Reverse Rainbow Starburst Complete

Well I’m back. I closed my blog two months ago to deal with an unfortunate and devastating event in our lives and only recently felt a renewed interest in quilting. This Reverse Rainbow Star quilt was waiting for me to sandwich, quilt, and bind it, and I spent a couple days losing myself in the familiar and comforting motions of the quilt process.

Using FlutterKat's tutorial, I started these scrappy 16-patch blocks for the Sweet 16 Quilt-along 2015 on Sarah’s blog. I still haven’t decided where this quilt will go, but for now I’m enjoying the bright colors of so many beloved fabrics. Four months into my moratorium on purchasing fabric, I'm happy to say this quilt was made entirely from my stash.

The back is anchored by a large 16-patch that reflects the arrangement of color blocks on the front. I almost like the back more than the front.

My quilting was a mix of curves, zig-zags, and straight lines.

With all the color going on, white seemed a good choice for the final border and binding.

Thanks to my sweet husband for being my quilt model.

UPDATE 4/21/15: Today I found out my niece has cancer and I've decided to sent this quilt to her. Hopefully it will give her some comfort.

Sweet 16 QAL Quilt Top Complete

The last week has been busy. My husband's sister is trying to sell her Mom's house in Oklahoma so that they can move to Texas to be closer to us. We have been serving as "house hunters" for her on this end, driving to several places to check out houses and properties. As much as I love house-hunting, it takes time from my quilting, and I am selfish with quilting time! So I am late to the Sweet 16 Quiltalong linky party for this week but I've been there in spirit.

I completed the final row of the Reverse Rainbow Starburst in blues, and I love the transition from dark blue to teal to light blue. It may be my favorite row.

I had a couple of starts and stops on a choice of color for the borders. My husband helped me finally decide on blue and white to frame it. I added a final border of Draw Near Paint Pallette by Quilting Treasures, which is one of my favorite fabrics - I love the little paint boxes and color names.

The quilt top is complete! Today I will piece a quilt back and then decide on using white or a color for the binding. Can't believe it is already Wednesday!

Reverse Rainbow Starburst Progress - Sweet 16 QAL 2015

For me, a quilt-along is either a great incentive to finish a project or a big fat guilt-inducer. In this case I am enjoying the process and looking forward to the completion of my quilt for the Sweet 16 Quiltalong 2015 on Sarah's blog.

My choice of a 16-patch pattern is adapted from the 25-patch reverse rainbow featured in this tutorial.

The saw-toothed stars are randomly placed; I placed one to span two of the color blocks. I like it so much that I will also do that on the last row.

I have completed three out of the four rows, which are as follows:

• Top Row = Purple, Magenta/Hot Pink, Light Pink
• 2nd Row = Red, Coral, Orange
• 3rd Row = Dark Green, Light Green, Yellow
• 4th (and last) Row will be shades of Dark Blue, Teal, and Light Blue

I have started choosing fabrics for the blue row. Whether or not to add a border is still up in the air, but I am certain that I will not add sashing, as I love the intensity of the colors without separation.

Katy just wishes I would hurry up and clear off her favorite sleeping spot.

Reverse Rainbow Starburst - Sweet Sixteen Quiltalong 2015

After some trial and error, I was able to complete my first block for a Reverse Rainbow Starburst which I am making as a 16-patch for Sarah's Sweet Sixteen Quilt-along.

Flutter Kat's reverse rainbow starburst quiltMy searches for 16-patch patterns kept turning up a 25-patch tutorial for the Reverse Rainbow Starburst. The photo sold me so decided to convert it to a 16-patch.


The tutorial for Reverse Rainbow Starburst is on the blog of Kat at Flutter Kat. She shows how to do wonky sawtooth stars which are randomly placed on each block, but I chose to stitch a uniformly shaped star. Although I adore Kat's quilt,"wonky" is not my thing.

I had hoped to use only scraps, but I didn't have enough in the 2-1/2 inch size I need so I supplemented with a few fat quarters and charms. My scrap organization revealed that I don't have the "tubs of scraps" that more prolific quilters have, but I have my tubs ready to accumulate more scraps.

Katy assumed I laid the squares out for her pleasure.
The first block is deep purples and my next block is deep pinks. I can't wait to finish this one!