Wednesday, March 2, 2022

Why did it take so long?............


I sewed the center part of this quilt top in 2011 when I had just purchased my Accuquilt Studio die cutter and the Bear Paw die.  I cut lots of scraps of Kaffe collective fabrics and yardage of Kona snow fabric.  This photo shows it with a 2.5" Kona snow border sewn on several years after the center was sewn.  I wanted to add another border but there was the slightest wobble in the 2 side borders and I knew I had to take them off, remeasure, trim and sew them back on. It took me many years to sit down with the top and the seam ripper. 


Finally last month I fixed the top and then it was time to find a border fabric from the same time period.  All of the Kaffe collective fabrics in this top preceded July 2011.  I got out my list of Kaffe fabrics and found which group to look through (I have my Kaffe fabrics stored in numerical order) and decided on this dotted ombre fabric.  It is 48.5" x 58.5" now.


The red Spools print in the center of this block is one of my all time favorite Kaffe fabrics.  The top left star point is Beads and is another favorite.








I used several different star centers to use up all of the triangles and squares cut with the Bear Paw die (2 sizes of squares, 1 size triangle and a long rectangle).







The green and blue pieces are from the same fabric, a line that Kaffe called the Lille Collection for Rowan.  They aren't numbered in his regular line of fabric, a total separate collection.  They date back to his earliest fabric designs.

The center of this block is an early Philip Jacobs print.









Another different center design with triangles.










A pretty mostly orange star.  If you have made it this far down the post you probably have realized that my quilts are all about the fabric.  That is where the inspiration comes from for me.  Oh, and yes, I like traditional patterns because I love geometric shapes.
 

18 comments:

Cherie in St Louis said...

Beautiful! I must be in an orange phase because I love the last star and the border fabric, lol.

Anonymous said...

Well worth the wait!
Kathy

Cheryl said...

I like this a lot, and would never have guessed that you used the bear paw die! The ombre border is perfect for this. There's enough different elements to make it interesting to make...and look at.

Julierose said...

Lovely choice for your border--nice finish on this one hugs, Julierose

Peggy said...

I just love this quilt from the individual stars to the border, beautiful ❤️

mb-RI said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Quiltdivajulie said...

A most wonderful finished top - I love that the Bear Paw centers have so much variation. MUCH more interesting than all-the-same.

patty a. said...

Yeah for you to get this top finished. Will it be quilted soon or will it have to get in line? This is a great start for March!

Karen - Quilts...etc. said...

really nice and now it can go in the line to quilt

Linda Swanekamp said...

It is a great showcase for so many wonderful fabrics. And they all work together. Yay!

Elaine/Muddling Through said...

It is worthwhile to make it acceptable to yourself.
Sometimes I am too lazy to do that, but I always like it better when I do.
Thank you for the guided tour of this top. It is gorgeous. I have bits and pieces of lots of those, too. They are such happy fabrics!

Connie said...

It may have taken a long time to get this one done, but well worth the wait, it is amazing. I am very fond of white backgrounds.
We all have starts that we have put aside . . . I know I always have an average of three quilts going at one time . . . so it's easy to start one and then go on and finish others. Sitting on a shelf or in a drawer but never totally forgotten.
Happy Quilting!

Sylvia Anderson said...

Wanda, the outer border just makes the entire quilt glow. It is such a beautiful quilt, and whomever buys it, or is on the receiving end of it as a gift from you, will have something very special. Beautiful weather we are having.

JJM said...

The border on your ‘bear paw’ quilt top is one amazing piece of fabric, it glorifies every single block ! ! ! It is a true beauty to say the least. Love how you show cased each block.

JJM

Anne Ibach said...

It's so fun to see all these old blocks with these gorgeous fabrics! thanks for sharing the close up photos!

Sue said...

Beautiful quilt! I was very interested learning that you had redone the side borders. I probably should have done that with my current quilt but now I'm too far into it.
Your output regarding quilting is truly impressive! Best wishes to you.

Ramona said...

Oh, I love this quilt top!! I'm working on a star quilt now with batik stars, polka dot background and Kaffe strips around each star. It's a very happy quilt!

Vicki W said...

That border fabric is the perfect finish!