Cheddar Star Surprise

I got an unexpected surprise right before Christmas. As I was waiting on a friend to pick out a few car magazines for her guy's stocking, I picked up the NOV issue of Quilters World and what to my wondering eyes did appear? Why, my Cheddar Stars quilt!  I had sent this one to the magazine in October of 2017, so it was a big surprise to see it in print.  You might still see this issue on some news stands, but the website has moved on to Spring 2020.

This is the first photo of the quilt, but please turn the page to see the true colors.  I used Saffron, a lovely shade of cheddar,  and French Vanilla, my "go to" cream,  both from RJR Fabrics.  I do love the hand of these solids, they drape so nicely and are lovely to work with.

Here's the quilt laying on the floor, sorry for the skewed photo!  **but this color is more like Saffron, the above picture is quite "orange" :-(

Ohio Star blocks use 1/4 square triangle for the star points, and the sample was made with Triangles on a Roll.  When I need 324 of one block, I look for a method that allows for "production" sewing.  By making them on the paper, I was able to make the star point blocks in batches.  There are many methods to achieve the same result so choose the one you like.

Here is my smaller version pieced in red.  This little one has been cross hatched and has stars in the corners with plain cream borders.   I had used up all my Saffron, so when I wanted to make step outs and photograph along the way, I used red and now I have a mini!

The quilting was done with rulers and circle templates for the blocks and sashing, and the border has been free hand quilted with feathers. 

Keeping all the blocks lined up in both directions takes a bit of skill, but using a few tricks, I managed to get the rows pretty straight in all directions.  There are no corner stones in the side to side sashing.

Close up of block and quilting,

Details of this quilt:

Fabric: RJR Cotton Supreme Solids in Saffron and French Vanilla
Batting: Hobbs Tuscany Wool
Piecing: Aurifil Color 3210 in 50 wt
Quilting: So Fine by Superior Threads
81 - 6"  Blocks
Finished size: 90" x 90"
Published Nov 2019
Quilters World

*original plan was all cream sashing, but when I rolled out the second bolt of fabric, the dye lot was slightly off.  I just had enough of the Saffron to make it work, and I am thrilled with the results.

So what are you working on this month?  Me, it's getting a few blog posts up, catching up on customer quilts that were not Christmas quilts, and assessing all the UFO bags, bins, boxes, and baskets in my studio.  I have 3 days of retreat sewing coming up at the end of the month; I plan on have a box and a bag empty and two completed tops.  Fingers crossed my machine doesn't start smoking like the last retreat I went to!

Keep stitching,
Sharon