The quilting bug has certainly taken hold; so much so that I finally joined our local Modern Quilt Guild and have already attended the first two meetings.
My mother’s birthday was coming up this month and I felt like I really needed to gift her with a quilt. The Fat Quarter Shop released this Starling Quilt pattern as a freebie and when I saw it I knew it was the perfect pattern for her. (I also knew that there was a pretty good chance I could get it done in time too).
I searched high and low for some fabric for her and when I saw this Steno Pool line from Cotton and Steel I knew that was it. My mom went to secretary school way back and learned shorthand. When we were growing up, my mom would write our Christmas lists in shorthand, which used to frustrate me to no end because I couldn’t decipher them. I even think I tried to use her shorthand dictionary at one point to try and figure it out! This shorthand panel was the tipping point for her quilt.
I found some coordinating fabrics to go with the line, including this lovely, sparkling chambray and got started.
This is a pretty simple quilt to cut and piece. The pieces are bigger and after making so many quilts with tiny pieces it was a welcome respite! I’m still working on my exact piecing skills and I know that some of these don’t line up perfectly, but I’m getting better.
I had originally purchased some fabric for the back, but the color was totally off from what I thought it was and I actually miscalculated and didn’t order enough. Instead of purchasing more, I decided to piece the back (a little inspiration from my quilt guild meeting show and tell) and I’m super happy with how it turned out.
I quilted it with a wavy block with my machine.
This quilt is super soft and washed up really well and I’m beyond thrilled to gift it to my mom on her birthday!