A Star Is Born

I have been working on quite a few top secret quilts lately so have not been able to show you what I have been up to.  This one is now in the hands of its new owner so I can do the big reveal.

It is made up of Ohio Star and Double Irish Chain blocks set on point.  I wanted something that would go together quickly and be fast to quilt- this one met those goals.

I have written a tutorial on how to make quick work of those triangle squares in the Ohio star Blocks under Quarter-Square Triangles.  It is an easy to learn method so I hope you will give them a try if you have ever been afraid of piecing triangles.






Remember this?  I hinted about at the beginning of the month in What's Happening in the Quilt Studio.


I started with my main pink fabric and picked some pinks that supported it, some yellows to create excitement (triads on the color wheel) and some greens for accent (contrasts on the color wheel)  
I was really excited when I came across the polka dot print for the backing on a shopping trip as it contained the colors I had settled on.  A quilt that was truly meant to be.

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My EQ7 design for this quilt

I prefer to do machine quilting on baby quilts as I feel it makes them sturdier and able to withstand the washing machine. Notice I have quilted a quarter inch from the outside edge all around the quilt- this is something new I started doing last year that allows me to get rid of some of the bulk that the extra backing and batting provide when I am trying to fit everything under my sewing machine arm. By stitching this line of quilting I can trim away the excess and not have to deal with it-but only after the entire quilt has been stabilized with "in the ditch" quilting!

Before...........and after.............. It always amazes me how even the simplest quilting brings a block to life.

The finished quilt. I used white thread to stitch in the ditch along the rows and along the edge- it has the added benefit of stabilizing the quilt for the rest of the quilting. I did outline stitching on all of the blocks using King Tut #922 in the top and white Masterpiece in the bobbin both by Superior Threads.

I tried something new with the binding- still needs perfecting- but I used a decorative stitch to finish the binding. It sure made things go faster, though it still takes some time to go around an entire quilt.

I wish I had taken a clearer picture to show how the decorative stitch looks on the back...if you look carefully you can see how the threads have caught the edge of the binding on the back- I used a pink thread in the bobbin so it blended pretty well.  You can also get a sense from this zoomed in shot how the King Tut variegated thread pulls the different colors of the quilt together as it went from a dark pink to bright yellow that went well with the green fabrics too.

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Close up after the quilt has been laundered and dried. Yes I toss these in the dryer before I give them away.

While I thoroughly enjoy giving quilts away I also miss them after they are gone.  In case you have not guessed by now this one is destined to wrap a little girl in its embrace- I pray she sleeps soundly and grows into a godly woman that makes her grandma proud (not me, but a dear friend.)


Happy stitching!
Deb