Celestial Bloom

At the last Baltimore Modern Quilt Guild meeting, it was announced that Heather Kojan, the founder of the chapter, had a new quilt tutorial available on the Moda Bake Shop site.  I popped over and decided to give it a try.  Since I'm on a fabric diet, I had to pull these fabrics from my stash.  

I found this fun collection of bold flowers, bright yellows and oranges and this green that fit in with the bunch.

I cut and stitched and before I got very far I had laid out this block.  Just a starting point, but I had to start somewhere. 

 

I pieced and played with layout.  I had some minor problems with value that were rectified by some careful rearranging of the blocks.

Squaring up all those half-square-triangle blocks always leaves me with this fun little pile of trimmings.  I always want to do something with it, I just don't know what.

I rearranged the squares until I had this layout.  Then, I changed it a couple more times.

Here is one half of the top, all pieced together.

The finished top!  I decided not to add any borders to this one.  With a quilt this big (72" by 72") I didn't think a border really needed to be added.

I loaded it up onto the long-arm frame and totally choked.  I had no idea what to do with it.  I was forced to call it a night and get some sleep. 

The next morning I drew out the block design on some graph paper and got to doodling.  I doodled and doodled and finally settled on what I wanted.  This only shows part of what I though of and after I started quilting I never looked at it again.  Sometimes, my creative process is like that.

I loaded the long arm with some pretty Magnifico for the top thread and some coordinating Bottom Line for the bobbin.  This gives the top-stitching some shine.  I did these trapped bubbles in the triangular shapes along the outer edges.  I like it better without the outer lines, but once you start something, you have to finish it.  Ultimately, it adds loads of interest because the bubbles do different things in different blocks on the face of the quilt.

Swirls and bubbles ended up in the giant diamonds that make up the stars.  I just can't escape swirls.

The bubbles on the black background get sort of random in different parts of the quilt.  I like the overall effect, though.  Little places where your eye can go and see something unexpected.

The size is no joke, though.  I'm not sure how I'll ever finish another queen-size quilt for my bed if I think this one is huge!  All that remains is to cut, piece and attach the binding.

Finished size 73" by 73"

Quilting cottons; all pulled from my stash!  Even the backing.

Warm & Natural cotton batting

Superior Threads:  Magnifico and Bottom Line

Pattern from Moda Bake Shop