Star Quilt {Quilty Flashback Friday}

A few weeks ago, Elizabeth @ Don’t Call me Betsy started a new Friday linky party called Quilted Flashback Friday. If it opens today, I’ll update my post to link up.

I made this Star Quilt while I was taking summer school college classes in 1999 to use on a double bed when I moved out of the dorms to off-campus apartment living. It is the 4th quilt I made, and I still pull it out and put it on my queen size bed for an extra layer of warmth in the winter (my husband and I sleep under 2 quilts in the summer and 2-4 quilts in the winter). In fact, it was the full time quilt on my bed from 2000 through 2004 and has been used every winter since. It measures out to 74.5 inches wide by 81.5 inches long, and I took it to a long arm quilter in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, to have it quilted.

Star Quilt – Piecing and Backing

I did not know much about quilt backing options at the time, and I purchased a queen sized yellow sheet to use for the backing. That yellow sheet has faded significantly over the years, but I am amazed at how much use this quilt has had in 14(!!!!) years and how well it has held up, really. Some of the quilting is coming unraveled, and a few blocks are starting to fray. I remember that when I picked up the quilt from the long arm quilter that she told me she had broken several (5 or more) needles while quilting because of how thick the fabric is all bunched up at the center of the star points.

Star Quilt

There are 160 star blocks in the top of this quilt – 156 in the pieced center and 4 additional used in the corners of the quilt. I remember seeing this quilt in a quilt magazine and just diving right in. I cut a lot of fabric, made a bunch of blocks, and rinsed and repeated until I couldn’t take it anymore (I’m pretty sure I was originally shooting to have a queen sized quilt but abandoned that idea and went for upsizing by adding borders). The day I laid out my quilt blocks on the floor of my parents formal living room was very exciting. I got everything *just so*, and then the dog came in to “help”. Needless to say, the layout is not what I had originally wanted… but it got done!

Star Quilt – Fabric Detail

The blue and purple gingham fabrics and the fabric with rainbows are all fabric that my mother had purchased and used to make clothing for me as a little girl. I love looking at those fabrics and remembering that my mother had selected them for me when I was young. The rest of the fabric is all me. Blue and yellow and astral themes. I still love the fabric in this quilt today; it’s just so me!

Star Quilt – Detail

With the drape of the quilt over the edge of the bed, I rarely see the lighter colored corners of the quilt. Instead, when I wake up or walk into a room with this quilt on the bed, I see the rich and saturated deep blues and purples and yellows in the center of the quilt. My HSTs and star points rarely meet up in the top. I pretty much just sewed the blocks and then sewed them together without re-measuring or squaring them up. I am amazed that the quilt turned out as square as it did!

I have loved this quilt, and it is far from perfect. I need to really remember that along with how far I have come the next time I get frustrated by a small detail that isn’t “just so”.