A Field of Stars
Here's the moment I've been waiting for with my star blocks: seeing them all together and putting them into the final order I want them to be in for the Z Baby's second quilt. While I was laying them out yesterday morning, I grew extremely happy with my decision to put each star on a background of the same fabric. They all just popped out so well. Not to mention the fact that I think the choice of background fabrics turned out even better than I could have anticipated. They work well with the fabric in the stars and they play nice together in the quilt as a whole.
When I was laying out the blocks, geek girl that I am, I had to follow some rules. I didn't want any two blocks with the same background fabric on either the vertical or horizontal axis touching each other. In order to make this easier, I started with EQ5 to work out the generalities. Can you see the symmetry in the blocks (don't look at the stars themselves, but the background fabrics. The pink and purple background fabric blocks mirror each other, as do the aqua and green print fabrics. This morning, in my office, I worked out the details. I ended up swapping the locations of the aqua and green print fabrics so that I could make sure that the stars were distributed the way I wanted them to be -- I didn't want whole rows or columns that contained too much of one type of star pattern, though it wasn't possible to avoid completely, given how much of that light blue/dark blue striping was in the pattern that I started with.
One of the little pleasures I got from laying the blocks out was discovering how well the seams in my blocks line up and how, overall, I did a pretty good job of getting these blocks to within almost the same size of each other (the very first block, the pink one in the top left corner being something of an exception) . I feel very confident that when I sew these blocks together, that everything is going to line up nicely if I sew carefully. This is a distinct improvement over Serenity, my first quilt top. I was also amazed to find that when these blocks are all together as a whole, all my concerns about some of the wonky centers went away. It's almost impossible to demonstrate in a blog-sized photo, but even when you're up close, you don't notice those wonky centers very much. All the other activity going on in the quilt makes some of the problem minutia go away.
The last thing that remains is the border. Initially I was going to use some more "Feelin' Groovy" fabric (the fabric the stars are made of ) to border it, but after talking with Julie and Colette we all decided that that would be too busy and would probably detract from the blocks. Another option was to introduce a completely new fabric to go around the edge, but that didn't really feel right to any of us, either. Then Colette suggested that I consider a simple pieced border, where I use the background fabrics in the border, changing the color with the edge of each block and always using a different fabric than the block itself (sorry if that isn't clear, it will become more obvious when I put it together). I purchased a bit more of each background fabric to do the job with and I hope to get the top seamed up this weekend. Just like the finishing work on a sweater, I find it a lot easier to crank through the finishing work on a quilt top when I feel like I'm getting close to the endgame.
Wow! That looks really fabulous! I like your plan for the edging, can't wait to see it finished. (And as someone who can't cut a straight line to save my life, I really love how neat all the squares are.)
It's stunning. I love stars, and what you've created is just beautiful! :)
It is wonderful! You arranged the blocks just so. I loved the way you explained your choices. It speaks to me!
Wauw, what a lovely piece of work. I have followed the star-production and look forward to the final look :-)
This sure is pushing my own dreams of doing pathchwork...
Jeanette
Looks great! I thought I was the only one who would be so specific when arranging blocks. :-) Can't wait to see the finished product!
wow your blocks look amazing! I am extremly jealous!
the plan for your edging sounds delightful! I have enjoyed following your journey so much. Your explanations are so clear and your joy is so evident. Lucky baby Z!
I must admit, I have absolutely hated each individual block and saw no connection to beauty when thinking of them together.
Boy, was I wrong!
The whole is really a lot more than the sum of its parts -- each star looked beautiful solo, but together they're breathtaking. And your careful (I wouldn't say geeky!) balancing of colors/patterns is a big part of that -- if it were lopsided or clumped with colors, it just wouldn't be the same.
How satisfying to make something so beautiful for someone you (already) love.
Cathy
Laying out the blocks is definitely pay off time. They look wonderful!
That's awesome! I've been waiting for the day to see how the individual stars would look together, and it looks great. As a former quilter myself (then I discovered knitting), I know how thrilling it can be to see that everything lines up.
Everynight when you look in on your Baby Z and see her wrapped in your quilt, you'll know that she's wrapped in love for the night. There's no better feeling!
Looks great! I like the Sudoku method for arranging the background squares...
It looks wonderful! I can't wait to see it all sewn up. Congratulations!
Wow - when the picture came up on my screen, it literally took my breath away. The stars are gorgeous together. Beautiful job, and your idea for the border sounds perfect.
The quilt top looks fantastic! I can't wait to see it quilted up and the binding attached.
That was WELL worth waiting for. Not only is it a wonderful quilt, the archive for the little one about making it is the BEST.
The pieced border is a perfect idea....looks really good so far!
That is really beautiful. A star quilt for a superstar baby!
Your quilt top is beautiful.
it's absolutely gorgeous. I love the idea of a pieced border, too. what a fantastic project!
I have been watching you build this quilt and I must say baby Z is one lucky baby. It is just beautiful! One of your first heirlooms no doubt.
I love it! And the background fabric really stands out when the squares are all together- it's sweet and spunky at the same time. Fantastic!
It is mesmerizing. It keeps my eye busy in a happy way. I really like it a lot.
I was really looking forward to seeing how all your pretty squares looked together - it's beautiful!
Wow, that is one beautiful quilt. Baby Z is going to sleep happily beneath it.
Beautiful work! Such precise piecing and such a wonderful mix of prints! Baby Z is going to love looking at those starts--nice and bright to catch her eyes.
Beautiful work. The stars pop right out and float -- I like the contrast between the strong colors of the stars and the more pastel background fabrics.
Good luck with your remaining weeks of "inside baby" time. May all be well with you and Baby Z.
I agree about the solid background fabrics. I tend to want more busy, but I've been learning that some constancy is good (as in everything?). I found that my blog photo of my lace swatches for MS3 helped me see them from a distance, more than looking at them in real life did. - I feel the same about your photo of your star layout.
Breathtaking! You have such a good eye for color. Keep at it - can't wait to see it done!
Your quilt layout looks fantastic to me. I like your plan for the borders too. If you're still wishing you could use the "Feeling Groovy" fabric you could always use it for backing. It might make a fun game for Baby Z later on (I'm thinking it'll be when she's about 2) to flip back and forth and identify the places in the whole piece where each of the stars came from.
Gorgeous! It is so well-planned in the layout! I don't get what you mean about using the same fabric for the background...aren't the pastel backgrounds all different prints? They don't look like the stars themselves. I'm easily confused though, LOL.
Wow! This looks SO amazing.
Very nice! Baby Z will love what you've done for her for many years to come. My mother made all of my kids quilts when they were babies. My youngest (he's now 21) still has his original quilt which is in very good shape. A couple of years ago he asked grandma for another one since he'd "grown out" of the first one. Now he uses both.
Beautiful, just beautiful! Thanks for sharing this process with us, but this almost conclusion is amazing!
It's lovely. I've been inspired by your quilting.
I love it!! So beautiful...
That quilt top is gorgeous! Thank you so much for taking us through the process of its creation and I am very much looking forward to seeing the final product.
Z Baby is one lucky little girl - the squares are amazing.
Stunning! Lucky Z!
When I saw there was a post from you in my feed reader, I thought "Yay, I get to see the stars all together today!" I have been looking forward to it as you've shown each star, and they look amazing together. I really like the symmetry of the background colors, and the edge idea sounds great, too. Baby Z will have sweet dreams under that quilt.
This is lovely! And the border idea sounds great, and made total sense to my warped brain, anyway. I love when "structural integrity" of a design can follow through a whole project.
Choosing a few "rules" make a large project so much more manageable and game-like. :-) Dana
Oh, wow. I love it. The star motif is wonderful.
When you first started, I thought it would be a really LOUD quilt. I was wrong. It is bright and cheerful but not screaming. I've enjoyed watching it come together so far... its beautiful.
I love how the stars took on a fractal quality and have so much movement.