Indigo Stars Quilt

I have spent the heat of the summer, downstairs in the sewing room, where it is nice & cool.
We've had lots of rain here in Ohio...
wouldn't you know it,
 just because we DIDN'T put in a garden this year!
 ~insert rolled eyes~

So instead of being outside, watering & weeding, I've been SEWING!   

This quilt , that I'm calling "Oh My Indigo Stars!", just recently came back from the long arm quilter at The Ewe Tree.

Didn't she do a fantastic job on it?

I ♥♥♥ all her delicate feathering in the light spaces of the stars & the borders.

 


A peek at the back always shows off the quilting beautifully.
 I used a "cross" formation in piecing the backing fabrics...
something our church's "Prayer Quilt" ministry does regularly.
   

It is always a struggle for me to find a spot where the lighting will show off the quilting to its best advantage. 

I think this corner, near the sunroom windows, does it the best.

You can always see the quilting better on the back, without the distraction of the piecing.
Thank you, Janice, for doing such a wonderful job!
   


 I first saw this quilt on the Fons & Porter television program last year. 
The pattern is called "Indigo Stars" by Karen Witt & uses F&P's "Tri-Recs" ruler
(stands for Triangles & Rectangles) 
for cutting the isosceles* triangles. 

 *That is a triangle with just 2 equal sides, in case, like me, you've forgotten all your high school geometry.

I'm a gadget junky!
(just bought the Hex N More ruler from Polka-Dot Pincushion Quilt Shop)

 

Let me tell you, organization was the key

to completing this puppy!

The quilt block is named

"Fifty-Four Forty or Fight"

and was a way for women to express & voice their

opinions regarding a political issue of their day,

since they didn't yet have the right to vote.

(Can you even imagine???
Go HERE to read more on that subject)

Info from Answers.com says:

"The slogan refers to a dispute between the United States & Great Britain over Oregon Country, which an 1818 treaty allowed both nations to occupy. This was the territory that began at 42º north latitude (the southern boundary of present-day Oregon) & extended north to 54º 40 minutes north latitude (in present-day British Columbia). During the 1830s & early 1840s American expansionists insisted that U.S. rights to the Oregon Country extended north to latitude 54º 40 minutes, which was then the recognized southern boundary of Russian America (roughly present-day Alaska).

The 11th president of the United States, James K. Polk, used the slogan in his campaign.  Polk settled the dispute with Great Britain  & the boundary was set at 49º north, the northern boundary of what is today Washington State & the border between the United States & Canada. This agreement-reached without the fight threatened in the slogan-gave the United States the territory lying between 42º & 49º north latitude & Great Britain the territory between 49º & 54º 40 minutes north latitude as well as Vancouver Island. The United States' portion is present-day Washington, Oregon & Idaho as well as parts of Montana and Wyoming."

 There are 3 different shades of cream in this quilt. 
 It is the exact same block repeated over & over, but done in different colorways. 
The blocks with the darker blue star points become visually predominant & the ones with the cream points fade into the background.



I had little "stations" of each color combo set up beside my sewing machine, so as not to confuse them. 

The Tri-Recs ruler is engineered so that it has you cut off a little blunt tip, which aids in lining up the 2 side triangles perfectly every time. 

See those little squared off corners, below?

 


When you position the pieces, right sides together, if you make sure to have both fabrics line up on the top & side, as shown below, you are practically guaranteed that all your blocks will be the same size.

 Ta-Da!!! 

    

These are all of the dark blue star blocks.

I made just as many of the same block, using the cream colors.

   

When you alternate them, the rows will then form this sort of Irish chain effect, as a secondary pattern.



This was a challenging quilt to make...certainly the most intricate one I have done so far, but I enjoyed it immensely.

  It was like a giant puzzle & it went together beautifully.

I'm thinking about doing another one,
only in RED & TAN.

   I ♥ RED!

I had the quilt draped over the stairway railing for a the patriotic holidays, but have since blocked it, so it would lay perfectly flat.
To do that, you need to:    

Spread a clean flat sheet out to prevent your quilt top from picking up dust or hair.             

Spread the quilt top on top of the sheet.             

Pull and tug at the edges of the quilt until it is as flat as you can make it.             

Dampen the quilt top thoroughly using a spray bottle filled with water.             

Measure the sides of the quilt. If the quilt is a square, the sides should be equal, and if the quilt is a rectangle, the sides parallel to each other should be equal. This helps you see where the quilt needs to be adjusted.             

Tug or push in the areas where the quilt top needs to be adjusted. The water helps the fabric hold its shape.             

Pin down the edges of the quilt using T-pins, working from side to side. For example, if you pin down one spot on the quilt, get up and go to the other side of the quilt to pin the spot across from it.             

Leave the pins in place and allow the quilt top to dry.

 It is on still on top of the sheet, on the floor of the sewing room, waiting entry into our local quilt show.  The grandkidlets are forbidden to go near it until after the show!  LOL

 




I'm joining The Tablescaper for her Seasonal Sundays party as well as Susan's Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps on the Porch & Yvonne's StoneGable for Tutorials, Tips & Tidbits on Thursday.  Won't you follow me over there to see what other bloggers have been making?  Lots of wonderful inspiration available for FREE!

Thanks for stopping by The Gazebo House today.  I love it when you visit me.

fondly,

Rett