I finished my Turquoise Stars Quilt a few weeks ago but haven’t felt like hefting the quilt outside to hang on the curtain rod attached to my shed due to the pain/weakness in my right hand. I recently saw a hand specialist and got a cortisone shot which is helping with both the pain and numbness associated with carpal tunnel syndrome, but I will probably opt for surgery sometime this summer. I’ve decided to not worry about getting outside shots for now. Below is a pic that Rebecca at Rebecca Grace Quilting took after she finished her glorious quilting using Karlee Porter’s Billowy designs.
For my the quilt top I used five stars from Lee Heinrich’s Chevron Star pattern. I found these blocks to be quite challenging when matching the points, so I was really glad to only make five stars and to allow the quilting to do much of the work in giving this quilt its Wow factor. I used five different Art Gallery Fabrics Pure Elements fabrics: Tile Blue, Maldives, Cozumel Blue, and Fresh Water for the stars and Night Sea for the background. The binding is also Tile Blue.
I snapped a quick pic after I finished binding this quilt, but the background looks grey not like the much more accurate blue in the photo above that Rebecca took. I do like how well the quilting pops in the photo below. We were going after a custom look but using a combination of edge-to-edge quilting patterns that were designed to work together.
I’ve really been limiting my sewing, but I have been having fun with playing with another craft–stenciling pavers. My friend, Mary, and I have been adding some decorative touches to our front courtyard in preparation for a party celebrating my retirement. My last day of work at my mental health agency is June 9th! I’ve invited around 25 people to stop by and share some sangria and finger foods with us after work that day. I wish you all could join us! Here’s one of the stenciled pavers using a favorite color palette:
Linking up to Quilt Schmilt: To-Do Tuesday.
Quilting is in my Blood 
Love your star quilt and marvel at your patience for piecing that. I can only dream of that.
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Turquoise Stars is lovely! I think using just 5 stars was a great choice, and your choices for the quilting really finished it well. Congratulations on your retirement!! Wish I could be there to celebrate with you! The stenciling is so fun and festive!
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Your Turquoise Stars is great! I think I have a pattern similar to yours. Congratulations on your retirement!
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Hi Mary! Oh, your pavement stencil is just the best representation of you, at least as much I have observed. The perfect color palette for sure! That sounds like a fun way to add some color and pep to your courtyard. The stencil is nice but the quilt!! Gorgeous, stunning, and amazing just barely skim the surface of descriptive adjectives. WOWEE! You did a fabulous job as did Rebecca showing off your fabulous work. Just a few more days to go and you’ll be enjoying retirement. I’m so happy for you. {{Hugs}} ~smile~ Roseanne
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Beautiful stars and quilting!
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Oh Mary, the Turquoise Stars quilt turned out beautifully. I love that Rebecca was able to get a custom quilting look by combining 2 pantographs! I’m so glad you are still finding ways to be creative, and I hope your last few days of work go well and you have a wonderful retirement celebration!!
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Your quilt is stunning! What kind of paint are you using for the stencil? It’s lovely! Congratulations on your upcoming retirement. I highly recommend retirement. However, just yesterday I was missing my last job, which was my own catering business! That was 8 years ago. But nah, I’d really rather just go in my sewing space – lol!
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Mary both your Turquoise Stars and Paver are beautiful. Love the quilting on Turquoise Stars. It is perfect. Hope your hand is doing better and you are happy now that you are retired. Congratulations. Hope you had fun with your party and thank you for linking with To Do Tuesday.
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