Miracle Color Catcher

For just about the entire summer, I have had two quilts draped over some furniture in the screened porch for just a bit of lively color. Both are quilts I quilted this summer, and both are blue Kaffe Fassett quilts. So, yes, lively color is a given. 

One quilt was Economy Blue, shown in part here with its polka-dot backing. I made the top in 2011 and quilted it in June.

The other quilt is my Cobalt Stars which has the same backing fabric as the first. I made this quilt top in 2021 and quilted it in June. 

So, as I said, these two quilts have resided on the screened porch since mid-June. Now that I am thinking of closing up the porch and preparing it for fall and winter, I needed to wash these two quilts. I didn't dare store them away with the probable chance of stink bugs and spiders residing in their folds.

Off to the washing machine! I am eternally grateful for whatever little voice whispered in my ear just before shutting the lid. "Use a color catcher," it said. Neither of the quilts had been washed, and while I don't often worry about blues running color in the wash, I thought there was just enough white on Cobalt Stars that I didn't want to take any chances.

And I am so glad I did! I do not have a clue as to the science behind the way these little things work, but how grateful I am that they do!

Look at the blue captured by the color catcher! I am blown away. What a lucky girl I am that I thought to do this. I would hate to think how blue the crisp white would be on Cobalt Stars. It probably would still be pretty - I mean, blue, right? - but I used a white background on purpose. 

Now I've got two freshly laundered quilts perfectly squishy and cuddly with their colors in tact. Thank goodness for little blessing!

That's all for today, Peeps. 

Guess what!??! Cate is coming tomorrow!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Cobalt Stars Quilted

In attempting to boost my long-arm activity, I pulled a quilt top out of the closet. Many were the options, to be sure, and I considered several.

This blue and white quilt top is one I made in 2021 called Cobalt Stars. The stars chaining across it were inspired by a picture I saw somewhere on the world wide web. I searched several of my books for star patterns and came up with the two featured in this quilt.

I detailed much of this quilt top in this post from November 2021 when I finished it. As I reread my account, I am glad I showed the two individual blocks. I used blues from my stash of Kaffe Fassett fabrics. I had in my stash the white-on-white background, and the two solid blues used in the corner units of the two blocks. One star has polka dot star points, which gives some unity to the design.

So, yes, I pulled this top to put on the Tin Lizzie and set to work quilting it over the weekend.

Do you see that polka dot backing that is rolled on the upper bar? I bought it off a sale table soon after finishing this quilt top specifically to be used for backing this quilt. 

The navy backing fabric brings me to the interesting part of working on this quilt. It was necessary to use a navy bobbin thread and a white upper thread. I had more than a bit of apprehension about this because it would require my tension to be nearly perfect. I didn't want white to show on the back nor navy to show on the top.

And if you've followed my long arm journey for any length of time, you know that tension issues have absolutely plagued me in my attempt to master the long-arm.

Mostly, I did just fine. I am hoping that once I launder the quilt, the crinkling will hide the tell-tale bits that did end up showing through. It's minor, so even if the washing doesn't hide it, the issue won't trouble me.

I decided that I would hand stitch the binding, and I have a good start on that. It's good for evenings when we are watching baseball or a tv show. With only a 60-inch square quilt, it will be quick work.

Perhaps my plan for a year of quilting lots of quilts can be as fruitful as I'd hoped. I have now quilted 3 in the first 5 months; how many in the remaining 7 months?

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Introducing Cobalt Stars

I just love it when a quilt I "figure out" comes together as good as I had hoped. That is exactly what has occurred with this sweet little number. 

Yesterday, I put the finishing touches on this quilt that I created based off a picture I saw on Facebook. I was enamored with it for two reasons: one, it is blue and white (with pops of pink, purple and green), and two, it is made using Kaffe Fassett fabrics. I had to make it.

It is 62" square, so will do very nicely as a throw quilt or lap quilt. It is made with 12 blocks of one design and 13 blocks of another design. When the corners of the two blocks meet, a very interesting secondary design is formed, making this an altogether interesting quilt to study.

For as long as it has taken me to finally get to work on this quilt, I am so excited to have it finished to this stage, and am now considering what fabric to use for backing, as it may soon go on the longarm.

I'm sure there is a pattern out there somewhere for this quilt, but I could not locate it. After studying a screenshot from Facebook, I could see that it required two star blocks, and with all the reference books around here, I was able to find two that were sufficient for replicating the look. I did look for the pattern in my Fassett books; you saw in yesterday's post that I have many, yet I'd never seen this pattern in any of them. 

The two stars are pictured below. Let's take a closer examination of them, shall we? All 25 stars have a variety of blues for the large center piece, with a few repeats. Also, all 25 stars have a consistent background of white-on-white. For the first star, consistency is achieved by giving all 12 the same polka dot star points and a solid blue square in each corner unit. For the second star, a variety of blues are used as star points, and the consistent element in all 13 blocks is the 4-patch in each corner.

 

I have this quilt on my 2021 Goals List, and I even made a couple of blocks way back in January. Then for whatever reason, I determined that other projects should be dealt with first, so this was set aside for about 10 months. I never put it away, though; it was always in my eyesight and within arm's reach.

Because I spent some time perusing Fassett's books this week, I took a cue from him in deciding to call this quilt Cobalt Stars. He uses that term 'cobalt' in several of his descriptions and quilt names, so if it works for him, it works for me, too. It's a whole lot better than 'blue Kaffe Fassett star quilt', right? 

I am a real happy gal, right now. Having crossed another item off my goals list makes me happy. Having a finish makes me happy. Using this scrumptious KF fabric makes me happy. Feasting my eyes on this beauty makes me happy. I'm feeling all the feels, as the cool kids on social media say.

Hope you are doing something that makes you happy!

Happy Quilting, Friends!