Bright Sky QAL

Yay, it's my turn to share my Bright Sky quilt with you guys! Let me just say this quilt goes together fast!! I probably spent more time picking out the fabrics and choosing placement then the actual piecing. Ha!

 

This week of the QAL, Alyce of Blossom Heart Quilts (BHQ), is talking about tips on making the outer star. I will have to agree that anytime you sew on the bias you deal with a lot of stretch. I decided to do Option B cutting with having the bias on the seams. It worked out just fine and basting went very smoothly. I would recommend trimming up your blocks before piecing the quilt. I had a one or two points get a little lost. Pinning and starch also helps with any excessive stretch.

I decided to use the lovely Rustique collection by Emily Herrick for Michael Miller. I fell in love with the deers in this print and the beautiful, bight colors that give it a modern fall feel. The background is Olive Essex Linen which is really hard to find but is this weird (in a good way) silvery/grey with a little subtle olive green. I wish I had more! It's a nice change from the Essex black or linen and plays well with the other vibrant colors.

So, last week, Alyce challenged everyone to add something extra for the center square. Luckily, I was one step ahead and was thinking the same thing! I almost went with a paper pieced star but really loved the deers in the fabric and took inspiration from Emily's awesome pattern, Big Game, so I decided to add a raw appliqued deer head. It's pretty subtle, I hope. ;) I just found an image on the internet that I liked and enlarged it. I did adjust the antlers a bit as well to my taste and raw edge appliqued it on with pink thread. I did 4 overlapping stitches so I know that bad boy won't come off! I washed it right after the photoshoot and it fluffed and frayed up nicely.

I'm pretty sure all the mom's at the park thought I was weird taking pictures of a quilt but at least I brought the kids and Mr. Relish with me...so I can make sure we look crazy as a family! They are my quilty beard, after all. Hehe!!

For the quilting I just did a some stippling with flowers/butterflies thrown in. This was fun to quilt up!

I am so glad Alyce invited me to participate in this fun QAL! Thanks Alyce!!! Be sure to check out all the other bloggers sharing their version of the Bright Sky QAL during the Wednesday blog hop posts! Last week it was Molli Sparkles and then Ms Midge next week! That's a pretty awesome sandwich I'm in between. ;)

• Monday 29th September – Choosing Fabrics Tips at BHQ
• Wednesday 8th October – Molli Sparkles
• Wednesday 15th October – My Fabric Relish
• Wednesday 22nd October – Ms Midge
• Monday 27th October – Pretty Bobbins free motion quilting guest post here at BHQ
• Wednesday 29th October – A Stitch In Between (Bright Sky mini)
• Monday 3rd November – Elven Garden Quilts free motion quilting guest post here at BHQ
• Monday 10th November – Final link-up opens at BHQ for a week

Oh, and of course there's lots of prizes! Be sure to see all the goodies you have the chance to win at Blossom Heart Quilts! And, if you are on Instagram (I'm myfabricrelish) be sure to tag your progress with #brightskyquilt!

Lastly, I want to share more details about my quilt label that I shared on IG the other day....

Ok, guys, this stuff is cool. You know those labels on the back of Levi jeans? Well you can actually buy it. It's called KraftTex and it magically washes up and behaves a little like leather! There is also a fun new book out to give you some inspiration for uses, KraftTex Style. Here is my Pinterest board for other ideas.

Thanks again for the visit! If you are new here, I would love to have you back! Have a great week!!

- Melissa