Couple of months ago when we moved, I packed a box full of sewing projects that I would be able to work on while I was unpacking the rest of the boxes over time.  This purple star quilt project was part of that box.  The move went very smoothly, except one of my kitties became seriously ill very shortly thereafter.  While he spent a whole day at the doctor’s office, I was at home trying to calm my nerves by sewing these sixteen paper pieced blocks.  At that point I knew that instead of making another wall hanging, I wanted to make this quilt for him to snuggle on once he got better.

Graphical representation of the quilt

The Morning Star quilt pattern was conceived during a weekend doodle session on the computer.  I was so excited to find exact matches for the fabric colors in the quilt store!  I used Kona Pansy for the lighter purple and Kona Regal for the darker color.  Purple is a pretty bright color for me, so I toned it down with Architextures Grey Crosshatch.  I also offset the dull grey and brightened the quilt top back up again with a white print with lines on it that I had in my stash.

I really wanted to finish this little quilt as soon as possible, so I kept on working on it while my dear kitty slept on my other desk.  He is really a very good work buddy.

I used my walking foot to quilt this one.  First I quilted diagonal lines through the middle of the star blocks.  Then I echo quilted following the outlines made by the two adjoining blocks.  That made for a beautiful diamond star pattern.  I also did stitch in the ditch quilting around the entire outer edge of the stars, so the design on the back would be framed as well.  I worked on finishing the quilt as my kitty continued to recuperate.

I made this little toy for him yesterday and he started purring and playing with it instantly.  I found the ball in his food bowl later on, a sure sign for me that he is doing a lot better now.

I added a one-inch border using the same white fabric used in the star blocks so the outer star points would not be covered up by the binding.  Aside from the stitch in the ditch around the stars to frame the design in the back, I also quilted two squares going around the border to frame the quilt top.  Instead of introducing another color, I used the same Kona Regal from the star for the binding.  Here’s my finished quilt measuring 22″ x 22″.  This one quilt will be always be very special to me.  Do you also have those projects where it starts off as just another project and then suddenly becomes something really special?

Make sure to visit the Pantone Quilt Challenge page to feast your eyes on the beauties.  I am entering mine as well!  My quilt is made from the star quilt pattern called the Pinwheel Star.

Happy Sewing,
Soma