Starshine Quilt

A few years ago, I picked up a couple of florals by Rifle Paper Co. that I loved. One had a lovely burgundy background, but I didn't know how to use them. They sat in my drawers waiting for a project. Last fall, I worked on a fabric Friday pull using them and settled on this. Even though I didn't have anything to tie in the burgundy, I thought it was still okay. And I really liked the colors together. So I kept it aside and thought about patterns I could use it for.

And then I remembered a quilt pattern I was given for my birthday from my oldest daughter. She had picked it out when we were at a quilt shop after visiting a quilt show at a nearby museum and had my husband buy it for her. It's called Star Shine by Modernly Morgan and I really like it. It looks like a simple pattern, one I would not buy for myself because I would think I could figure it out on my own, but I'm glad she picked it. Unfortunately, my colors look an awful lot like the cover quilt. I don't like remaking quilts someone else made, I really prefer to put my own spin on it, so this is disappointing, but I do really love the colors and how it turned out, so I don't mind too much.

When I was ready to make it, I had to pick out fewer fabrics than I had in my pull. Some were easy to eliminate because I didn't have a big enough piece. But I made sure to use the two Rifle prints that started it all. I'm really happy with it, I think it's a pretty quilt!

I backed it with a Ruby Star Speckled I picked up on sale, and I bound it with a Ruby Star Sprinkle that I got on the same sale. They don't match together super well, so I'm sure not going to brag about how great the back looks, but they both work with the quilt so I'm happy.

English Paper Piecing Star Blocks

I'm still plugging away at my EPP medallion quilt. I've got the center sewn onto a large square, I've got the churn dash blocks sewn onto that, and I've got 140 flying geese made. Next step is actually deciding if I want the border between the churn dash and flying geese to be 2" or 3", which doesn't sound like a big deal, but it's the difference between the flying geese going one direction, or having them meet in the middle of each section.

I've also been doing a bit of work on some hexagon blocks for a new EPP project, using up the blocks I had started making for the next round of the medallion. I've got some additional colors added and I like where it's going! I spent General Conference basting and stitching, and I got several more added. 

The stacked ones with the yellow fabric on the outside are the ones I made years ago, and the ones on the outside are the new ones. It currently takes just under 2 hours to stitch a whole block, so this project will definitely take a while, haha. We'll see how big I decide to make it and how many years it takes. 

Hidden Stars

My older girls have been asking me to make them new bed quilts for a while. They've been jealous that the twins have minky-backed bed quilts, and theirs have boring-and-not-as-soft flannel. Even though they still share a room, I think they were also tired of having coordinated quilts and wanted something more personal.

It was on my list, but low. I have so many other projects that I'm more excited about, and they HAVE bed quilts. 

Then, I ordered a Florida jelly roll by Ruby Star Society when it was on sale and my oldest daughter fell in love with it when I opened it up to brainstorm. I don't usually buy precuts or sew with them because I've always found it easier to use yardage, and I don't typically sew quilts from just one line. Sometimes there's a dominant line, but I rarely use exclusively one line. 

This quilt is no exception. I used the whole jelly roll because it was a half-sized roll anyway, but I added a bunch of strips from my yardage too. And I copied a pattern I had seen online somewhere, doing the math myself  (not sure it was jelly roll friendly anyway). I love the secondary pattern it creates with the stars in the middle between the blocks and she was excited about it too. 

We backed it with dark gray minky and she loves it. At least, I think she does...she still mostly sleeps under her comforter. *shrug*

Long arm quilted by Abby Latimer, completed March 2022