Finished Stars for a New Day #1

Yup, you read that right. #1. There's a number two coming up in a few days. I'm allowing my very sore left hand to rest in a wrist brace until at least Wednesday before I tackle the next one. Remember, this quilt is in miniature -- only 44" or so square, so accuracy is a must. I outline quilted nearly every shape - all in fact except the row of stars on point...what the client refers to as her "3-hour stars". There was just no way they were getting completely outlined. Let's be real-
I spent 17 hours quilting this mini-beast, after one of the borders was removed and flipped on account of it being accidentally inverted. Not bad on my 15 hour estimate I'd say, considering this is my first miniature. I love how it turned out. The texture is just delicious. It has a QD wool batt over Hobbs 80/20. As an aside, I dislike the QD wool as compared to the Hobbs Tuscany. It seems tougher, rougher. In the end, I'm not sure the difference is discernable though. Top threads are all coordinating Superior So Fine, with Bottomline bobbins. I'm not really sure if these are actually CW repros or not, but the fabrics just did not scream out for bolder colors or shiny threads. JMHO there.

The outer border is a departure for me. It's almost got an Aztek feel, but these axisymmetrical stars stumped my sense of design. I didn't want to just micro stipple around them. This next picture is about my favorite. The long sweeping feathers flank the more simply quilted 3-hour stars. Thise are about the best back-tracking feathers I think I have sewn. It's just a nice juxtaposition of simple straight cross-hatching with the graceful curves of the feathers. That is what quilt design is all about. Variety, simplicity, repetition. Move the eyes constantly, but allow them to settle for a second or two, here and there.

I still cannot believe that this feathered star is only 7" square. And it is totally outline stitched. Those little triangles are tinier than my fingernails. I actually had to rip out one corner of the curved cross-hatching because it had the wrong number of curves. Kinda maddening.

The front is subtle with matching threads for the most part. It's all about the immaculate piecing. The quilting is not for show, but rather to add a dimension. But from the back...

Here, it is all about the stitching designs. And it is fun. It moves, and is playful. It's all I hoped it would be.

Let's hope that number 2 goes faster, and with as few issues as this one had. I plan to use some different motifs so that these 2 friends have similar yet not identical miniature quilts.

Now, off to think about a couple simpler quilts before I dive into this insanity for 5 days.