Wish Upon a Star blog hop
Welcome to the Wish Upon a Star Blog Hop hosted by Carol from Just Let Me Quilt. The first blog hop I participated in was the Virtual Cookie Exchange also hosted by Carol. There were so many recipes shared that I’ll never find the time to make all of them and quilt. If not for that blog hop I may never have stumbled across blogs that I have come to enjoy visiting. Needless to say I had a good time and when the call went out for Wish Upon a Star I raised my hand. My Starlight paper pieced baby quilt pattern (what a mouthful) was set to be released the end of February and wouldn’t you know it, its stars. To celebrate this I will be giving away 3 pdf patterns. To enter to win a pattern simply leave a comment. 3 numbers have already been chosen at random and the winners will be announced tomorrow.
As you can see this one is Enzo approved, yes I am one of those silly pet momma’s. It’s not quilted since I have until July to deliver it unless she delivers early. The blocks were quick to piece. In this top, for the large stars I used 2 1/2″ jelly roll strips left over from For the love of geese quilt and I pieced it with strips instead of cutting each patch to size. I really am convinced there is less waste than by trimming each patch to the approximate size. Depending on the quilt often times I can also use the trimmings elsewhere in the top.
The navy fabric was a remnant that was too large to throw in the rag bag and it was still more than enough to piece the 16 blocks (top in photo is only 9 blocks). The background is a 200 thread count muslin. I love piecing with this particular muslin because of the weave and it blends well with any fabric including batiks. The only thing I would do differently if I make this again, I would use contrasting colors in the stars. There isn’t enough color variation in the strips to set off the individual points.
Directions are provided for a 52″ x 52″ quilt, 16 blocks. You can add more blocks for a larger quilt or drop a few for something smaller. You would need to do the math for increasing or decreasing the pattern.
This pattern was inspired by an early mosaic floor. I love the artistry in the ancient mosaics and as I look at them it makes me wonder how difficult it must have been to create these works of art without our modern tools. This is a very basic pattern compared to the pavement in Westminster Abbey. Were slaves forced to work around the clock to create these floors or were local stone masons used? I can imagine it both ways which I did while making my Mosaic Quilt. We have all had that #1 horrible boss who can be placed in the slave masters shoes when imagining the working conditions, they didn’t have OSHA back then, lol.
The pattern for my Mosaic Quilt was also inspired by a mosaic floor dated 150-200 AD. I’d like to see our modern mosaics stand the same test of time. This was a pattern I created then decided to share it in my first QAL. I’ve never participated in or hosted a QAL so to be honest I don’t know how it measured up to others.
Writing has never been my strong suit and I am certain the written portion of the pattern falls short compared to other more experienced pattern designers. Perhaps I give too much information or maybe not enough but rest assured I will eventually find that happy medium that works well for everyone. You know the patterns with the “experienced” label? As a beginner pp I was purchasing or downloading those experienced paper piecing patterns but I am one of those who believe in jump with both feet or not at all. It didn’t take me long to realize the “experienced” label just meant “no distractions” around me. Many of these patterns, the written directions were more complex than the design itself. While reading through the written pattern I would highlight what I felt was important and ignored the rest while piecing. So I strive to make my directions as simple as possible. Again writing has never been strong suit anyway and if you get lost in the written pattern most will give up completely because it just seems to difficult or the work becomes a UFO never to be seen again.
The design is solid but should you happen to find a mistake in the written portion or a numbering error on the templates that wasn’t caught by my testers or myself please contact me. Out of 6 testers that volunteered there was only 1 and myself who completed the quilt.
If you enjoy testing patterns and are true to your word, please volunteer. There is nothing more frustrating than people volunteering then offering no feedback. If you volunteer and realize after viewing the pattern that its not for you or the design is more complex than anticipated, this feedback is also a valuable tool or learning experience for me.
For someone considering paper piecing , visit my Pattern Page . There you will find a pattern for a God’s Eye block that would be an excellent choice for a beginner wanting to try paper piecing without committing to a full sized quilt. I’m definitely not saying Starlight isn’t beginner friendly since one of my testers was a beginner.