Several years ago, when I first started quilting, I wanted to make a quilt with a book I had found. It had a pattern for an easy-to-assemble blocked star pattern. Essentially, you sew 2 strips of fabric to a center fabric strip and then cut using a quilting ruler at a tilt so the strips are triangular. When you assemble it, they become stars with blunt points.
When it was all finished, I confess I wasn’t thrilled with how it turned out. The colors were too simple, and the pattern didn’t allow for much interest in its color movement. I didn’t know what my plan was with the quilt at the time, so I filed it away and began working on other projects.
In the UFO pile it has sat… all these years it has been forgotten and shuffled. I didn’t have the heart to get rid of it. I felt an obligation to finish it, but I lacked the motivation I needed to make it happen.
A few years ago, on our annual trip to San Diego, I bribed my family with treats to stop at my favorite fabric shop there; Rosie’s Calico Cupboard (If you’ve never been to this store, you really should check it out. I haven’t been in a while, but I was always in awe of the huge selection and reasonable prices.). I had a list of backings I wanted and how big of cuts I needed. I found a beautiful fabric with similar colors as the front of the star quilt and decided it had a lot of interest and might counteract some of the simplicity on the front of the quilt. I brought it home and put it with the quilt top, in hopes of motivating me.
Well, years more went by and I stopped quilting all together for a bit. I’d look at my UFOs and think of how I could finish them, but it felt like a time-sucking task I couldn’t handle. Enter quarantine. All of a sudden, time is not the issue and I am out of excuses. I got to work and tried to focus on getting it done. I decided on an all-over circle meander with 3-pointed twists mixed in to match the pattern on the purple fabric. I used a purple thread so it wouldn’t be too noticeable on the back or the darker areas of the front.
While working on it, I was unhappy with how it was going. I kept second-guessing myself and wondering if I should pick it out and start over. I didn’t realize how bold the purple thread would be on the yellow fabric, and wasn’t sure how I felt about that. But I pressed on. I told myself I wasn’t a fan of the quilt in general and it was just for practice.
I used the leftover backing fabric for the binding and finished it off with a hand-stitch. I included my tag for the year finished, but even that got too hot under the iron and melted a bit. It seemed poetic on a quilt that had given me such trouble and disappointment.
All was said and done. There was nothing left for me to do with this quilt. I shook it out and looked back at what I’d created. Huh… actually don’t hate. In fact, I dare say, I might actually like it a little. The purple stitching on the yellow fabric added just the interest I needed, and when looking at the whole thing at once, the quality of the quilting turned out pretty nice.
I am so happy to have this UFO done and I can put it away. I have thought about donating it to a good cause, or maybe gifting it to someone. Not sure yet, but for now I will sit back and revel in the fact that one more project has been completed! Yeah!
