Blue Jay Quilt Studio: 40 Years a Quilter, Post 12

Back in the saddle, so to speak! 

I have been doing lots of finishing of projects and working on classes and a recent trunk show, so I have been missing in the blog world. However, I am ready to get back into blogging again! A few days ago, I was honored to do a trunk show for my very own guild! Ohio Valley Quilter's Guild in Cincinnati is always wonderful to have our own members be part of the speaking agenda each year! This week I got to present my program "40 Years a Quilter" and show 25 of my quilts. This quilt was the last one I showed because I literally just finished it!

This is an adaptation of a pattern by Pam Buda of @heartspunquilts. I bought the pattern entitled "Stars Over Union Hill" last year and started stitching half square triangles at retreats. The pattern is also in the Spring 2022 issue of @primitivequiltsandprojects. The blocks with the stars are wool hand appliquéd stars and little half circles on cotton. 

All fabrics besides the wool are Jo Morton's designs. I have collected Jo's fabrics for years and found they worked beautifully for this project. I had hoped to make a dent in my stash, but they seem to have multiplied while the project was in the works. Of course, I may have had to supplement with a new line that came out while working on the project. It just happens without really trying. :) Here is a photo showing so many of those lovely Jo Morton fabrics in the quilt:

The photo above also shows the center section of the quilt. This is where I changed the design a bit from the pattern. I made all my "arrow" looking blocks go in an outward direction from the center. The pattern had all of them going in the same direction. Below is one of the corners:

This quilt was quilted on my @berninausa Q24 longarm. I am still getting used to her, but love doing ruler work! The whole quilt was stitched using @amandamurphydesign rulers. She makes the BEST longarm rulers. They have a finish on the back that grips to the quilt so it doesn't slide while you are stitching along.

This last photo above shows part of the back of the quilt. As mentioned, I have a nice selection of Jo Morton fat quarters, so I thought I would stitch them together and use them for the back of the quilt. Once again, I was hoping to make a dent in my stash, but you cannot even notice a difference in the tub full of her fabrics. Oh well, maybe another quilt in the near future will help make a dent. :) Off to start cutting a some quilt blocks for my granddaughter. She asked me if we could make a quilt together as a summer project. Of course, I was thrilled and happy to set her off on the quilting path. Yesterday I took her shopping for fabric. She immediately picked out a gorgeous Kaffe Fasset fabric for her "main". More to come on that project later...

Enjoy the beginning of summer!