Friday, January 06, 2012

sew & tell v3.13 - giant vintage star

Welcome back everyone!  I hope everyone had a joyful, restful and happy holidays!


I wanted to share with you a quilt I made for my sister-in-law for Christmas.  I decided that I really wanted to sew something for her and asked my Tweeps (twitter friends) if anyone knew of a quick easy quilt I could put together in time for Christmas.  Jeni at In Color Order suggested her lovely Vintage Star Quilt Tutorial.  It was a match made in heaven for the fabrics I had in mind.
One Big Star

I had the 4 Amy Butler prints (Daisy Chain) for quite some time, but alone, they just weren't doing much for me.  Which may be why I had never used them!  When paired with some AB Lotus Full Moon Dots in Lime, and 3 Sandi Henderson prints (Henna Garden in Chocolate and Leaf and Garden Gate in Fuschia), I was in LOVE.  Seriously.

just a quilt blowing in the wind

I was worried that the Kona snow I was using for the background would be too stark, but I actually really like it.

free motion quilting

And I think the quilting on those sections really pop.  I love a nice wrinkled fresh from the dryer quilt!

machine binding + FMQ

The back is a Robert Kaufman Pimatex Basics.  I was able to pick it up at my local Hancock Fabrics.  Even though they had already closed, I was able to sweet talk my way in to make the quick transaction.

Binding and backing


I machine quilted on the binding.  I had never tried this before, but I was kind of in crunch time mode.  Jeni also has an awesome tutorial for machine binding.  It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, and I wouldn't have finished the quilt in time otherwise!  I still enjoy hand stitching the binding, but in a time crunch, I'm totally not going to shy away from this.

requisite folded quilt shot

This quilt was a first for me in another way.  Started and finished within 3 weeks.  It's a Christmas miracle!!  I'm pretty sure she liked it! Which always makes me happy!

Did you do any gift sewing? What have you got to share with us today?  Can't wait to see what you all have been up to!
Linky Rules.  Please follow along for a fun party!
1. Please write the post for sew & tell - or add a blurb mentioning sew & tell to a post written since the last sew & tell.  If you are linking to a post with your own tutorial, please make sure it was a finish from this week and that the completed project is shown first.
2. One linky per person. (please put multiple projects in one post.)
3. Link to your specific post.  (See here for permalink instructions - or email me.)
4. Link back here with a link or a button (HTML on my sidebar).
5. Be sure to visit and leave comments on other's posts!

Please put your (blog)name instead of your project name, it helps us get to know each other better!

24 crafty mcCrafters commented:

Kim said...

Beautiful quilt Amy!!!!! The colors are so perfect!!!!

CityHouseStudio said...

I love your quilt! Beautiful fabric choices!
I'll have to keep this pattern in mind for a quick finish!

Carla said...

Oh wow that is such a pretty quilt! I'm sure she is loving it.

Miri said...

Love your Big Star Quilt! Great fabrics and beautifully crinkly! Thanks for the link to the machine binding tute.

Rebecca Grace said...

Wow -- My two first reactions: I LOVE THIS and THIS LOOKS EASY & FUN, I need to make one! I'm the queen of overcomplicating projects into a stress fest. I need to relax, simplify, and enjoy my sewing projects more this year. Also, I was reorganizing my fabric stash the other day and realized I have quite a few large-scale florals and other big prints that would be totally lost if I cut them into small pieces for the kind of quilt I normally do, but an oversized star like this one would be perfect to show them off. Added bonus? Large areas for practicing free motion quilting (also on my Sewing Resolutions List) and less stress in the quilting process knowing that I didn't spend 6 months piecing this one. I'm so excited to copy from you! :-)

By the way, what did you mean by "quilting on the binding?" Do you just mean that you sewed it on completely by machine instead of by hand, or is this a special technique that only the cool quilters know about? Please share! Thanks.

bethanndodd said...

Congrats on the finish, it beautiful...the fabrics you chose compliment eachother so nicely. No doubt she will cherish for years to come. I am adding that pattern to my long list of quilts to make ;) Thanks for hosting! Smiles~Beth

Grandma G said...

What a lovely quilt!

ktquilts said...

Great grouping of fabrics! I just love Sandi Henderson's Henna Garden. I really need to buy some Secret garden too! Love the way they are put together with Amy Butler's prints.

Dayna said...

It's gorgeous, Amy! You make it all sound so simple. :-) Looking at the finished product, it's hard to believe that you doubted one detail beforehand. It's perfect! I'm so glad that you were able to finish it in time (and that you found favor at the entrance to Hancocks)!

Cheerful Homemaker said...

What a beautiful quilt! The only drawback to quilting is that I never receive quilts as gifts. :(

I had intended to do a lot of sewing for Christmas this year, but it didn't happen. I got pregnant in January and slept until April, then it got to hot to do anything but lay on the couch. :P Once I was ready to do some serious sewing in late August I developed some serious carpal tunnel that didn't go away until Oct 19 when I gave birth. I finally started on Christmas gifts December 15. I only managed to do the two quilted play mats I had planned for my nephews. :)

Heather D. said...

I love that quilt! Have it being held by small children at the playground really puts into perspective how HUGE that star is!

Angie said...

Love this quilt - looks like a great go-to quilt for those last minute gift ideas. And your color combo is wonderful; the lime kicks it all off perfectly!

Katy Cameron said...

Love how this turned out, great combination of fabrics, and love the quilting :o)

Heather said...

Just gorgeous, Amy! I'm sure she LOVES it! :o)

Kristie said...

Love your fabric combos, Amy! It looks fantastic.

Jeni said...

LOVE! It turned out awesome Amy!!

Laura said...

I WANT THAT QUILT! SO stinking cute. I am jealous.

Candied Fabrics said...

Gorgeous! And you have the cutest little quilt holders...genius doing this at the playground! :-)

Love the color of the fabric on the binding!

amy smart said...

Amy, this quilt is SO AWESOME! I love everything about it. Great fabric choices - I love how well they look together. I'm loving Jeni's tutorial - I think that would be a sweet way to use up some big chunks of stash quickly. :) Thanks for the stunning inspiration.

Hope all is well at your house. :)

Richard Healey said...

Wonderful Quilt.

Melissa {polkadot chair} said...

I can not tell you how much I LOVE this!! I saw you working on it on instagram but I didn't realize it was that big!! It's so cool cause it's got a fun modern edge to it!!

I'm glad to see I wasn't the only one sewing into the wee hours right before Christmas :)

Moore Family said...

Amy that quilt is beautiful. You're amazing! I only wish I had half of your talent!

Shay said...

My oh My! That quilt is beautiful!

**nicke... said...

what a beautiful quilt! so so pretty!