Tuesday, August 18, 2020

LeMoyne Star Quilt Finished

"The evil that is inside men is at the last a matter for men to control. 
The responsibility and the hope and the promise are in your hands - your hands and 
the hands of the children of all men on this earth.
 The future cannot blame the present, just as the present cannot blame the past.
The hope is always here, always alive,
but only your fierce caring can fan it into a fire to warm the world."
~Susan Cooper in Silver on the Tree

Quilting


LeMoyne String Stars quilt is finally finished. Hooray! Quilting started last week and now the rest is completed. It's bound, washed, dried, and ready to mail. 

The center of this scrap quilt is four LeMoyne stars in red or blue surrounded by two rows of HSTs with a row of red Sawtooth Stars at the top and bottom of the quilt.
LeMoyne Star string quilt

Last week's post showed the quilting on the LeMoyne Stars in the center. The flowers in the background are reprised in the centers of the Sawtooth Stars. Both stars have orange peels, too. 

Quilting on the red sawtooth star reflects the flower motif in the background of the LeMoyne Stars
Sawtooth Star detail

In fact, there are even more orange peels on the light HSTs in the border. After finishing those, the dark HSTs seemed to need some, too. At least it will help hold those patches securely in the wash. If you look carefully, you can see the difference in the quilting from the top to the bottom photo below.

An extra round of FMQ is quilted in the dark HSTs
HSTs before and after an extra row of quilting

Using red thread on red fabric means almost nothing shows. However, the FMQ is much more visible on the grey solid that makes part of the back. 

The FMQ quilting designs in red thread show up better on the grey quilt back
View of quilting on Sawtooth Stars
and HSTs from the back

There wasn't enough of the red calico for the entire back so I pulled all my solids until I found one that went with it. It's not that I'm deliberately trying to not purchase fabric, but I want to use what's on hand first. There's a feeling of peace to see the piles dwindle. Shopping soon.


Red calico and grey solid form the quilt back
Back of LeMoyne Star string quilt

Cadet blue, a medium greyed shade from QS, looks good with the red, white, and blue of the front so it became the binding.

View of front, back, and binding of the LeMoyne Star string quilt
LeMoyne Star string quilt folded

My youngest has requested this. How flattering. How fortunate I am that my family enjoys my quilts.

Quilt Specifics
Size: 63" x 83"
Design: Le Moyne Star string blocks
Batting: Mountain Mist Cream Rose cotton
Thread: Red, white, and blue Superior 50/3 cotton thread
Quilting: SID and FMQ
Approximate yardage: 13 yds

Previous posts:

Reading

The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates finally came in... just in time for my book club discussion. In fact, I hadn't finished it by the meeting so the meaning of conduction wasn't clear in my mind. After reading the final pages, I no not see it as "magical realism" or "fantasy." To me, it shows that Blacks have the strength and intelligence to rescue themselves while it also tells of the rejuvenation of Black history by highlighting the tremendous effort to keep it alive. While Hiram struggles to exhaustion to bring forth the story, it was his personal choice requiring communal efforts from the people he was conducting. Juxtapose this with his original escape, orchestrated by {mainly white} others who tortured him {or allowed him to be tortured} in the attempt to turn his talents  - not to their use exactly - but to their direction, to times of their choosing rather than his. 

The best review is by NPR here. An excellent book, well-researched, well written. I enjoy his writing, not least because of the different point of view. In fact, his preface quotes Frederick Douglass: "My part has been to tell the story of the slave. The story of the master never wanted for narrators." 


V-O-T-E and Complete the Census. 

Please. Don't let anyone rob you of your voice. America is made of ALL of us working together even when we disagree.

Enjoy the day, Ann

29 comments:

Rose Marie said...

How lovely it turned out! Yep, I would request it too!

Julierose said...

this is a beautiful finish!! Congratulations on a terrific job!! ;))
Your youngest will just love it...hugs, julierose

Linda said...

A fabulous quilt. Love the design, the quilting and the choice of binding. An A* finish.

Pamela Arbour said...

Nice quilt. I can see that you put a lot of work into it.

patty a. said...

The quilt turned out fabulous and is so vibrant! It is much bigger than I thought and it will be a wonderful quilt to curl up under on the sofa for your youngest.

LA Paylor said...

your work is rich like ancient mosaic tile floors in Rome. Blends of color, creating depth. Nice work

Exuberantcolor/Wanda S Hanson said...

Another great finish! I love the star borders top and bottom and of course I love the triangle borders.

QuiltGranma said...

I am in love with this very strikingly beautiful quilt! Great finish!

Robin said...

The quilting on your star quilt really enhances everything. Such a nice gift, and you're right, it's lovely to have someone want one of your quilts. I'm to the point where I'm running out of people to give quilts to. Such a silly dilemma.

Angie in SoCal said...

That turned out great! Your youngest is going to love it! Congratulations.

Janie said...

Congratulations on your finish! The borders are fun.

Mystic Quilter said...

Beautiful finish Ann! Love how you have the stars just top and bottom to give that good length.

Ann said...

Thanks, Rose Marie.

Ann said...

Thanks, Julierose. He does.

Ann said...

Thank you, Linda.

Ann said...

Thanks, Patty. He has it on the couch, waiting for cool weather. Haha.

Ann said...

That's an interesting visual, LeeAnna. Thanks.

Ann said...

Thanks, Wanda. I added them to make the quilt longer; it worked out better than I originally thought.

Ann said...

How kind of you. Thank you.

Ann said...

It's funny how we still want to make quilts, isn't it? The quilting was worth the effort. Thanks for writing, Robin.

Ann said...

Thank you, Angie. He does.

Ann said...

They were fun to make, Janie.

Ann said...

Thanks, Maureen. They were a good choice to lengthen the quilt.

Preeti said...

Ann, the first word that comes to mind when I see this quilt is Celebration. Not a party - which seems like a raucous affair of drunk teens or tweens. But a celebration of inner joy and triumph that needs no outward expression but makes you smile to yourself. A beautiful labor of love. Just beautiful and absolutely perfect.

Ann said...

How very kind of you to write such a thoughtful comment. It’s not perfect but the scraps are all from previous quilts and hold many memories of people and reasons to make them a quilt. And to gift it to my youngest makes it better.

Nann said...

Lovely! The blocks, of course. But oh! the unusual setting -- makes this a one-of-a kind. A splendid finish, Ann.

Ann said...

Thanks, Nann. I enjoy borders and asymmetrical ones are especially nice at times.

Linda @ kokaquilts said...

Yes, a lovely quilt! I like the setting too, nicely balanced! So nice it's got a home in the family too. (I think my daughter must be my biggest fan, and critique too!)

Ann said...

Thanks, Linda. It was a joy to design. We are fortunate to have children who appreciate our quilts.