Thursday, January 1, 2015

Under Southern Skies!

I managed to put the last stitch in the binding

of my last quilt for the year,

 a few hours before midnight.

Yes, I lead an exciting social life!


 (It is still 2014 

in some parts of the world, after all!)

I started this back in October by making 

12" 'stars within star' blocks...





but something seemed to be missing...

So I decided on some smaller six inch blocks....


After an email discussion with a blogging friend I decided to mix up the star design a bit, and make some 'reverse' blocks with more white stars than blue 


 This certainly gave the quilt more visual interest, 

something that is very important 

in a two-colour quilt, I think.



Then came the quilting-

I practised my pebble quilting in many of the 

squares,



made all the more difficult because the Aurifil thread 

was such a close colour match!


And finished with some hand quilting with a Finca 

perle thread...


adding further visual interest in those white spaces.



The quilt finishes at 48" X 60"


and being gifted very soon!

I have decided to put a tutorial for this quilt. It is a separate page on the header of this blog and under the tutorials tab too!


Happy New Year!

SUZ

28 comments:

Julianne said...

Beautiful Beautiful Beautiful!

Kirsten said...

Absolutely gorgeous Suz!

Kirsty @ Bonjour Quilts said...

Way to go, Suz! What a perfect end to the year for a quilter! Wishing you many happy sewing days for 2015 x x

Karen @ Pieces of Contentment said...

It looks great Suz and theadded touches of hand quilting really tie it all together beautiful.

Duyvken said...

That is so beautiful. What a way to end the year.

Vicki said...

This turned out so very, very cute! I love the two color quilt idea.

Mary said...

It's wonderful! The stars are dancing! It's just amazing!

Anonymous said...

Truly stunning. The reversal of background/foreground in some of the stars makes it so much more interesting than it would have been with only blue stars on a white field, and the smaller blocks give the quilt additional movement. Great job on the quilting too!

Rachaeldaisy said...

Suz, This quilt is fabulous!! I love the mix of the different size stars and the reverse of light and dark. The hand quilting adds that extra special touch as well. What a great finish to 2014.

Debbie said...

Beautiful quilt! I love the hand-stitching you added!

Unknown said...

Wow, what a fabulous quilt. I hope the recipient is worthy ;) Best wishes for the new year xx

Frances Leate said...

Fabulous quilt and I hope 2015 is a very special year for you. Happy New Year

Leanne said...

Happy New Year! Your quilt is so pretty, I love blue and white and all your quilting works so perfectly on it.

GO STARS! said...

I love this quilt! Blue is one of my favorite colors and star quilts are some of my favorite quilts. To have both favorites in one quilt is heaven. I may have to make my own version of this one - after I get a couple of others finished. Happy 2015!

Helen Philipps said...

A beautiful quilt, I love your blue and white stars and the interesting layout really sparkles! Wishing you a very Happy New Year!
Helen xox

Cardygirl said...

Looks great!

Lauren Deel said...

I love how you played with the blue/white contrast, as well as with the size of the blocks. Lovely finish, Suz!

Karen S said...

This is a magnificent finish for the year. I love the blues in this one. Gorgeous!

Julie Fukuda said...

Oh, I do love that quilt. Thanks for sharing the process and congratulations on a splendid finish.

Rene' said...

This is just amazing Susan!!! Can't believe you are parting with this one. I love all your attention to details such as adding more reverse stars and the wonderful hand quilting. Way to finish off 2014!

✾Jamie Lee Cooley✾ said...

Gorgeous! This quilt isn't missing a thing anymore. There's definite visual interest:). Way to go on the pebble quilting and the hand quilting is a nice touch too. Congrats on one last wonderful finish!!!

Granny Maud's Girl said...

A few hours before midnight, I was fast asleep. I lead a wild social life too! I love two-colour quilts, especially when they are done as well as this.

www.randomthoughtsdoordi.com said...

That hand quilting gets me every time. It's a beautiful finish.

Carla said...

What a way to end the year...or start a new one!! Your quilt sure looks like the night sky, either way....LOVE!

OPQuilt said...

Definitely a star in your quilty firmament! I love how you kept adding a layer of ideas at a time, beginning with the original plan, but moving it to a more interesting and complex design. Lovely!

Cheryl B. said...

Hi! I know I am way late to this party, but I found this quilt on Pinterest. I have a new son-in-law (my 3rd) and he started asking for his quilt long before the May 12, 2018 wedding to my middle daughter, who is 37 and this is her first marriage. They met when she dispatched him to a robbery in progress and he chased the perp. He knew he had to meet the dispatcher who helped him. I think they moved in together about 8 weeks later and lived together for just over a year before the beautiful wedding.

Anyway, my first son-in-law is a medically retired, legally blind Marine and I made an Americana quilt for him. My youngest daughter married him at age 18 (he was 19) and they are soon to celebrate their 12th anniversary on July 4th.

My oldest married a midwest born and bred young man, a physician's assistant, at almost age 35! I made him a Green Bay Packer quilt for last Christmas.

So that brings me to my police officer son-in-law. I am going to do this quilt on the front and a very large thin blue line flag on the back of the quilt. He is 6'4" so I am going to make a pretty darn big one. Luckily Fat Quarter Shop basics special this month is Confetti Cotton by Riley Blake with several shades of blue, gray and black.

Thank you so much for sharing this great quilt idea!

Unknown said...

Where can I buy the pattern for under southern skies quilt

Joanie said...

Interested. Love the quilt

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