Sunday, September 27, 2009

Bernina Stash Dash Quilt!!!!!


It was quite the challenge to come up with ideas for this quilt. When I recieved it, I knew that it would be seen by dozens, if not hundreds of people. The pressure was on to "get it right!" The local Bernina store (http://www.berninaworldofsewing.com/) along with 8 other shops, participates each fall in the Heart of Carolina Stash Dash. Quilters who have signed up for Stash Dash & recieved their passports, must try to visit each store within the 3 day time period of the event. There are all kinds of goodies, door prizes, and extra specials at each quilt store just for Stash Dash. The goal is to make it to all the stores within the 3 day time table, because then the quilter qualifies for grand prizes which include sewing machines, cutting center kits, large fabric packets...things that make quilters drool. Anyhow...I knew that my work would be seen by all these quilters and knew that I needed to come up with quilting designs that were unique and eye-catching and appropriate for the overall design of the quilt. I was overwhelmed when I first saw all the applique, fancy center star which was floating in a large background space, and set in blocks on all the corners. I sketched...and sketched...and sketched some more....until I had some firm plans for the borders. At that point I still had no idea what on earth I would do in the center star...but that's another blog entry. Slowly but surely, the creative juices starting flowing, and I was able to come up with the perfect designs as I took this quilting adventure one step at a time. Stay tuned! There's a lot more of where this came from!


I love how this feather pattern ended up "peeking out" of the blocks. This little sunburst was the perfect design for putting in the 4 small stars at the corners of the main center star. They radiate, and stretch outwards like the center star does. They were also easy to make small enough to fit nicely in the small 2"x 2" space. These were the last part I did on the quilt. I couldn't think of the right design for quilting within the small centers of these 4 stars...so I just left them and went ahead and quilted the entire rest of the quilt. When I realized I was completely done with the job, except for those stars, I still didn't know what I should do. I was almost done....and it was getting later, and later at night...all's I had left were these little stars! I didn't want to leave them to do in the morning...SUDDENLY...I had a breakthrough...the lightbulb finally went off and I was able to go to bed with a challenging quilt job behind me...aaaaaah.








1 comment:

LindaS said...

Lovely stitching and quilt!