I think an update on my lockdown quilt project is overdue – and I need a bit of help with some quilty quandaries!
I have been doing a little of one or more of the different processes involved each day, which has added some creative discipline to my lockdown days, whilst my doll making is on hold.
I sort and press fabrics and cut them into patches, cut white fabric to make stars, sew patches together to make plain or star blocks and piece the resulting blocks together to form the quilt top. It has taken far more scraps than I anticipated! I have, I admit, resorted to snipping off bits of fabrics in my collection – just the raggedy scrap ends – to vary the fabric choices a bit and provide me with enough materials.
It took me a little while to work out the complete method. I had thought it would be easy-peasy, but it wasn’t quite as straightforward as I first thought. The two main challenges were how to get the stars positioned randomly, rather than in a grid pattern, and how to piece the quilt together so that the scrappy background looked random all over.
So… I make my stars in varying sizes (I decide what size the middle square will be and take it from there) and then make the blocks they sit in not square, as is the usual way, but sort of rectangular, with the star placed not in the middle. That way, the stars don’t all fall on the same lines when added to the quilt layout. (By the way, the picture at the top is of the very first star block I made and not a good example of what I’m talking about as the star does sit bang in the middle of that one!) 
This does mean that I need to see the whole thing at once, to decide the size and placement of new stars. I don’t have a workroom, dedicated studio or sewing room or a fancy schmancy “design wall” to lay out my quilt-in-progress, so the living room floor is having to suffice. Probably a good job Brian the Dachshund hasn’t been round lately, or it might be further embellished with dog hairs and paw prints!
It’s growing, slowly but surely. Please excuse the poor quality iPhone photos!
This is day 20…
This is day 26…
And this is day 31…
Whilst I’m enjoying the process of piecing, I’m not sure exactly how long to go on for or how big to go – the first of my quilty quandaries!
I know from experience that whilst large quilts are gorgeous, they are also a nightmare to fit under a domestic sewing machine to quilt and finish. So however much I’m enjoying the piecing, there will soon come a time when I have to stop. The question is, how soon?
The quilt doesn’t fit with our living room decor and I’m thinking it would look best displayed on a bed anyway, so a lap quilt isn’t really a choice I’m prepared to consider. But I don’t want a full size double bed quilt either. So something in between would seem best, to lay across the width of my small double bed. Keeping it in my bedroom out of the way will also lessen the likelihood of it acquiring stains from spilled wine, melted chocolate and bombay mix, pretty much a certainty if it ends up in our living room.
Or perhaps I should make it lap quilt size, but hang it on the wall as a display piece instead? Although where on our over-full walls it would go is a whole other issue.
Another new quandary has also emerged recently.
You may or may not be familiar with The Festival of Quilts. I have visited a couple of times and if you like quilts, it is the show in the UK to go see them. This year’s physical festival has been cancelled due to lockdown. But they are running a virtual quilt competition.
I am tempted to enter my quilt. I know it won’t win anything – you only have to take a look at last years’ winning entries to see the incredible level of talent and skill required to win in any of the categories. I know that my scrappy offering cannot really compete on that level.
But for some reason I am tempted all the same, given that all I need to do to enter is to get it finished, take some half decent photographs of it and send them off with the entry fee.
Why am I tempted to enter? Well, I’m not quite sure… I am quite proud of it!
I also like that it has symbolic meaning. The Oscar Wilde quote “we are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars” keeps coming to mind and seems appropriate for this quilt, conceived and constructed as it is during lockdown, from materials I have on hand, whilst my creativity struggles at an all-time low. I am proud that despite my general uselessness and metaphorical creative floundering in the gutter during Covid19, I have managed, via this quilt, to keep looking at the stars.
The deadline for entries is 3rd July, so if I am to get it finished and quilted in time to enter, I will need to get a shift on.
Particularly as I am also just about to start another batch of dolls for Sarah Campbell (using her newest fabrics for Michael Miller, inspired by the Bauhaus movement of the 1920s). So my time now will not be entirely my own.
As well as deciding how big to make the finished quilt, I have also yet to consider which fabric to back and bind it with – a huge decision, as this will make an enormous difference to the finished quilt. The Festival of Quilts judges would be looking at the back as well as the front, too.
Ideally the backing fabric should be something vintage that I already have, to be in keeping with the spirit of the quilt. But I’m not sure I have anything entirely suitable… What would you think might look good with something this “busy”? A plain backing fabric (though I do not have any plain fabrics)? A patterned vintage fabric? If so, of what kind? A pieced backing of some sort?
My last star quilt had a few spare star blocks incorporated into the backing… which might be an option, but would involve more work…
I also need to decide how to quilt it. Despite having made a half-dozen or so quilts in my lifetime I am still very much a novice quilter. In the past I have machine quilted, usually following the stitching lines of the blocks of patchwork in the quilt top. But this quilt deliberately has no apparent blocks that would help shape any quilting design.
I thought that maybe I could hand quilt around each of the white stars… But I’m not sure how that would look?
Quilty quandaries abound. And I am not the world’s best at making these kinds of decisions.
So if you happen to have any helpful opinions or suggestions, I would very much like to hear them! ♥
I love this quilt, I find a randomness really hard to achieve but you have done it!
I would make it a wall hanging initially (be sure to include a tube on the reverse) quilted by hand around the stars and maybe tied elsewhere? And how fabulous would it be for a baby to explore on a sunny day out on the grass? Don’t make it too precious, such joy needs to be used and shared!
Hi Christina,
If I enter the quilt in the competition I will have to add a tube to the reverse anyway, so wall hanging will be possible. The competition requires that the quilt is stitched rather than tied, and I have to say, having tied my first quilt (due to fear of quilting it!) I am not a fan of the end result. There are no babies in our family!
Sharon I absolutely love your quilt – the different sized stars randomly placed work really well. As to the size I have made a quilt for a single bed measuring 52 inches x 62 inches and that is a really good size that not only fits a single bed but also as a throw for a double bed. You could also scale this down a little to make it more manageable for a domestic sewing machine. Perhaps for the backing a large scale print would work best so it doesn’t compete in a busy way with the front. You can also piece several pieces of fabric for the back out of different vintage fabrics for a scrappy effect. This is really good if you want to use what you already have – just use your creativity. Good luck I’m really looking forward to seeing your end result.
What a jewel of a quilt you’re making! My personal favourite quilt size is 5ft x 6ft, or 60 x 72″. It’s a good size to be a ‘bed topper’ rather than a full size quilt that drapes down the sides, it’s small enough to wrap up in, it folds to a reasonable size, and it’s small enough to quilt without wrecking your shoulders and fraying your temper. I think you should try entering it in the show. I say this with the proviso that it won’t make you unduly downcast if they don’t go for it; quilt show judges tend to be *extremely* picky, especially with respect to the quilting. But I think this is a piece you should be very proud of, so go for it! Regarding the backing, for you the obvious suggestion is a vintage sheet! A soft, pale, loose pattern would be great as a contrast to the front. If you have one that’s not too high a thread count, it will be much easier to quilt than a new, high thread count one, and I think it would be in the spirit of the quilt top, too. Regarding the quilt design: my personal impulse would be to stitch in the ditch around the stars and then do a couple of rows of echo quilting inside that. On the rest of the quilt, I’d do a 3″ diamond pattern; for me this works well because it doesn’t run *with* the horizontal/vertical layout of the scraps, but crosses the seams. You get one pattern visually, and another texturally.
And that’s quite enough opinion from me! I hope this has given you some food for thought, and do let me know if I can offer you any help.
Thanks Kate! My bed is a small double, so having measured up I think the largest I’m prepared to go is 5ft x 5ft, as this is the right size for a “bed topper” for my bed. I’m nearly there lengthwise, but need to do another set of blocks to get there widthwise.
I really like the idea of quilting around the stars, but given that quite a few of them are too small to fit echo quilting within the stars, I think I’m going to do echo quilting outside of the star borders. I’ll look at it after that and decide if it needs something else in between.
Time to dig out my fabrics and see what I could use for the backing! I do have a few vintage sheets, but I think the colours are wrong…
Thanks for the offer of help. If I get stuck I’ll be in touch! One question: do you use any particular special thread for machine quilting? In the past I’ve just used my usual Gutermann sewing thread, but I will have to buy thread for the quilting anyway as I don’t have enough (unless I use white, which I’m not sure will look right). If I want any other colour I’ll have to splash out and buy something, so I just thought I’d ask.
Sounds like the plan is coming together! Do bear in mind that most batting is quite forgiving of wide-spaced quilting, but most recommend a hands-width maximum between the lines to prevent bagging and sagging over time. I always use the ordinary Gutermann thread for machine quilting. There are people who swear by all sorts of other stuff, but it works for me, so long as I use a slightly longer stitch length and a very slightly tighter top tension.
Sounds good to me. I also have a walking foot – though I’ll have to look up exactly what to do with it, as it’s so long since I last used it!
What kind of batting / wadding do you prefer? I’ve found an online supplier that does lightweight cotton and medium weight poly cotton batting. I’ve only ever used cheap polyester stuff in the past, but I think there are better options and as I don’t need that much of it I might as well buy something good.
Also, any suggestions for thread colour? I was thinking maybe red, as that seems the predominant colour in the quilt top, though obviously it will depend partly on what I choose for the backing. Or maybe white, as that will disappear nicely if I stitch in the ditch around the stars? Or will white look too “obvious” on the rest of the quilt?
A walking foot is vital! If your sewing machine has it, reduce the pressure of the presser foot just a tad; it helps prevent wrinkles and tucks. Mine doesn’t, but I get by OK. I use a 100% needle-punched cotton batting; I like the drape and softness of it and because it’s needle-punched you don’t need to quilt too densely. I’ve used bamboo too, which is lovely when it’s done but puts white fluff everywhere. I don’t like polyester much, it has too much loft for my taste. If you wanted a warm quilt, wool is the business, but probably not for this quilt, which is more decorative, I think?
I would use red for the quilting colour myself. If you have a very different colour for the backing, you have two options; you can use a different colour in the bobbin; there may be a tiny bit of show-through if your tension isn’t perfect, but you may feel it’s worth the overall effect. Or you can use a neutral, like a mid-warm grey, which will ‘fade’ into the background of both to a certain extent. I wouldn’t quilt in white on the red background. If you don’t mind changing colour once you’ve done the stars, use both!
Thank you! I was tending towards the cotton batting anyway – you’ve just confirmed it for me! This is the one: https://www.empressmills.co.uk/bosal-katahdin-cotton-wadding-summer-96-wide
And doh! Why didn’t I think of using both white and red thread for the quilting!
That batting looks really superior, should quilt brilliantly. One of these days, I’ll make an amazing quilt and I’ll use a wool/silk blend for fabulous drape and warmth. But mucho dinero…