Diamonds & Pearls for a Precious Someone…

This quilt is the result of one of those days when I get inspired by a concept for a quilt and jump in to test it and simply keep going…accepting that it will be what it will be!

In this case, I knew I wanted to try working with some LeMoyne style star blocks (first published in 1894) and create a starry quilt but I realised that I didn’t want to mix traditional sawtooth style stars with these diagonal blocks. I also wanted to continue my experiments with this tonal and lower volume look and worked with some low volume prints for my backgrounds.

Part of the challenge here was not only making the blocks (this method uses all Y-Seams to make) but also thinking about how I wanted them to work within the quilt.

I am often working with a JigSaw style method for ‘making quilts work’ by laying out the blocks and then adding plain sections, rectangles, odd sashing and even the odd additional smaller blocks to arrive at a fairly standard size. This is a pattern that will eventually be listed in my pattern shop but sharing for now as a part of my quilting journey.

Here is the quilt top. I’ll add some photos of the finished quilt once it is done. I am bias, but overall I am very happy with the vintage effect that I have achieved. I hope that one day, in the far distant future, this will become a family heirloom…or it will be used until it falls apart! Either way, I hope these descendants will know that I would have been one happy quilt maker had I known.

Have a great day, try something you haven’t done before, and most of all — happy quilting!