Between the Stars in Make Modern

I have a fun quilt to share with you today! Between the Stars in is issue 34 of Make Modern magazine, which is now available.

I love, love, love star blocks and designing quilts with stars always makes me happy 😊

I also love scrappy quilts, so a scrappy star quilt with a scrappy binding is right up my alley! When I was putting the binding on, I noticed I was about to start with the red section of the binding next to the red star, so I started in a different spot. It wasn't until the binding was completely finished that I realized the green section was right next to the green star. Oops! At that point, though, I wasn't going back to fix it.

I raided my scrap pile for the stars and the grey bars. Only the light grey background was yardage (it's Kona Shadow) and even that was left over from something else. I had to make a change to the design partway through, since the background fabric was also supposed to be the middle grey bar, where the medium grey is, but I realized after cutting all the pieces for the stars that I wouldn't have enough to cut those strips, too. That's what I get for not checking to see how much I actually had before I started cutting. Back into the stash I went to see what I had that would work there and I ended up really liking the look with the medium grey.

Between the Stars is a great baby size quilt, finishing at 36" x 48". That also makes it a great size to go all-in with dense free motion quilting. I used Northcott's solid white on the back, so the quilting really shows up well.

I used Aurifil 50 wt for all of the quilting (and piecing), matching the thread colours to the fabric. In the white parts of the stars, I quilted continuous curves that spiraled in towards the middle. In the coloured parts of the stars I did an elongated spiral kind of design. Both designs were chosen in part because I could outline the shape and quilt the design in the middle, then move on to the next piece without needing to stop and start again.

The light grey background got a tiny stipple, while the medium grey got back and forth lines and the darkest grey got wishbones. I can't really explain why, but I love quilting wishbones. There's just something soothing about the motion to quilt them. Do you have a favourite design like that?

I found it really hard to get a full picture of the front of the quilt. Mostly because it's not big enough for one of my boys to hide behind, since they're well past the 48" height, but also because my quilt draping skills are not very good. I try, but it's not quite there yet. This shot isn't bad, but the background could definitely be better. Taking pictures when there's still snow, like back in March when I took these, is an extra challenge since the nearby beaches with their many rocks and beautiful water backgrounds aren't useable.

Make Modern's issue 34 is packed with fabulous patterns, as always. Click to buy the issue or you can get a subscription for 6 months or 12 months. You can also choose the All Access subscription, which gives you access to all 34 issues Make Modern has published...how would you decide which issue to read first??? 😄 Those are all affiliate links, which means that if you click a link and make a purchase, I'll receive a small commission, but it does not change the price you pay. I'm a huge fan of Make Modern, with my own subscription, so I'm confident you'll love it, too.

I have another design finished in EQ8 that features this star that I'm anxious to make, so you'll be seeing it again sometime. Hopefully it won't take me too long to get to it...My to-make list is longer than my arm!

Pick up your copy of Make Modern issue 34 to get the Between the Stars pattern, then sit and enjoy it with a cup of tea or coffee this weekend. That's what I intend to do with mine 😊