This is the "Starry Splendor" quilt top (or, partial top) from Connecting Threads that I received in kit form. I decided to stay pretty true to the original pattern configuration in terms of colors and prints. Some variation was inevitable due to errors and aesthetic choices, but I liked the look of the advertised quilt so much that I more or less followed it to the letter. So far, I think it is turning out pretty well. I can already see that I am improving from my first quilt, which I made last year (photos forthcoming in another post). But there are still a ton of inaccuracies in this top, and, while I'm not thrilled about them, I am pleased that I am making progress in my piecing skills, and that this is sure to become an eminently functional and also very pretty quilt (in my eyes, at least! The photos below are a little washed out since I turned off the flash. The colors are really not this dull, although part of the charm of the quilt is its rustic, earthy feel).
Here is an example of an inaccuracy. The cream diamond in the middle is very off. It almost looks like it was done on purpose, but it wasn't! Failing to get points to meet and inadvertently cutting off points that are already there is something I will have to work on in the future, but right now it is simply beyond me how some people can get their quilts geometrically perfect. I see it happen on all the quilt blogs I read, so I know it's possible!
But even though there are many places where the points are a mess, in other spots I think they turned out better. The cream diamonds here don't look half bad!
Well, I am excited to move on to the part of this top that doesn't involve any stars, points, or diamonds. I am already getting anxious thinking about the actual quilting phase that is right around the corner. I am toying with the idea of quilting it by hand, but I know when it comes down to it, I will just want to do it swiftly with the machine. I'm nervous because the machine quilting was a challenge with my first quilt, and I only did very simple X lines through square blocks. I suppose I could do that again, but I'd like more of a challenge. I wonder if my machine is up for it! Sometimes I fear that I expect too much from it, since it is just a regular sewing machine and not really meant for quilting.
I will post all about it as I continue making progress on this quilt. In other news, today I got caught in a Pinterest vortex of mini-quilt photos! Mini-quilts are so adorable and it seems like the perfect way to work on specific skills, although working in such small dimensions must be a nightmare. I am thinking of ordering a mini-quilt kit next since I might be burned out on big quilts for a while, but I am still on the fence about it. More internet research on mini-quilts must be done!
No comments:
Post a Comment