milky way

If it's June, then it must be patriotic quilt time! Meet Milky Way by Joanna Figueroa of Fig Tree Quilts.

I often like to piece with fabrics that match the seasons, and in the hot summer months I think of red, white and blue. I also like overblown garden florals. (No pumpkins for me in June. They need to wait for their turn in September!) My initial fabric pull is a Pam Kitty Morning assortment, but I'll also add in other fabrics as I progress. I had been searching for just the right Fourth of July quilt idea. That involved considering just about every pattern that I own. And then I remembered this quilt, and how Joanna calls the red, white and blue version "Firework." Perfect! The only problem was that I had been dreading all the bias edges. And there are a lot of them. So with starch, pins and about 5 hours, I got my first block.

After Instagraming this block (and whining about how making it almost killed me), I received some good advice from Joanna herself. She told me to remember to measure and cut carefully, handle the bias edges as little as possible, and that the only seams that really need to match are the perimeter of the center star. Ok, deep breath. I can do this. I am not a quilty quitter! I will beat the bias! On to the second block.

This one went together MUCH easier and even took less time. The center is just a smidge off but I think that I can live with it. And you know I'm not redoing it because those bias edges would just s  t  r  e  t  c  h. This block is 19" and I will also be making 14" and 9" blocks. I think that the smaller blocks should probably go together easier (and quicker, please!) now that I've got the method down. 

I ran out of the background fabric after just two blocks! It's from Pam Kitty Morning's "Love" collection last year. Now why did I use a discontinued fabric for my background?! I'm very happy that I found a seller on eBay with 7 yards. I bought all of it, and I can resume star making in a few days. My crazy self-imposed deadline is July 4!

Milky Way. Hummm. I love the Milky Way Dark candy bars. They aren't red, white, blue or floral but they are delicious. Wish I hadn't just thought of that...

Thanks for stopping by to visit with me today!