"Love, Cupid" - Knitted Star Quilt
I don't think I could ever make enough Knitted Star quilts. Since the pattern released in 2020, I've made 5 of them including one bed size version (which might be my favorite). You can read about my previous Knitted Star quilts here.
But out of all of my versions of this pattern, I have yet to make one with medium/large scale prints. A few of them have been smaller scale/blender kinds of fabric and given the size of the strips in the pattern, those fabrics tend to work really really well for this quilt. But I like to try new things and experiment with how different scenarios work with my patterns, and this quilt is the result of that!
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I didn't want to get too crazy with colors, so I stuck with kind of a neutral vibe with shades of burgundy and wine. I used 3 solids as sort of my "back-up plan" in case the prints were a little too busy; at least I'd have 3 blocks that looked okay within the quilt, haha. I used our Love, Cupid 8 piece fat quarter bundle from our shop and Kona White as the Background. We have kits for this quilt top in our shop!
A few things that I was initially unsure of with these fabrics was:
- how the lighter tones would look against a Kona White background; would there be enough contrast?
- how would the two striped patterns and the black and white floral look once sewn up into a block
- the fabric with the hearts has a really bright white background, so I was unsure how that would look with the quilt background as well
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While I am a strong believer that quilting is meant to be fun, it can be a little bit scary to start something unsure of how it's going to turn out! But I also believe that a huge part of being creative is trying new things and pushing the boundaries to see what happens. I think we grow and stretch the most when we operate outside of our little safe comfort zones. This wasn't my typical fabric pull, especially for a Knitted Star quilt, but although I was unsure of the outcome, I couldn't wait to see how it turned out!
My friend & Lo & Behold Community manager Kara pieced this quilt top beautifully for me. If you've ever made this quilt before, you know that seam precision is a necessary skill for this pattern. If you need tips/tricks, I have our Quilt Along blog posts saved here, so feel free to refer to them!
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We sent the finished quilt top to Sara of Stitch Lab Quilting. I actually met Sara in person at our first studio Open House back in April. She lives about 2 hours away in Charlotte, NC and at the time, I had a few quilts that I knew of that would need long-arm quilting. This quilt was one of them! She actually suggested this pantograph and I instantly fell in love with it. It's called Retrograde by Karlee Porter. Something about those oblong shapes feel festive and vintage. It turned out beautifully!
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I used Unruly Nature Kiss by Jen Hewett for Ruby Star Society. I've actually been holding onto this print for a while and it felt perfect for this project. The binding Is Bella Charcoal....it adds just a nice, darker frame to the quilt.
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So all in all.....am I happy with how this turned out- YES! I'm so glad I tried something new even though I wasn't sure how it'd turn out. I think everything works and adds a unique element to the quilt. The prints ended up being fine and the lighter fabrics are still visible, even on the stark white background. I actually like how some stars are more subtle than others. It adds a modern, sort of asymmetric vibe. :)
All this to say...take the risks! Try something new. You never know where it might take you. :)
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