Friendship Star Quilt - Complete!

I *really* liked the way this one turned out! It taught me three things: 1.) trust my instincts on color 2.) use Thangles with adhesive spray for best results and 3.) take pictures near the window in the early morning light for best color intensity.



















I designed this quilt in EQ6 to use two sizes of Thangles to form the Friendship Stars. I pinned the larger stars and got below average accuracy on seam intersections. I then used temporary adhesive spray on the smaller corner stars and got incredible paper piecing accuracy. I'll be using that spray whenever possible! The corners seemed to be a little bit darker than the rest of the quilt until I put on the blinding binding, which brought out the oranges in the corner stars. I also had to cut the quilt 1/4 inch larger than the fabric, leaving pure batting in places; otherwise I would have chopped off the points of the corner stars. Fortunately all my little fudges melted away after the quilt was completed, and I managed to hold my tongue and not point them out to everyone who was kind enough to compliment it.



















I stippled the top with grass green thread and the back with a pinky red violet thread. I found a neon orange thread to use on the binding. I wonder if I'll ever find another use for the orange thread? I do have some of this blinding orange batik fabric left over, so anything is possible. lol I almost used up my favorite stash of blue and turquoise batik on this one. I'd definitely buy more of that if I ever saw it again; it's so lovely! I had fun choosing the star centers out of a hand-dyed piece of batik circles. The color changes in a half yard of that stuff were all over the map. I edited it carefully to get centers that coordinated well (I think) with their local star.



















I only finished this quilt by staying up late the night before the Friday Blanketeer meeting, so I didn't get to hang it over the stairway wall and enjoy it for long. I have to admit, I felt a little pang giving it up so quickly (I wasn't sick of it yet, even after the late night it caused me. lol) But I'm sure it will go to some deserving child through the U.S.O., or, as someone suggested, it might brighten the gloomy wall of some soldier's dorm in Afghanistan or Iraq. That would be nice too. I don't care either way, I just hope it gets enjoyed.