A Collegiate take on the Missouri Star

After giving a few quilts to family members for Christmas, I had a request from another family member to make a special Auburn University quilt.  Normally, I don't take on "requests"; I prefer my quilts to be a labor of love and not a labor of profit. But this one is for my mother-in-law's brother and he's been especially helpful to her of late, prepping her house for its eventual sale.  So I agreed.

If you don't know the color scheme for Auburn University, it's navy blue and orange.  I like both colors; I do not like them together.  Because of that, I only sit and sew in small time spans. The blocks are 23" square when completed and there will be 12 of them. I'm still tinkering with sashing. Here's the first block, almost completed:

I'm also changing up some of the fabric prints for the orange and navy to help give it more "pizzazz". It does at least break up the blocks a bit for my eyes.  I'm using Jenny Doan's method of the Missouri Star from her YouTube tutorials.  It does seem to make the block go a bit faster.

Friendship Star, Part 2

I finished the Friendship Star quilt just before Christmas, but not in time to mail it out for its intended recipient.  I think the fabrics and the pattern worked well together and the Two Spool did a brilliant job in piecing the quilt.  Every time I use it, I grow ever more impressed with its smooth operation and perfect stitch.

I decided to Free-motion meander the paisley sections - any type of pattern would have been lost in the fabrics design. I did the FMQing with my Singer 15-91; I have the most experience with and am most comfortable with that machine. I added feathers to the white blocks - these were my first ever feathers, and after practicing for days on scraps, I decided to take the plunge.

I also meandered the red triangles with red thread; the white looked obnoxious and distracted from the the block.  In the end, once the quilt was finished and washed, the quilting itself faded into the background and without close inspection, the designs are 'lost'.

Oh well, it was fun to make and a good learning lesson and practice for the feathers.  Now to ship it off to its new owner.

Friendship Star

It's been a long time since I last posted. A lot has changed - some for the better, others, not so much. A good friend was dumped a few days ago, just before Christmas, so I decided make them a 'pick me up' quilt featuring the Friendship Star block.  One day, I hope to properly master half-square triangles, but my Eldredge Two Spool seems to be handling the task nicely.