Sunday, July 29, 2018

Stars on Strings--An Original Design

This quilt began on graph paper. I have an EQ program, but I was defeated by triangles!

Stars on Strings--66" x 88"





I tried this more than once. My first experiment was to use regular, brightly-colored strings.


As you can see, the red stars are lost amidst the chaos!



I went to neutral strings which worked better to show off the stars.

Please forgive the camera strap in the corner!

 I stayed with this idea, though, for me, it was hard--I always want MORE COLOR!



The making wasn't too hard, though 60 degree triangles can be tricky to assemble. It was simple string piecing for the blocks.

8.5" paper foundation 60-degree triangle

4.25" red triangle (sorry the picture is so fuzzy)

Pieced triangle (ignore the partial to the right)

I didn't get a picture of the step of gluing the triangle to the foundation, but you can see its placement here. After the triangle was secured, I simply string pieced the three areas around it.


When I had finished the pieces, I assembled it in rows.





This is when the stars and hexagons show up--you have to keep the faith through the piecing; they will eventually be there!


The edges of a triangle quilt are uneven. I didn't want to trim off all the piecing work to make them straight, so I pieced some half-triangle for the ends.

Now you can look at the piece on the right!
I did these half-triangles with neutral centers, so as not to distract from the star pattern. I also used a narrow (1.5") coping strip (border) at the top and bottom of the quilt, so I could manage my triangle points better for binding. I didn't want to lose them. 😉

You can see both the half-triangle ends and the coping strip here.



I had intended to use a pieced backing, but with the weight of all the strings on the front, I was afraid it would be too much. Instead, I chose this backing fabric both because of the color and the pattern--the hexagons echo those on the front.




All in all, this was a successful experiment, though I must admit that I am heartily sick of neutral strings for now!







Now, please, bring on the color!

I'm linking with Jo's Country Junction String Challenge Fiber Tuesday 167 at The Quilting Room with Mel, and Confessions of a Fabric Addict.





20 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. Thanks--I always wonder if it will make sense to anyone but myself!
      Thanks, too, for visiting my blog.

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  2. I love this quilt, but I have the same issue with loving color too! It is very hard for me to work with neutrals.

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  3. Nice quilt! I'd get tired of neutral strings, too. Love the red centers!

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  4. I love hearing how your quilt story and design came together. Trying different ways to get it like we want it is a great idea! There is no need to spend all those hours making it and then not liking it.

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  5. I think it's marvelous! Great job on limiting yourself to red and neutrals. That can be so hard. I too am a string piecing junkie! I'll look forward to what's next for you. :)

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    1. Thanks, Diane. Next, I think I'm going to try a string variation of Sunny Lanes.

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  6. Stars or anything with angles really intimidates me. Thanks for easing that fear of angles just a bit! Lovely quilt.

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    1. Thanks! With string quilts, angles really aren't hard. I understand that intimidation--I have to check and check on some patterns to get them right.
      Thanks, too, for visiting.

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  7. Oh what a stunning quilt - you have inspired me again:)

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  8. Gosh, I love this so much! Even the backing fabric is perfect!

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  9. Wow! Someone pinned this, and I’m glad they did! This looks great, especially with the neutral strings! I almost depleted my bag of neutrals this summer. Time to shop for more!

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    1. You can never have too many neutrals! Thanks for visiting.

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  10. How do you know where to put the Rex triangle ? How did you cemcen the red tria

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    1. When you place the small triangle, the points will line up with the edges of the larger triangle. I use a swipe of glue stick (washable) to keep the small triangles in place.

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Happy Quilting,
The Eclectic Abuela