This took a hot minute to share with you! The original plan was to share the finished Winter Star QAL quilt I made during our Quilt Along with you before the holidays.
That was the whole point of starting the Winter Star Quilt Along in October so that you’d have ample time to piece together your top, and quilt or send it off for quilting stress-free before using it (or gifting it) over the Christmas season.
Things were going according to plan right up until the first day of vacation while I was in the process of hand quilting her at the cottage when I started to feel very, very tired. Even hand quilting was starting to zap my energy and I was finding it challenging to hold the materials in my hand.
My hubz had already been feeling unwell for a couple of days and I suspected whatever he was ailing from was about to affect me too. When I woke up the next morning feeling even worse, it didn’t take me long to test myself. I didn’t even have to wait the full 15 minutes for the results to appear; I tested positive for Covid pretty much instantly.
Bleurgh. Not an ideal start to our time off.
The following couple of weeks passed in pretty much the same fashion: me stuck on the couch with little to no energy even to read or watch TV.
Get your Winter Star Quilt Pattern here!
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Focusing on the joy of quilting
By the time I found my energy returning, my hands were in a terrible state and the act of hand quilting wasn’t bringing me the joy it normally did.
Since this is a gift for my hubz, I didn’t want to be infusing negative feelings and emotions into his quilt! So, I decided to put the project aside and prioritize my joy. Several weeks later I finally picked the project back up and realized I’d stopped with less than a ¼ of the way to go – ha! Perspective is an interesting thing 😉
I got the Winter Star QAL quilt finished just as we were getting walloped with another snowstorm – note the trench in the video!
Non-traditional Holiday Colours
Let me take a moment to address the colours featured in this Winter Star solids version.
Since I’d already made a couple of Christmas-themed quilts (you can see those here, and here), this time around I wanted to go in a bolder less traditional route.
Enter these glorious solids that had me fired up to start cutting as soon as I pulled the pairing together.
The deep teal that I used for the background gives that evergreen feel while allowing the colourful saturated solids to pop against that dark green.
I’m honestly in love with how it all came together. It’s quickly become my favourite Winter Star quilt that I’ve made to date.
And the tree backing with little hints of gold gives it an extra festive vibe.
It’s modern without being cold and stark and still gives you that Christmas feeling without being overtly Christmassy.
Winter Star Long armed
Normally what stalls the progress of my quilts is the basting and quilting. This is why I was super excited to send her out for some special longarm quilting by Jessie of J Roussel Creations.
This was a first.
I normally like being responsible for every step of the quilting journey, but I’ve been curious about how it would feel to send a quilt out.
It was nerve wracking – ha!
Long arm motif selected
Jessie was super patient with me and was great at suggesting motifs to consider for the quilting. We ended up going with a star design in a medium density to tie in with the winter star theme.
The texture this created is phenomenal and I could run my hand over those puffy bits all day!
Thread colour
The dark turquoise/green thread that was used coordinates perfectly with the backing and the background fabric, which I absolutely love. I didn’t want to take the focus away from the colours and piecing of the stars, so this was a perfect balance.
What I would change
The only thing I would do a little differently next time would be to use a longer stitch length. You know I’m all about the texture and I love seeing the stitch work.
Otherwise, it was a truly positive experience that I would have no hesitation in trying again!
Binding
The binding didn’t take me long to settle on. As soon as I spotted this pink star print I knew instantly it would be my binding fabric of choice.
I love the added pop of colour and the gold stars are adorable too.
There were a few different thread colours that I pulled for the big stitch hand-quilted binding, but ultimately it was the hubz who decided on the pale blue thread. I think it was the perfect choice, especially when I pulled up the name and it was Winter’s Breath. Kismet!
Refer to the Quilting Binding Tutorial series for tips and guidance on making your own binding:
Materials featured in the Winter Star quilt
Here’s everything I used to create this finished Winter Star QAL:quilt
- Winter Star Quilt Pattern – I made the throw size
- Sewing machine
- Thread for piecing
- Iron
- Ironing board or wool pressing mat
- Pins
- Pincushion
- Design wall (refer to this tutorial to make your own)
- Pearl cotton thread
- Needles
- Thimble
For reference, here are the Art Gallery Fabrics I’ve been stitching with:
For more holiday sewing inspiration check out:
Thank you so much for participating in the Winter Star QAL. It’s always such a joy to get to stitch together. I’m already thinking ahead to our next one 😉
In the meantime, I’d love to know whether you’ve tried using solids in a holiday quilt.
Happy quilting!
xo
Shannon
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Thank you for sharing such a lovely quilt. You do put together such good colours. I enjoy your posts. The designs are always well thought out and beautifully made. I have been following your quilt coats too.
Thank you so much, Janet! This was a fun one to stitch up. The colours made it particularly enjoyable. I’m gearing up to make a new quilted coat in the Fall, so new inspiration to come on that front too!
Beautiful quilt! I love all of the colors against the perfect dark teal background.
I’m so happy you like this one, Cheryl! The dark teal background is a fave part of this quilt – it really does serve as the best backdrop for those bright colours 💕
Love, love, love your quilt and the color choices that you made.
Emily
Thank you so much, Emily!! It was such a fun colour combo to play with!! That dark green background really helps make those other colours pop!