Thursday, April 02, 2015

Then & Now - The String Star Quilt is Finished!

As I was quilting the golden oldie UFO string stars and thinking about the differences between my quilting tastes and skill set back when I pieced the string stars and now, the name for the quilt was born: Then & Now. The finished quilt measures approximately 74 by 90-inches and was made using templates in Gwen Marston's book Liberated String Quilts.

I set things up a bit too close to one of the skylights in the studio, so the natural lighting is a little uneven, but you get the idea.

Then & Now

Back Then, I struggled when putting together the star blocks–none of them were flat–and had problems matching the points/seams when sewing the blocks together.  Now,  I have been quilting twice as long as then.  I would have used a different technique to assemble the blocks–thank you Jan Krentz–with a better result: flat stars and matched seams. I would have chosen different proportions for the borders and probably included an inner border to float the star blocks.

Then, I chose the stencils I used for the quilting design, but was afraid that my quilting wasn't up to the task.  Now, it's easier for me to just go for it, even if my quilting still really isn't up to the task.  I embraced the attitude that every quilt is practice for those that follow ... and I practiced a few things while I finished this quilt. I used the stencils for the border and the large square spaces, but winged it for the rest.

Then & Now - Detail

Celebrating this finish on these lists:

Can I get a Whoop whoop? on Confessions of a Fabric Addict
Crazy Mom Quilt's  Finish it Up Friday
Fabric Frenzy Friday on Fort Worth Fabrics
Lizzie Lenard's Free Motion Mavericks
QuiltShopGals' Creative Goodness
Richard and Tanya's Link a Finish Friday
Mrs Sew & Sow's Scraptastic Tuesday for April

24 comments:

Paulette said...

That is beautiful!!

Kathryn said...

Looks great Sophie. Isn't it good to see how our skills improve over time?

Terri said...

Beautiful. You have improved, and that's wonderful for this quilt. Love the quilt especially the quilting.
Hugs

Celine said...

Well done for a lovely finish Sophie

Needled Mom said...

It's lovely and the name is perfect.

Sewing Up A Storm said...

Your finished quilt looks awesome and I love your scrappy binding.

Anonymous said...

Then or now, it's a beautiful quilt. =)

Sue said...

It is wonderful. Isn't it funny that by the time you are finished, you always think of several things that you could have done?

June D said...

Beautiful stitching! Interesting to read your self-evaluation too. When you get a chance maybe your could post photo or more information on the stencil? I'm interested to see what this looks like and how you used it. Thanks!

Shelina (formerly known as Shasta) said...

This is beautiful. Sometimes we do have to wait until we have enhanced our skill sets before we can proceed with a quilt. This quilt shows that it was worth the wait!

Julie said...

Sophie,

Beautiful, and creatively done! I like the scrappy stars on the denimy blue background. It gives the quilt intensity here. Nice effect.

Julie

Cathy said...

Didn't that just turn out gorgeous!

Hilary Florence said...

I love your light blue quilting on the dark blue fabric. And yes, I often think when you just go for it without too much marking, you get a much more natural flow.

TheItinerantChemist said...

Oooo, I love your scrappy stars - I'd been wondering about trying something like that myself. I enjoyed reading about your journey from Then to Now. :)

Anonymous said...

"Every quilt is practice for the next piece" will become my motto! Love that attitude.

I also look at finished pieces (even current ones) and see what would have made it better--stuff that doesn't show up till the quilt is finished--for some reason--no matter how long I ponder it.

Carie @ Space for the Butterflies said...

It's incredible - and I love how it marks your progress as a quilter - it tells you a tale of how you've improved :)

Anonymous said...

Wow, this is just amazing!

Lisa J. said...

This is a truly beautiful quilt, even though you would do things differently now. I struggle with every quilt I make and I'm also coming to see the quilts as practice for the quilts to come.

Muv said...

Sophie, It is the perfect combination of then and now. I love the piecing, and the quilting takes the whole quilt to a different level. Or should I say space-time continuum?

Thank you for linking up with Free Motion Mavericks!

Love, Muv

Sarah Vanderburgh said...

Love the stars - your practice quilting is amazing!

Nicky said...

Lots of my quilt sat waiting for me to have the skills and ideas to finish them but now I'm catching up. I think of it now as a journey and it is great to look back sometimes and see just how far we have come. Thanks for linking up to #scraptastictuesday

Laura Chaney said...

Lovely quilt! Your quilting is beautiful.

audrey said...

Really incredible! Love the scrappy stars.:)

Flickenstichlerin said...

Congratulations on this beautiful finish, I love you rcolor choices and the FMQ, looks so good.
Greetings,
Sylvia

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