… yes I finally got my red and aqua stars into a presentable form… a finished quilt top….I can hear the gasps of surprise from here…
These stars were the product of my first Paper Piecing Monday adventures. I loved putting them together each week, challenging myself to make some complex and amazing stars.
Some of the stars were free patterns from Quilting on the Square (you can find the links to the specific patterns under my Free Paper Piecing Patterns tabs) and others were from Carol Doak’s book 50 Fabulous Paper Pieced Stars.
So in the end I had 20 amazing 12 inch paper pieced stars and no real plan what to do with them. After an online survey last year, it was decided that navy sashing did the best job of showing off each and every star to its best, so a plan was hatched. Fast forward a few months (possibly more) and after auditioning a few navy fabrics and ended up using Robert Kaufman’s Quilters Linen in navy. It was perfect the job.
So now all that is left is to remove the paper… which will be quite a task as some of these suckers are really complex…
Then it is off to a long armer for quilting. At no point did I contemplate ruining this gorgeous quilt top with my quilting. It deserves the best…plus the finished quilt is going to my Mum so I want it to be amazing.
WOMBAT QUILTS 
Wow!!! It’s stunning! Really and truly. Those stars look amazing and you’ve inspired me. Thanks.
Love it, the colours pop and work so well together!
Absolutely amazing! I’m plotting a red and aqua quilt these days too, though it’s not going to be anything near as complex as your incredible stars. And I don’t envy you the task of taking all that paper off. I usually multitask with that job… TV time becomes paper pulling time!
I have trained my husband to help with the paper removal process…. it lightens the load considerably lol.
Amazing! What a stunning use of colors I would never have thought of myself!
Lynne I did not know this colour combination would look so good. I stumbled into it but now I am hooked. I know there will be another quilt in my future with this combination.
It turned out beautifully! Love the aqua and red with the navy. “Enjoy” de-papering – hopefully you’ve got some good TV or movies to keep you entertained!
I am working my way thru Foyles War and I have only just started… I have lots and lots of episodes to keep me entertained. I love a good British accent.
I hope very much it’ll be ready for you to bring with you when you come to Oz later this year, and that I may actually get a chance to see it!
Kate I am determined it will be ready by the time I leave… and I can do a mini trunk show because at least 3 quilts are coming home with me!
So amazing! Your Mum will LOVE it!
Wonderful, vibrant quilt, can’t wait to see it in person!
I will make sure it comes to a Guild meeting before it heads back to Australia. Promise.
It’s gorgeous! And what a lovely gift for your mum! I can’t wait to see it quilted! 🙂
It is beautiful!
Wow! Cath, you said it! This is one AMAZING quilt. Your Mum will love it!
Beautiful, Cath! I particularly love seeing that shot of the back- very enlightening and important to document things like that!!
So beautiful! Your mom is going to really love it!
Fabulous! You do such beautiful work – it’s fine to wait until the inspiration is really there because the finished product is so worth it. Twenty wonderful stars!
I don’t comment every time but I always love seeing your posts.
Thanks Sarina. I must admit I do love some of the stars more than others but together they do make an impressive bunch.
It’s very wonderful job!! I love the stars and colors. Congratulations!
This is just beautiful Cath! The colors are glowing and leaping off the quilt – what a great quilt to gift!
oh it’s lovely! Great choice in sashing too. I can’t wait to see how you have it quilted!
I love the red and aqua in all those beautiful star blocks. Your mum is going to love it!
Forgive me for not commenting before. I await your posts, curious to see what you will dazzle me with next. I saw all those stars as they were posted, wondering at the beauty and how you could possibly do it so perfectly. I wished I could do what you do, not thinking I could do it too. I bought a couple of paper piecing books, took paper piecing classes on craftsy, hoping I could someday do it. I have started doing a little, nothing really complex yet. Now you post this! You have given me a huge wall to climb, lol. This quilt is absolutely amazing, and that’s selling it short I wish I were your mother so I could look at this every day and marvel at the beauty my daughter created. I am posting this to pinterest so that I can go and look at it when I get up the nerve to try something like this.
I must admit when I started this quilt I did not know what it would be. It was not daunting or scary as it was a block at a time over a huge period of time. Each block I learnt something (like color coding your pattern with pencils to help keep track of things) and there was a lot of unpicking along the way. My big lesson has been the more you do, the easier it gets. So hang in there, keep paper piecing as it is worth it, I think…though I could be a little biased. And remember if you get stuck or have questions you know where to find me.
Amazing variety and piecing. It’s beautiful!
This turned out great. Special quilts for special people:)
Aqua and red are soooo nice together. Your quilt is absolutely fab. I look forward to seeing it quilted.
This is just gorgeous! The colors are amazing. Good on all that hard work! I can’t wait to see how you decide to have it quilted.
Also, I’m curious about how you get the quilts back home for the show and tell. I’m running in to this problem with a trip I have planned for February. I’m thinking of posting them there, but Australian postal rates are so extortionate it’s almost cheaper to pay for excess luggage. I’d love to bring a whole bunch of them back with me, but haven’t quite worked out the logistics for the ones I’m not giving away. I’d appreciate your advice if you’ve got the time. I don’t think there’s a possibility of cramming more than one in to my suitcase. Thanks!
I am heading back from the US (luggage allowance us generous) so have planned to take an extra bag with me. I will be space bagging the quilts to get them down in size and crossing my fingers. I have not done this before so I hope it works. We are going back to Oz in summer which also means less cloths to pack.
I actually haven’t done the direct flight in such a long time and I’d forgotten that you do get a huge baggage allowance between Australia and the US. We’re going in February, so yes, smaller clothes to pack, but an annoying massive coat to do something with at some point. I’d be happy to share experiences with you when this is all done. I’m hoping mine will be up on the blog in early March.
I will check for your report, thanks. I always just carry my coat. I learnt when I was 19 and headed to the UK alone for the first time I could fit all sorts of things in the pockets of my coat…if desperate heavier objects still find their way into the coat to this day!
I’ve just heard some horror stories of people arriving with coats in summer receiving terrible treatment when they come through customs/quarantine. I suppose the people who work there don’t realize that you need the coat to get to and from your home airport.
So now all that is left is to remove the paper … and to vacuum up all the pesky bits of paper that will appear to be EVERYWHERE!
It looks fabulous, so the pain of paper removal will be worth it. Hang in there!
One square at a time is the only way to do it…that and a pair of tweezers…oh and my husbands help! Augh I am not looking forward to it.
Wow! This is gorgeous. Can’t wait too see it once it’s quilted and bound. Goo luck removing that wax paper!
Thanks Sarah… The paper allows me to create beautiful blocks but it a bugger to remove.
What a stunning quilt!! I started paper-piecing last year and love it…..I hope to make a whole quilt with pp blocks soon. Love your work!
Just a stunning quilt – wow! I really love the color combinations and all of the different star shapes. Can’t wait to see what the longarmer does with the quilting.
Wow, this turned out amazing!! I love it so much! Can’t wait to see how it’s quilted up. Looks like it was a labor of love for sure 🙂
WOW is all I can come up with! Outstanding stars!!
Wow, this is AMAZING so lovely to see it finished!! I love the choice of quilter’s linen it’s a favourite of mine. Looking forward to seeing it after quilting, your mum is going to treasure it 🙂
WELL, It IS AMAZING without ANY quilting. What an accomplishment. You’re the star for sure! You Mum will be so happy. I recently made a quilt for my daughter. She has given quilts to all her friends and relatives and she told me that this is the first time anyone has made a quilt just for her. The love, time and patience stitched into your quilt will be a wonderful quilt for your Mom and it was a gift to us who follow along after you! Thanks for sharing.
I have been following the progress of your paper pieced stars and have loved each and every one. Your Mum is so fortunate to have such a talented and generous daughter. She will have organise tours of her bedroom to show off her quilt.
So lovely! The reds and aquas really pop against the navy sashing! I don’t envy you removing all those papers now though!
Your blocks SING. Great use of value!! Nice colors beautiful blocks. Did you study color/contrast somewhere or from someone? I’d love to achieve this each time I create!
Lois I studied a little art at college and then spent many years working with artists in animation. I think something rubbed off in those years of working so closely with people who had amazing colour instinct. I also love to play with colour and love pulling bundles of fabric out of my stash and seeing what works.
Yes, with your pieces it shows! I have to work at getting color/values right to get what some seem to have instinctually. My daughter on the other hand came that way. At least someone in the family got it! ;D Always a treat to see what you’re up to, will keep turned in to see what’s next! 😀
You will have to get your daughter to pull fabric from your stash and see what she comes up with.
She does all the time. She picked the binding for my Posey’fied Cartwheel quilt I blogged about at: http://creativegypsy.me/2014/07/02/modern-cartwheel-block-poseyfied/ We love playing with fabrics and colors. Ok, truth. I selected the rest of the fabrics for the quilt including the contrasting centers! I can do it, just have to work at it! 😉 Have a GREAT weekend!
I have serious quilt envy here. Red and aqua are my favourite colours together, I LOVE THIS. I would love to see an update when quilt is quilted… is it terrible to single white female you and copy shamelessly?? Thank you for sharing!
J
Copy away. Most of the patterns are under my “free paper piecing tab” and most of the rest are in Carol Doaks fabulous book. I am preping this quilt for the long armers today so there will be an update soon.