Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Starry Night Quilt

Remember the 9-Patch Puzzle Quilt? As I mentioned, that quilt was for the daughter of one of my closest friends. The Starry Night Quilt is what I came up with for her son.
I loved Lizzy House's first line, Castle Peeps. I didn't think anything would top those adorable characters, and then along came 1,001 Peeps! I bought a fat quarter set of each colorway, plus some extra yardage. I decided that the blue colorway was the perfect amount of whimsical and boy for this quilt.
After deciding to use 1,001 Peeps for this quilt, I started to plan my layout. I loved the idea of wonky stars, but I knew that 1 fat quarter set wouldn't stretch far enough. I paired the prints with a bunch of solids from my lqs and some kona in ash for the background. (Sidebar: I tried 3 different JoAnn's, and no one has kona in ash! I ended up finding some at a local shop, but I'm curious what's going on with the kona selection at JoAnn's.)
OK, enough rambling. Here's Starry Night:
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I wish I could have gotten some good pictures at night, but alas, my photography skills are not up to that challenge!
Some detail photos, the blocks ranged in size from the smallest being around 3" and the largest 12":
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Fussy cut pieces:
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I quilted this piece with meandering, in a grey thread to match the background. For the backing I found a great dot print at JoAnn's. It was one of their better quality fabrics, and it washed up great! I also recently started binding more of my quilted by machine. I still prefer the look of hand binding, but my left thumb has really been bothering me. Hand work tends to aggravate it, so I have been doing more by machine.
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Starry Night finished up at about 60" x 80", perfect for laying on the couch or for use on a twin bed!
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I was really worried about whether this quilt was boy enough and age-appropriate. Boys tend to grow out of the "cute" phase much earlier than girls so I tried to stay away from cute. I was beyond excited when my friend told me that her son loves the quilt, and even declared that he would "never use another blanket again"! That one statement made my entire holiday.

I'm linking up to Fabric Tuesday! Hop over to see more great projects!

13 comments:

Archie The Wonder Dog said...

Such a great quilt, no wonder he loves it!!

Annabella said...

I love the Peeps and used it recently for a boy baby quilt and worried it was babyish enough...but it works for all I think. Your quilt is lovely and the backing works so well.

Betty said...

That is an absolutely delightful quilt - how smart?!!!

Cascade Quilts said...

very cute quilt!
The Kona selection at the JoAnn's near me sucks too! Wish they would carry more! Especially grays including Ash!

Kristie said...

I adore this. I have a thing for stars lately, and love the randomness here. Have pinned, may copy ;)

Teje Karjalainen said...

Hi! So beautiful quilt! I love your design and colours! Also your photos are really good!
x Teje

Teje Karjalainen said...

Hi! So beautiful quilt! I love your design and colours! Also your photos are really good!
x Teje

Heather D. said...

Nicky, it is just wonderful. And your label is a perfect little touch. I have yet to label a single quilt I've made. I know, bad me! I need to come up with something. :)

Anna said...

its super cool! I love it, beautiful job

Lucy | Charm About You said...

Oh bless him!! He's so right of course, it's gorgeous! Love everything about it :)

Live a Colorful Life said...

Really really cute quilt!

felicity said...

Oooh the boy stamp of approval! Doesn't get much better than that. It's a gorgeous quilt!

Michelle (LemonadeGal) said...

I love the colors in this quilt! the blues and greens are really great - and the backing is perfect!!

~Michelle