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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
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24 comments:

  1. Paulette12:25 PM, April 02, 2015

    That is beautiful!!

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  2. Kathryn12:34 PM, April 02, 2015

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

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  3. Terri1:12 PM, April 02, 2015

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

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  4. Celine2:03 PM, April 02, 2015

    Well done for a lovely finish Sophie

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  5. Needled Mom3:34 PM, April 02, 2015

    It's lovely and the name is perfect.

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  6. Sewing Up A Storm4:57 PM, April 02, 2015

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

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  7. Anonymous5:16 PM, April 02, 2015

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

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  8. Sue7:35 PM, April 02, 2015

    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?

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  9. June D10:22 PM, April 02, 2015

    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!

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  10. Shelina6:41 AM, April 03, 2015

    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!

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  11. Julie10:49 AM, April 03, 2015

    Sophie,

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

    Julie

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  12. Cathy11:30 AM, April 03, 2015

    Didn't that just turn out gorgeous!

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  13. Hilary Florence2:36 PM, April 03, 2015

    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.

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  14. TheItinerantChemist5:57 PM, April 03, 2015

    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. :)

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  15. Anonymous9:22 AM, April 04, 2015

    "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.

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  16. Carie @ Space for the Butterflies12:02 PM, April 04, 2015

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

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  17. Anonymous8:03 PM, April 04, 2015

    Wow, this is just amazing!

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  18. Lisa J.7:05 AM, April 05, 2015

    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.

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  19. Muv3:16 PM, April 07, 2015

    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

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  20. Sarah Vanderburgh7:02 PM, April 08, 2015

    Love the stars - your practice quilting is amazing!

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  21. Nicky3:42 PM, April 14, 2015

    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

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  22. Laura Chaney4:42 PM, April 14, 2015

    Lovely quilt! Your quilting is beautiful.

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  23. audrey6:09 PM, April 15, 2015

    Really incredible! Love the scrappy stars.:)

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  24. Flickenstichlerin6:36 AM, April 20, 2015

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

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