I was flicking through Quilters Companion magazine when I came across a striking quilt called “Lone Star” by Michelle
Marvig. It spoke to me and I thought of my Mum immediately.
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| Quilters Companion Magazine Vol 9.2 No. 42 |
I read through the instructions a few times thinking to
myself “Yup, yup, I understand that completely.” Well, in my defense, I had just concurred my first quilt so my confidence was at an all time high.
It was about a year away from my Mum’s 60th (sorry for divulging
your age Mum!) and luckily for me Spotlight was having a sale – hooray! So I had a year to complete this quilt and
bargain fabric to make it with, which meant I would have spare cash to have it
professionally and beautifully quilted.
I was on a winning streak!
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| One star point down, seven more to go! |
As it was school holidays my quilting class was on break. So I thought I would carry on anyway (being
the quilting extraordinaire of one whole quilt) and purchase the fabric. I would studiously follow all of the cutting instructions and then
gain advice from my quilting teachers to help piece it all together during my
classes – this is where all the properly experienced quilters laugh out loud –
it’s ok, I can take it …
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| Three more star points to go! |
Exiting Spotlight and running to my car through the rain - on
a high from purchasing bundles of bright fabric for practically nothing - I
nearly get hit by a 4WD. Oh dear, was
this an omen?
Turns out it was …
I cut all the fabric and started sewing strips together that
I would later cut at 3” intervals on a 45 degree angle. Yes, well, I went ahead cutting them all at a
45 degree angle at 3” apart – but on the horizontal instead of 3” along the
angle – tip for young players! Oh dear …
luckily Spotlight was still having their sale.
If I had just waited for my classes to start then I would have been
shown how to properly cut along the angle.
Such excitement, such haste, such disaster!
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| I'm glad someone is finding this quilt relaxing ... |
When my classes finally started I went in with my bundles of
fabric and magazine instructions under arm.
Finally I would be put on the right track and I would pay attention and
listen intently. Well this is what I
heard:
Teacher: “Um, any reason why you chose this particular quilt
to make?”
Me: “Well it’s my mum’s
60th birthday coming up and she’s my shining star so I thought I
would show her through this quilt”
Teacher: “Yes, ok, um, that’s a really lovely thought. But, this is your second quilt”
Me: “Yes it is”
Teacher: “… and you have chosen quite a difficult quilt …”
Me (thinking) “Oh crap”
Teacher “You say you’ve already bought and started cutting
the fabric?”
Me “yes – um, twice”
Teacher “Ok, well how much time have you set yourself to
make this quilt?”
Me “About a year”
Teacher “Ok, well, we better get cracking!”
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| Pretty happy with the points I was able to achieve |
I did get this lovely quilt finished just in the nick of
time and I managed to keep it a secret from Mum for a whole year – this is
unheard of!
It was beautifully quilted in a bubble pattern which I think
softens the look of that striking star.
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| Lovely quilted bubble pattern |
I chose not to do a big border on this quilt as I wanted the star to be the main focus.
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| Very narrow border - just enough to frame the star |
I’m not going to lie to you, for my second quilt, it was definitely
tough going. But the thing that made me persevere
with this quilt, was who I making it for.
My Mum. The one person that
believes in me no matter what. Who loves
me unconditionally and always has encouraging words and a hug ready and waiting
for me.
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| Matches Mum's fav Elvis pic perfectly! |
If you would like to make this quilt for your shining star
then you could order a back issue of Quilters Companion magazine Vol 9.2 No. 42
… OR … I just found a link to the pattern for free on the Complete Craft website.
Happy Mother’s Day!
Linking up with the Sunday Stash crew (for the first time - hello everyone!) at Finding Fifth.
Linking up with the Sunday Stash crew (for the first time - hello everyone!) at Finding Fifth.
Sx
oh it's gorgeous, so very beautiful, I love the fabrics you picked for it! But just a heads up all of the shots with the money in the background well, it's very distracting, I kept looking at the money, did you do that on purpose? lol.
ReplyDeleteOh dear! I hadn't thought about that! That's our kitchen table ... I do all my sewing on it. We've done a lot of travelling (pre-kiddies) and found that money was the easiest thing to collect on our travels. We've put it all under glass on our table. I'm so used to it being there that I didn't even notice it in the pics. I'll keep it in mind - thanks for the tip :)
ReplyDeleteI love my quilt, such an awesome job and stitched with so much love and patience. Thank you Serena it keeps me beautifully warm and toasty at night :) xxxx
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness what a beautiful quilt and seriously, this is the second quilt you have ever made?? Wow!! What talent and your mum must have been beyond words. It is truly fabulous.
ReplyDeleteUgh, it nearly killed me. It was worth every unpick though to see the look of surprise on my mum's face.
DeleteWow that is really special and worth persevering over.
ReplyDeleteI seen your comment on Lee's WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced and had to come find your bubble quilting. It looks gorgeous on this quilt! Your confidence is inspiring. I think you are sew talented! I bragged about your quilt on my facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/SewFreshQuilts
ReplyDeleteThank you for following me back on Bloglovin'
Lorna:)
http://sewfreshquilts.blogspot.com