Side-by-side Comparison

One aspect of quilts that has always fascinated me is the different looks a single pattern can have with the change of colors and fabrics. I have an example of what I mean. Awhile back, I had a request from a reader to show the finished quilt top Sharon made of her Confetti Stars pattern (by Thimbleberries) using Snowbird fabric by Laundry Basket Quilts/Moda.

Wonderful, isn't it? Here's a short version of the story of the quilt. Both Sharon and I had our own stashes of the Snowbird fabric. We began collecting it in big or little hunks, as we found bargains, or as we felt a particularly strong urge for more. (You know what I mean, I'm sure.)

At some point after about 6 months, we made a plan. We would use the old standby and go-to star pattern by Thimbleberries: Confetti Stars and we would do our own individual interpretation of the various design parts--borders, setting blocks, stars, etc. We set aside the month of February or March to do it together. You can click back to this link and read what I wrote in March 2015.

As you can see, Sharon used dark setting triangles along with the wonderful dark floral for the border. My quilt, below, has lighter setting triangles. There are other differences, too, but they are subtle. You probably can't tell that Sharon's is more controlled with how stars were made. My construction method was more haphazard and loose. Sharon's star points are all dots and her star centers are all florals; my star points are everything and so are my star centers.

You may recall that this Confetti Star pattern is the one we use for our retirement quilts, and you can find several examples throughout this blog by searching these key words: Confetti Stars; retirement quilts; and maybe Thimbleberries.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Retail Therapy!

It has been a long, long time since I have shopped for fabric. I have been holding onto a gift certificate that DH gave me as a Christmas gift to Old Town Fabrics; yesterday (Friday) seems like a good day to cash it in!

With all the snow we have had this week, and with more falling today, buying a fabric called 'Snowbird' seems fitting. A specific purpose has already been established for this lovely yardage. Sharon P. and I have agreed that we'd both use our Snowbird fabric to make the same quilt - Confetti Stars by Thimbleberries. This is the same pattern that all of our retirement quilts have been made from, so we know it well.

Sharon plans to make her quilt very scrappy, with lots of polka dots. My version will be more orderly, with more florals. Referring to the picture, the navy floral is what I will use as my border. The small-print neutral will be the background for my star blocks. The light blue floral will be the setting triangles, and the beige floral will be the backing. The remaining parts - the stars and the setting squares - will be made with the stash I already had on hand, which I purchased last June after quilt camp.

Our finish date for Snowbird Stars is the end of March. I will definitely share our finishes here. It will be fun to see the differences in our approach to this pattern.

Happy Quilting, Friends!