paintmejudy

Step 6 June 23rd

So, here we are, at the end. Today you are getting step 6, and also step 7 which was originally scheduled for next Saturday.

Now that the center medallion star has been assembled, and you haven’t been sure what color you want for the sashing, now is the time to decide. (If you look at the first posting on this thread, you will see I chose a yellowish that matched the print. But when I finished the medallion it looked too dark and chose a lighter yellow.) For example, if you want a pink to stand out, chose a dark rose or red print or solid for the sashing. Or an entirely different color to contrast with your prints.

If you are doing scrappy, audition your fabrics to see what will work best.

Now: Cut four WOF 2-½” strips of sashing fabric.
If you used a specialty ruler (for example, the strip tube ruler) to make the half square triangles in the center medallion, don’t forget the edges are on the bias. I suggest you mark your sashing strips every 4 inches so that you can line up your mark with the seam of the 4” blocks. In this way, you will not have a “ruffle-y” border. (Learned this by trial and error first time I used that ruler to make blocks!) Sew two strips to 2 opposite sides, press toward the sashing, sew the other 2 strips to the remaining sides. Press seam toward the sashing.

Now for the borders:

Sew piano key strips and corner star block pieces as shown in the pictures You will have 4 pieces as shown. Sew the short pieces to opposite side, press toward the sashing, then sew the longer pieces to the other two sides with the star points facing as shown in the completed quilt. Press toward sashing.

Finish however you would like - with or without an extra sashing and border, with batting and quilting for a quilt or hanging, or perhaps with flannel or no batt for your table topper. I used Warm and Natural in my table cloth and wall hangings.

I’ve posted pictures of my baby quilt, my light colored scrappy table cloth (pinned but unquilted), and another dark wall hanging I'm not too fond of.

So … we have come to the end of another journey and the train has reached our final station. Please gather your belongings, checking under your seat for any stray bits and pieces. Or stay in the club car and chat amongst yourselves and have a final cup of tea. I’ve had a great trip, and hope you have too.

Hope to see your final quilts posted here, and also on the pictures thread. You’ve been great traveling companions. Hope you all enjoyed the mystery as much as I did. Not sure when I will do another mystery, probably not until fall as I have knee replacement surgery scheduled for the end of July and won’t be feeling too chipper for a while. And I haven’t even designed the new quilt yet, let alone start to sew it together. So look for it probably sometime after mid-September. Happy quilting!