For my first finish of 2014, I present to you Giant
Snowburst. This quilt started back in 2011 when I was smitten with the fabric
line Flurry by Kate Spain. I made several table runners and gift bags from it,
but also squirreled away the light blue and green colorways for a quilt, even
though I did not have a pattern selected at the time.
Fast-forward to 2013. Canoe Ridge Creations
announced a Giant Starburst Quilt Along and I immediately thought of my
precious Flurry stash. I pulled it out, and lo and behold, I had more than enough
yardage (not to mention precuts and fat quarters). I also had a stack of In
From the Cold (also by Kate Spain) on hand for gift bags. After playing around
for a bit, I settled on mostly Flurry prints with one coordinating In From the
Cold Print. For the solids I used Kona Snow and a Moda Bella solid in a
coordinating blue.
In a stroke of luck, the construction instructions
were posted just before the Seattle Modern Quilt Guild’s Sew-In and Holiday
Party. That day I pressed, cut and sewed all the blocks. (There are only nine
of them, but they are large.) Then
the holidays were upon us, and I only managed a seam here and a seam there. When
the new year came, writing up my Work In Progress Round-Up post inspired me to
finish the top and start quilting.
Using blue tape, a hera marker and the seams of the
quilt itself as guidelines, I quilted a giant ‘x’ through the middle of the quilt
and then echo quilted every half inch. Let me tell you, this kind of quilting
takes quite a bit of thread, but it is more than worth it! At 60” by 60”, this
quilt is the perfect size for curling up on the couch when it’s too cold to
venture outside.
