Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Blogger's Quilt Festival: Scrappy Stars for Ruth


I started this project back in May (or maybe June?) I knew it would be a slow-burner that I took my time with. I really like having a project like that always going on in little chunks between the other things I finish more quickly. It's soothing and satisfying and eats thru the ever-growing bags of scraps. 

This one is just for Ruth. Ruth was one of my very best friends from 7th-12th grade. She is one of those people who everyone loves, and I was lucky enough to hang out with her constantly during my formative years. She was a big fan of the scrappy + & x quilt I made last year so she asked me to make her a crazy colorful quilt like that. For her? Of course. 





The block design is from Elizabeth Hartman's first book, Practical Guide to Patchwork. I just treated each block as it's own color story and pulled fabrics from my scraps, trying to use a variety of values for the backgrounds and star points.




 I also put my flying geese for each block together using the no-waste method instead of the traditional way.  I was always especially excited when I got the directional prints to all point the right way using that method. Like those lions. Geese victory!




The backing fabric is not the most original choice these days, but it's just too perfect for a scrappy quilt like this. The large script print is from Ikea and looks so striking on the back. The quilting is just dense straight lines made with my walking foot, about 1/2" apart. The feeling and look of that quilting is always worth the extra time to me. I took these pictures before washing the quilt, but man-oh-man was the crinkle awesome after I washed it. 



The binding is Domino Dot in Jewel by Violet Craft.  I love the way that color tied things together. And dots always look nice in binding form, I think.




I would have been finished with this quilt a little sooner had I not made really stupid mistakes with the backing. With the wide Ikea selvedges left on, the backing was exactly as wide as the top. So I went ahead and pin basted it without adding any wiggle room. Not a wise choice when you are planning to do this much quilting. So when I had the middle half of the quilting done and it became apparent that there was no way around that lazy decision, I had to take the pins out of the sides, trim off the selvedges and add on those long strips of dark gray. Re-baste. Finish quilting. Then, after all that, the bottom edge had shifted so that the backing didn't cover a little bit of the corned there. So aggravating! Such a rookie mistake to not making the backing a few inches bigger on each side. But I fixed it with a tiny sliver of quilt-as-you-go (pictured above), which didn't end up being very noticeable in the end.



The quilt is a large throw, about 60" x 72". Ruth should be picking it up from her post office box any time now and I can't wait for her to get it!

I'm entering this one in the scrappy category at the Blogger's Quilt Festival. I'd love to be nominated as a finalist because this is probably my new favorite of any quilt I've ever made. Even so, I was still happy to send it off to such a good friend who will really appreciate it. And it helps to know I will probably begin scheming up a new super-scrappy project to replace this one any day now. I can't resist the lure of my scraps.








24 comments:

  1. Now THAT'S a scrap-buster!! Gorgeous work.

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  2. Fabulous quilt, so lovely colours!

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  3. OMG I submitted a similar quilt too in the Bed Quilt category. Love your version too.

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  4. Oh I love it! Your friend is so lucky!

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  5. This is absolutely delicious! Love the mix of colors and prints!

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  6. It turned out really pretty. Thanks for showing us, I feel inspired and feel like going through my stash right now!!

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  7. It is really beautiful! One lucky friend I think!

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  8. This is such a fabulous scrap quilt. You did such a great job. I ,ove the close quilting too

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  9. You did an amazing job with this! It is so neat and professional looking- and pretty!
    ~Michelle

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  10. Love this quilt! As for rookie mistakes... well, I've been quilting for decades, and still get burned sometimes when I take a shortcut thinking I can get away with it (never a good idea ). Your fixes turned out great. Fabulous job all around.

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  11. Your quilt is stunning. I love all the bold and bright color that you have used.And your job is fabulous. Thanks for sharing and participating in Bloggers Quilt Festival.

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  12. it's amazing!!! wow and the quilting is great, too!!!

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  13. Wow, Jessica, this quilt is absolutely amazing! A great pattern to use to make a colorful/scrappy quilt. I'm sure your friend will treasure it for always!

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  14. This is a modern masterpiece! Really lovely. I hadn't planned on getting Elizabeth Hartman's book (because I've been quilting for a long time), but this pattern has peaked my interest. Thanks for that. Hope Ruth enjoys it and makes you something as beautiful in return~

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  15. I usually shy away from the modern fabrics but I love what you achieved with this one! Your friend will be over the moon when she gets (or now that she has) this. And the make-dos on the back-all a part of the quilting way! Hmmm, maybe it's time to start building a modern stash.....Thanks for sharing and what I love about this "show"!

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  16. gorgeous job! such a great gift. you're an amazing quilter

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  17. I love the busy, cheerful quality of your quilt. I am sure your friend will be thrilled with it!

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  18. Seriously, you are unbelievable. This is stunning!

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  19. What a lucky friend. Lively colors and design make it a stunning quilt.

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  20. You are such a scrap bustin' pro. I reeeeeeallllly need to make a scrappy quilt like this - I never feel like I have enough time for a quilt but a block at a time here and there is totally doable, especially if each is its own color story like you did here. Very smart.

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  21. Man, I love your colors here. They're such an important part of design, this looks like a wonderful exercise in color. Nice work!

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  22. Awesome, and thanks for sharing the details, including the fixes at the end. I worry too much about doing everything perfect the first time, and always end up with fixes like that. So nice to see another fix like that and see how it's actually great and sort of adds to the final product and the final product is stunning. Nice work.

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  23. Awesome, and thanks for sharing the details, including the fixes at the end. I worry too much about doing everything perfect the first time, and always end up with fixes like that. So nice to see another fix like that and see how it's actually great and sort of adds to the final product and the final product is stunning. Nice work.

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