • Mystery Pink (Lost the selvedge!)
Blues: Jester in Aqua (Michel Miller) • Sketch in Aqua (Timeless Treasures) • C5005 Blue (Riley Blake Designs) • Mezzanine in Teal (Free Spirit Fabrics)
Greens: Tiny Flower in Citron (Michel Miller) • Dotted Argyle in Green (Simon + Kabuki)  • Dot n' Square in Citron (Michael Miller) • Sari in Lime (Dear Stella)
(7 of the 12 fabrics for the star are from Stash Club)

This picture is zoomable. It is really fun print!

Backing: Irving Street Flannel by Erin McMorris.
I found the backing fabric at QuiltHome, after receiving a "20% Off Flannel" coupon from their email newsletter. I liked how the bright pink was so different than the midnight blue I chose for the quilt background. The windows in the little town have little spots of green and aqua, just like the stars. I also like the story it creates. It makes me smile to think of the quilt top as the night sky over a sleeping city.

Other backings I considered:  Out to Sea by Sarah Jane (Nautical/Star connection, but nothing felt right... even though the mermaids were tempting!), Moon Phase Polkadot in Light Blue or Star Charts in Light Blue from Lizzy House's Constellation (Star connection, but too much blue)


Quilting: I used Pellon Nature's Touch 100% Cotton Batting.

I did a basic 4-inch grid in the background. A 4-inch grid allowed me to quilt straight(ish) lines without any markings. For the most part, I used the seams and star points as my guides. I echo quilted the stars and the shapes within the stars.

This is the first quilt I have completed with my new machine, the Janome HD-1000.  It is missing some features that I learned to rely on (e.g. the "Needle Down" function), but the better stitch quality of the Janome makes up for it! I had a much less frustrating quilting experience. One of the big problems with my Simplicity was that the thread would constantly jump out of the last thread guide. The last thread guide on the Janome is constructed differently, so that wasn't an issue at all.

Binding: Running Stitch in Lime
I asked for all of your help on this one and the result was overwhelmingly in favor of Running Stitch in Lime. It was my husband's binding of choice as well! It really works well as a binding! The lines on the fabric are 1/4" apart and I was able to keep my ladder stitches a lot more even than usual.

Conclusion: I love this quilt pattern! There are cutting instructions for three different quilt sizes at Happy Quilting. I think it might also be fun to make a baby quilt out of just one block. You can see all the gorgeous versions of this quilt pattern at the Starburst Parade and the Happy Quilting QAL Flickr group! Everyone did such a great job!

I will be linking up with: Fabric Tuesday @ Quilt Story, TGIFF Friday hosted by Marit @ Sew, Love, Live and Finish it Up Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts. I can't wait to see everyone's finishes for this week!

This quilt is also part of my 2013 Finish-A-Long Q1 list. 1/5 projects complete.

Starburst Quilt Top Finish

Starburst QAL Quilt | 76"x76"

I fought the wind...and the wind won!  It has been far too windy to get a proper picture of the Starburst quilt top (and I tried!), but I was an able to get a post-basting aerial shot. :D

I backed it in flannel and it feels so soft and cozy. I really like the size of this quilt too. It is the perfect size to curl up under!

The top is 50% quilted right now. If I am able to decide on a binding fabric by the 4th, I'll definitely finish it in time for the Starburst QAL Parade! At the moment, I'm trying to decide between Running Stitch in Lime and Clown Stipe in Aqua. They each give the quilt a completely different personality. Maybe I'll head down to the quilt shop today and see if anything else wins my heart over!

WIP Wednesday - Starburst!

Here is what has been going on:

In Progress:
1) Starburst QAL:

The Starburst QAL assignment for this week is to complete two stars. There is something really satisfying about building a 32" block! One block would make such a cute baby blanket or wall hanging. These two blocks are the only sewing I've done this past week. I went on some crazy spring cleaning kick. When I get the rare urge to clean, I try not to fight it!



No Progress 
2) Scrappy TAL - I need to finish quilting this one.
3) Designer Block of the Month 2012 - Waiting for the next block.

My other Work-In-Progresses for the Quarter:
4) Looking Back - All pieces cut. I am picking this project back up in February
5) Swoon - All pieces cut. I am picking this project back up in February
6) Flower Girl Quilt - All pieces cut. I am picking this project back up in March.

Finishes for the Year:
Triple Zip Pouch

WIP Wednesday

Here is what has been going on in the last week:

In Progress:

1) Starburst QAL:
I'm completely caught up with the Starburst QAL. I am really excited about this quilt! I am making the 76"x76" quilt, so my blocks are going to be 32". I did the smaller blocks in an assembly line, so they came together really fast. The only thing that slowed me down was trimming. Time DOES NOT fly when you are trimming HSTs!

From cut fabric to HSTs, Goose in the Corners and Flying Geese:

I've been wanting to try the No Waste Flying Geese for a while now, so I am really glad Melissa chose that technique for this QAL. She wrote a great tutorial and you can find the link on the QAL page. It is magic!!! 

I am thinking about changing the color combo of the first block. My original thought was to have a center star to represent each of the colors I had chosen (turquoise, pink, green, light blue). Now that I am looking at a picture, I am not sure I like having 1 warm star and 3 cool stars. I'll make a final decision after I layout the blocks. 

2) Fat Quarter Shop Designer Block of the Month 2013

I am caught up with the Fat Quarter Shop 2012 Designer Mystery Block of the Month club. This is the eighth block, "Lime Sherbert." It was designed by Bonnie Olaveson and Camille Roskelley. I messed up on the Flying Geese last week, by not paying attention to the direction of the blue fabric. I fixed that problem...But I realized that in my concern about the Flying Geese, I forgot to pay attention to the direction on the HSTs! It doesn't bother me so much, so it stays!

3) Scrappy TAL

As mentioned yesterday, I am still in the quilting phase of the Scrappy TAL.

Finished:

A small finish, but a finish nonetheless! I finished my Triple Zip pouch for the Triple Zip Along with Debbie at A Quilter's Table. I'll be posting more about that later this week, after I take some pictures of it.





My other Work-In Progresses for the Quarter:
4) Looking Back - All pieces cut. I am picking this project back up in February
5) Swoon - All pieces cut. I am picking this project back up in February
6) Flower Girl Quilt - All pieces cut. I am picking this project back up in March.


Linking up with: 

First Quarter 2013 Finish-A-Long List

Edit: These project sheets are now available for download at this link. Thank you!

I've spent a lot of time this past week getting all my projects organized and figuring out what projects I have going on and what stage they are in. I have way too many projects that are stuck in the cutting phase! Most of my projects for this quarter have been cut for a long time. I just need to sew them together. My five hopeful finishes are listed below:

1) Scrappy Trip Along: The quilt I started this month is closer to being finished than quilts I started months ago! I wasn't going to make this quilt at first, but Instagram pictures have a hypnotic effect on me. My rationalization for starting this quilt is that I want to improve my quilting skills this year and this would be a great quilt to try orange peel quilting on. 

Current Status: Strips are cut and 12 out of 30 blocks complete. Target finish date: End of January 2013

2) Looking Back: Husband request #1. There is a lot of hand sewing on this quilt, so this will be my nighttime project. I was supposed to have this one done by Christmas 2012!
Current Status: All the applique pieces have been cut since the beginning of December. I just need to get to sewing! Target finish date: End of February 2013

3) Swoon: Husband request #2, for Aunt. This is another one I was supposed to have to done by Christmas 2012.
Current Status: Blocks are cut & ready to be pieced.  Target finish date: End of February 2013

4) Starburst QAL: This QAL just started over at Happy Quilting. I ordered 4.5 yards of Quilter's Linen in Midnight for another project, but it wasn't dark enough. I figured this would be a great opportunity to use it!  

Project Stage: This is the newest project on the list. Fabrics are chosen and being cut. Target finish date: March 4, 2013

5) Flower Girl Quilt: Husband Request #3, for one of his friends that is expecting. I'm going to divide this kit up into a few smaller quilts. I haven't decide whether to use four or nine flowers for the quilts. Four would be a more standard, but nine would allow longer usage. I'll decide after I finish sewing the flowers!
Current Status: The fabric is washed, ironed, starched & cut. Well, most of it! This project ended up in limbo because I messed up on the cutting of 2 fat quarters. I need to order some more. Target finish date: End of March 2013

So: one quilt for January, two for February and two for March. Here is to getting my projects out of plastic containers and onto beds :). My plan for tomorrow is to mark the the appropriate Flower Girl pieces and to sew 8 more Scrappy TAL blocks. 

Also Linking Up With: