Sunday, January 14, 2007

The top is completed - happy dancing

I just finished the top of Sophie's Stars. I told myself not to post another picture until the quilt was all done, but now that I'm this far I can't resist. It's been a bit of a struggle at times, but I love the way this turned out. I hope to get it quilted, bound and labeled tomorrow or the next day.

Before I forget I need to give credit to the original designer of this quilt. Jan Rader of Kent Ohio designed it, and it was a winner in the Quiltmaker magazine quilt contest. It was printed in the Early Spring 1991 issue. The original quilt is done with a sand color for the stars, orchid where I put the green and a navy for the dark. It is 95" square. So how did this come to be the baby quilt? I can't remember if I told this story or not, so if you've read this before please forgive me.

I tore baby quilt patterns out of all my magazines for years, and also bought baby quilt books, in anticipation of eventually having grandchildren. When we learned they were expecting I asked them to choose a quilt. First they wanted to wait until they knew whether it was a boy or a girl. Then they took awhile choosing. They decided around last Thanksgiving. When they showed me which one they choose I was dumbfounded. This one wasn't supposed to be one of the choices! The picture of the quilt was on the back side of one of the pages of a baby pattern I'd saved. All I had was the picture, block and quilt size, plus yardage and cutting requirements for a 95" square quilt. No directions at all! They knew that, but figured I wouldn't have included it if it wasn't supposed to be one of the choices. I told them no problem - as long as I had a picture I'd be OK. (Thank goodness this was a based on a traditional block I've made many times!) So I decided to shrink it down to 60%, making 6" blocks instead of 10" blocks. I had to guess at the yardage when I bought the borders and white, as I didn't want to run out. I have leftovers, which I'll use to piece the back so I can put as little as possible into my stash.

For those of you who think my sewing room is always neat, I snapped this picture. The cutting table is now a disaster - at least by my standards. Somewhere buried under there are the appliqué pieces for the two blocks of Heirloom Stitches that are cut out. I have lots and lots of purple triangles - I cut way too many - so I'll need to get those into a scrap box. They are an oddball size, so I think I'll sew them into half square triangle squares and trim them to an appropriate size for the scrap boxes. I have a few extra flying geese units too - those can go in the crumb box to be stitched into crumb blocks. Other various scraps are there also, which need to be cut and sorted. I refuse to add anything to my two huge boxes crammed with uncut and sorted scraps!

I've added a picture I took of Chelsea at the shower yesterday just for fun. Now I need to get into the shower - I'm still in my pajamas! I was a woman on a mission today, and I wasn't going to stop until I completed it.

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Gratitudes:
1. A finished top
2. Leftover teriyaki chicken for lunch
3. Another Monday off work!
4. Papa Murphy's pizza for dinner
5. A refreshing warm shower with good smelly shower gel

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20 comments:

quiltpixie said...

congrats on the finish! It really is wonderful.

Carol said...

It is spectacular Patti! Lesson learned...I will only ever show pictures of quilts I actually have a pattern for...nothing hiding on the back :)

Pam said...

Congratulations on finishing the top. It looks wonderful.

How are you enjoying the new blog? Good and Bad? It can be a bit more time consuming I find - a lot of logging on!

Suzanne Earley said...

The quilt looks great -- so many triangles! Wow!

I love the story about where the design came from.

Cynthia said...

You've done a fantastic job!! Having the messy cutting table was worth it for the beautiful quilt you've made.

Sweet P said...

Everytime I see that quilt I think it is more beautiful than before. Sophie is one lucky granddaughter.

I'm going to take the Myers-Briggs. I did a year ago but I don't remember what I am.

Silverthimble said...

Well done!! ...and in record time. I am very impressed with this quilt top. I am sure the new parents-to-be will love it too.

The Chicken Lady said...

Patti, it's beautiful! I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the colors. Woman, you have TALENT!! :)

Quilts And Pieces said...

Oh it turned out beautiful! I really like it. But so many pieces for getting it made so quick! It is wonderful!

Helen said...

Wow, wow, wow, it's fantastically beautiful! And so is your sewing room. I spy a stash bigger than mine!! and SO tidy, a quilter after my own heart. My stash is all folded like that. My friend bought the book about planning quilting rooms (forget the name) as she and her husband are building a new house. I really liked the idea of folding fabric around the ruler. I actually use a piece of cardboard box cut to size, so it fits my shelves better. My quilt buddies think I'm anally retentive but I don't care. I love stroking fabric. Your lovely big cutting table is also to die for and Chelsea is just beautiful.

Fiona said...

Fabulous - it positively glitters!

Unknown said...

Absolutely beautiful - well done! it's gorgeous :o)

Cher said...

wow Patti! what a gorgeous "baby" quilt! It will surely be treasured.

Judy said...

A masterpiece than Sophie will have well into her adult years and beyond! This will be something she will always cherish from her grandma.

It's was a long process but you finished and did a spectacular job Patti!

Heather said...

Happy dances with you :) That just is so amazing. I love this quilt. Would there be any way for you to share this pattern somehow? I would love to do one. My kitchen table is my sewing table… my dilemma is to clean it off to actually have dinner on it ;) It’s a fight. I need to get a table set up somewhere for me to work on!

Libby said...

I'm dancing right along with you. It is just a beauty.

Unknown said...

Absolutely LOVE the quilt!! It has been fun following your quilting journey on this quilt! I'm off to do my "type." Should be interesting...thanks for the link.

Helen in the UK said...

The finished top is WONDERFUL. Definately worth the struggles along the way. Congrats :)

Shelina said...

Congratulations on getting the top finished. Without a pattern no less! It looks like stars made out of purple confetti!

Sheila said...

I've been lurkily following your progress with this quilt, and it's just fabulous. You have a wonderful eye, and Sophie will be sure to love it.