Giant Star Quilts


A&Mquilts

These two giant star quilts were made using Jeni Baker’s tutorial . They were among the gifts I gave my children for Christmas in 2013.  These two particular quilts were for my then 9 and 11 year old daughters, who share a room.  I wanted them to have something similar that was also personalized.  Each of them chose the fabrics for their quilts, so they enjoyed opening them on Christmas morning.

GiantstarquiltA

The biggest difference between the two is my choice in background fabric.  One was pieced with a solid white and the other with the IKEA Britten Nummer fabric.  I like them both.

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My favorite element in both quilts is the quilting.  Again, I did straight line quilting.  My lines are unevenly spaced but all form a V moving from the edge of the quilt with the point towards the center.  I like the way it enhanced the quilt pattern and helps provide beautiful texture after washing.

giantquiltback

Again, the quilts feature a simple minky backing to guarantee the approval of my girls.

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They were a hit and have been much loved over the past year.  I can’t believe that 2014 has come and gone so quickly, as it doesn’t seem so long ago that I finished these quilts with a smile and a sigh of relief.  A good reminder that 2015 will likely come and go in like manner.

Solid & Stripes Quilt


bensquilt2

A year ago {Christmas 2013} I gave each of my children a new quilt for Christmas.  As I’ve combed through the few pictures I can find from the last 2 years of our lives, I realized that I never posted pictures of some of them.  This quilt was made for my then 13 year old son, and the pictures were taken hurriedly before wrapping it, with the intent that I would properly photograph it later.  Oh well.

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I cut 2.5 strips of my cherished Going Coastal fabrics along with some Shore Thing prints (both collections by Emily Herrick) and added a few additional prints.  I sewed them together with 2.5″ green solid squares between strips and made two sections of this style.  I then added a navy blue solid between them so it wouldn’t be too busy for his tastes.  It is simply quilted and I love the way it puckered up a little after washing.

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As with all of my other children, the quilt top means little compared to a minky backing in this case.  All they seemed to care about was size and minky, which is fine.  If I hadn’t been able to please them with ultra simple quilt designs I likely wouldn’t have reached my goal of giving one to each of them.  While this quilt isn’t my favorite one I made last year, it has certainly been loved and used, which makes me very happy.

Scarlet’s Quilt

In October a sweet little girl we know turned eight years old.  She’s the only girl in her family, and over the past couple of summers it’s been fun to watch her play with all my girls. There have been more afternoons spent sitting together outdoors dressing dolls and playing than I can count.  I decided to make her a little quilt to use on those afternoons.

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Unfortunately, all my photos of the quilt have been lost except for these three taken with my phone.   I went with a bright color scheme and chose a large range of designers for the fabrics. Some prints I’ve had for years while others have been released this year.  The quilt is simply pieced, patchwork style, with 6.5 inch squares.

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A low volume back was selected from my stash, straight line quilting done on the diagonal through each square in both directions, and a black and white binding finished it off.  I also made a second doll-sized quilt from leftover squares.  The quilt was excitedly delivered by my younger four daughters and happily received by their friend.

scarletquilt2

Handmade gifts are joyful things.

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