Tuesday, March 17, 2020

Stars Around the Garden Flimsy

Stars Around the Garden is a flimsy! I sewed the brown outside border on late last evening. The finished flimsy measures 93" by 108".



The pieced border in my quilt is different from the pattern pieced border. I had a jelly roll to work with, not yardage so my squares finish at 2" which is a different size than the pattern. I had the bright idea to have a design in the border, not just a checkerboard which would have been a lot simpler. I spent 5 days piecing that pieced border! Note to self - next time just go with simple! 

After a lot of unstitching and redoing, this is what I came up with. I think it turned out very nice even though there were several times I was frustrated enough to just shove it in the trash and be done with it. 

My original intent for this flimsy was to send it to my Pennsylvania DIL for their church group to have hand quilted then to be auctioned in the fund raiser which supports their school.

The quilt committee is very particular about the flimsies they accept. I've already had a flimsy not accepted because it wasn't up to their standards. I'm not criticizing them, if someone spends a $1000 or more to buy a quilt, you want it to be a quilt you can be proud of. Like I've said before, my quilts aren't perfectly pieced.


Anyway, my pieced border didn't turn out like I had envisioned. Two of the borders have the brown square in them, the design worked out.


Two corners aren't the same as the other two, I couldn't make the brown square fit right so I left it out.

I don't know if this will disqualify my quilt or not. If they accept it, fine, if not, I'll just keep it. Maybe someday I'll actually get it quilted.


This photo is a good example of what I'm talking about, look at the top corners and compare to the bottom corners. To me it's not a big deal but it might be to some people.

I don't have an EQ program and if I did, I probably couldn't figure out how to use it. 

Several of the blocks have fussy cut centers just to make them more interesting. That's not something you'd notice unless you look closely.


Another fussy cut block.

The brown fabric and the brighter blue fabric were from my stash. 

The light blue from the collection is dreary and sad, kind of like the sky outside this morning.


Here are other posts about this SAG project.

The main fabrics were from a jelly roll and a fat quarter bundle of Snowbird by Laundry Basket Quilts for Moda. The collection was from 2014 and is no longer available. There really wasn't enough variety in this collection. I added all the browns and several dark blue fabrics to add more contrast. 


I'm planning on making another Stars Around the Garden quilt in colors I like better than the brown and blue fabrics used in this quilt. I haven't decided if my SAG will be blues and white or if I'll go with a blue/yellow/white combination. I won't be starting that quilt anytime soon, too many other projects to work on.

Linking to To Do Tuesday, Midweek Makers, Wednesday Wait Loss, Put Your Foot DownNeedle & Thread Thursday

15 comments:

  1. It is a beauty,Gretchen! I have a tub stuffed with my remaining pieces of Snowbird. I can't believe it is as old as 2014. Goodness. Well, back to your quilt, it is lovely; the imperfections you note are complete non-issues, and you did a good job of adding more fabrics. Perfection!!

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  2. I think your border looks just fine! I am done with perfection when it comes to quilting and hope to spend the rest of my days just enjoying the stitching.

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  3. I looked at your corners and they still look perfect to me. It's a beautiful quilt and the center is divine!

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  4. Gretchen, I love this flimsy finish... I hope it is accepted... sounds like they are kind of picky but since they are quilting it.. hmmm... I still think it is lovely and you are being critical.. it looks divine to be honest! Enjoy getting caught up on other things now that you have this done... when will you know if they accept it ?? Kathi

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  5. Hi Gretchen! It is a lovely quilt although I can't say that browns are my favorite colorway. I love the border you created and never in a million years would have noticed the difference in the corners. I wouldn't have noticed the fussy cutting either but I'm glad you pointed it out to us - that's definitely a see-in-person type of thing. Thanks so much for linking up this week, and good wishes for a productive week. ~smile~ Roseanne

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  6. This is a beautiful quilt. I love the soft brown and blues, so complimentary.

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  7. Oh my goodness, Gretchen -- I can't imagine anyone refusing one of your magnificent quilt tops! If your PA DIL's church doesn't want to hand quilt it, would you consider letting me machine quilt it for you?

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  8. LOVE your pieced border exactly as it is! the few brown blocks add visual interest. It was worth every minute you spent on it!

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  9. Gretchen, I love it just the way it is. I think that pieced border is perfect for it, brown square mistake or not!

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  10. Wow, that is stunning. I don't see a thing objectionable about those two upper corners. It looks perfect. That will be a successful auction item.

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  11. I like the randomness of the brown squares. It looks amazing to me. They should certainly quilt it and auction it...or you can keep it and enjoy it yourself.

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  12. OMG I love your satg flimsy. One of my favorite color combinations. I love the applique design and the simplicity of the squares forming the border. Thanks for your generous comments on my post. I have my email-comments problem worked out. I enjoyed reading about your farm and your grandchildren especially the little one who can "name that tack".
    I have been out of the blogging loop for about 9 months but I follow you by email so your projects and stories have been sent to me to read. i have enjoyed them.

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  13. What a lovely quilt! I think it takes a special eye to make something with a limited color scheme turn out so well. You've done a great job!

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  14. What a gorgeous quilt! Love, love this. Thanks for sharing on Wednesday Wait Loss.

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  15. Beautiful finish. The border was well worth the time. Thank you so much for linking up to Put your foot down.

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