Radiant Blues Finish!

Radiant Blues is finished! The binding has been hand stitched, the sleeve is hand stitched and the label is hand embroidered.

Coleen Gall did a wonderful job with the custom long arm quilting. For the quilting designs, I told her what I would do if I were hand quilting the quilt, she took my suggestions from there and adjusted them to machine quilting. Radiant Blues measures 76" square, a perfect size for a wall quilt.

The next group of pictures are closeups of the quilting. Some of the pictures are long and narrow but I don't know how to put them side by side.

A light blue fabric was used for the backing.

And a close up of star quilting on the back.

The label is hand embroidered. I don't know what I was thinking that  one line is over to the left side but it is how it is. The small tree and bird is a design by Gail Pan.

Several years ago my friend Linda and I were perusing through a tub of quilt magazines when she came upon a pattern that she said was me. She was so right, Radiant Blues is definitely a quilt for me to make.

I started the piecing at the end of March, the flimsy was pieced then sent to Colleen Gall to do her wonderful quilting the first of June. She was returned in July but it has taken me several months to sew the binding and attach a sleeve. 

In January I posted a list of projects for 2024. One of those projects was called Radiant Blue hereafter to be known as Radiant Blues. The pattern for Radiant Blue is found in the January/February 2007 issue of Fons & Porter's Love of Quilting magazine and was designed by Marsha McCloskey.

Marsha is famous for her method of piecing feathered stars, however I did not use her method. I'm a foundation-paper-piecer and I used the free 16" no Y seam feathered star fpp pattern from Threaded Quilting Studio. I used the same pattern for the first time when I made this little quilt.

The 16" star is a different size than the size star Marsha specifies for her pattern. I made a sashing change. Another change, my wall quilt is larger than the pattern and includes 9 stars instead of the original 4.

Radiant Blues is going to hang on the east wall in our living room but not until after the Jane Stickle retreat in November. I want to present her at show & tell.

Thank you Linda for alerting me to this lovely pattern.

I love this quilt so much, I'm going to post it on every linky party I'm involved in this week!

Linking to Kathys Slow Stitching Sunday, Stitching Stuff, Oh Scrap, Handmade Monday, Sew & Tell, Craftastic Monday, Design Wall Monday, Monday Musings, To Do Tuesday, Midweek Makers, Wednesday Wait Loss, Needle & Thread Thursday, Put Your Foot Down, TGIFF!, Finished or Not Friday, Off the Wall Friday, Beauty Pageant, Patchwork & Quilts

If you didn't get enough of quilt show quilts from my posts on September 22 and 29, click here to view pictures from the Quilted Twins visit to the Jacksonville show.

Radiant Blues Flimsy

Radiant Blues is now a flimsy! Have mentioned how much I enjoy this quilt?!

I don't know why the white fabric has a yellow tint, the next picture should look better but it doesn't 😕. 

It was a very bright and sunny day, perhaps the bright sun made the problem?

I didn't realize these pictures were this way until I wrote this post. Ordinarily I would take new pictures but I've already delivered the quilt to Colleen for quilting. You'll just have to wait until it's quilted for a better photo.

Radiant Blues measures 78" square before quilting. The pattern for Radiant Blue(s) is found in the January/February 2007 issue of Fons & Porter's Love of Quilting magazine and is designed by Marsha McCloskey. 

I changed the pattern to make my quilt but the general effect is still the same. I didn't use Marsha's directions to piece the stars, I foundation paper pieced them using the 16" pattern found here at Threaded Quilting Studio. 

Radiant Blues was one of the projects listed in my 2024 Quilting Plan back in January. 

Linking to Midweek Makers, Wednesday Wait Loss, Needle & Thread Thursday, Put Your Foot Down, TGIFF!, Finished or Not  Friday, Off the Wall Friday, Beauty Pageant, Patchwork & Quilts

Radiant Blues Progress

The center section of Radiant Blues is completed! I just need to add the outside border. 

As you can see, I did NOT use the dark feathered star in the quilt. I was just too dark for my taste. Now I have a feathered star to use elsewhere, I'll think of something.

Here is a close up of the checkerboard in the corners. Last week I had showed you a light blue sashing, I changed my mind and went with a darker blue. It didn't take long to make the sashing and corners, strip piecing is my friend.

The fabric in between the dark sashing is a light gray fabric and is also used in the checkerboard square. You don't really see a contrast between it and the white background fabric in the stars but it is enough to make them standout against the white.

I really like how this wall quilt is looking! Of course I love all the blues! 

The pattern for Radiant Blue(s) is found in the January/February 2007 issue of Fons & Porter's Love of Quilting magazine and is designed by Marsha McCloskey. I didn't use Marsha's directions to piece the stars, I foundation paper pieced them using the 16" pattern found here at Threaded Quilting Studio. 

Linking to Midweek Makers, Wednesday Wait Loss, Needle & Thread Thursday, Put Your Foot Down, TGIFF!, Finished or Not  Friday, Off the Wall Friday, Beauty Pageant, Patchwork & Quilts

Last Feathered Stars

Eight feathered stars have been pieced for Blue Radiance. I need 9 blocks for the wall quilt, I've pieced two more stars.

These blocks are all starting to look alike! And the second block.

I pieced a tenth block because I can't decide if I like the dark block in the center or not. What do you guys think?

Here are the blocks with the dark star in the center.

Here are the blocks with a a different star in the center.

I sewed some sashing to help in the decision. What do you think?

This next picture has the dark block in the center.

I think I like it better without the dark block in the center but I'm not 100% sure yet.

The pattern for Radiant Blue(s) is found in the January/February 2007 issue of Fons & Porter's Love of Quilting magazine and is designed by Marsha McCloskey. I didn't use Marsha's directions to piece the stars, I foundation paper pieced them using the 16" pattern found here at Threaded Quilting Studio. 

Linking to Midweek Makers, Wednesday Wait Loss, Needle & Thread Thursday, Put Your Foot Down, TGIFF!, Finished or Not  Friday, Off the Wall Friday, Beauty Pageant, Patchwork & Quilts

Two More Feathered Stars & a Design Change

Two more feathered stars are finished for the Radiant Blues wall quilt.

I've made a slight change to the next block. Do you see the difference in piecing between the first block and the second one?

I've modified the pattern. Instead of a square at the point of the edge feathers, there is a triangle. The next two stars will also made with this modification. 

The pattern for Radiant Blues is found in the January/February 2007 issue of Fons & Porter's Love of Quilting magazine and was designed by Marsha McCloskey. I'm foundation paper piecing my feathered stars using the 16" pattern from Threaded Quilting Studio.

Linking to Midweek Makers, Wednesday Wait Loss, Needle & Thread Thursday, Put Your Foot Down, TGIFF!, Finished or Not  Friday, Off the Wall Friday, Beauty Pageant, Patchwork & Quilts

More Feathered Stars

Here is the next group of three feathered stars for the Radiant Stars wall hanging. 

I pulled a different light blue for this star.

I'm trying to have different fabrics in the stars and in the placement of color values.

The pattern for Radiant Blues is found in the January/February 2007 issue of Fons & Porter's Love of Quilting magazine and was designed by Marsha McCloskey. I'm foundation paper piecing my feathered stars using the 16" pattern from Threaded Quilting Studio.

Linking to Midweek Makers, Wednesday Wait Loss, Needle & Thread Thursday, Put Your Foot Down, TGIFF!, Finished or Not  Friday, Off the Wall Friday, Patchwork & Quilts

Radiant Blues

The first blocks for Radiant Blues are finished! These stars finish at 16".  All of the stars are going to have a flower center.

Foundation paper piecing makes these stars turn out perfect! This block is a little dark, I like the next block better.

There is a glow to the center fabric that doesn't show in the pictures. The gold vine gives the fabric a brown tint in the picture. It's not that way in real life. The fabric  around the center is a light gray but it looks white in real life also.

I took these pictures outside but they have a dark tint to them. Hopefully the next photos will show their brilliance.

The center fabric is called Dutch Cottage and is a Robert Kaufman fabric.

It takes me two days to piece one block. Feathered stars are slow blocks to piece.

The pattern for Radiant Blue(s) is found in the January/February 2007 issue of Fons & Porter's Love of Quilting magazine and is designed by Marsha McCloskey. I'm not using Marsha's directions to piece the stars, I'm foundation paper piecing them using the 16" pattern found here from Threaded Quilting Studio.

Linking to Midweek Makers, Wednesday Wait Loss, Put Your Foot Down, TGIFF!, Finished or Not  Friday, Off the Wall Friday, Patchwork & Quilts, Needle & Thread Thursday