Polaris

I went through a phase a few years ago where I was completely obsessed with star quilts, so naturally when I saw the pattern Faded by Brigitte Heitland of Zen Chic, I was intrigued. It was a star quilt, but modern, and the sample was made using her lovely fabrics.

However, when I went through my fabric collection, I found something else I decided to use instead ... a collection I picked up from my local quilt shop (back when it existed) that I didn't know the name of. It had lovely greens and blues with whites, and mixed with a near-solid black, I knew it'd be perfect for this quilt.

Since the pattern is basically half-square triangles, this was a super easy quilt to put together. What made it so fun was the pattern itself, as it's called Faded, so parts of the star "faded" away in random locations, making it look like it's missing pieces.

With blocks like these that are "missing" sections, I always like to use the quilting to give those sections back. I used a similar quilting technique in Dawn Star that I finished earlier this year.

This is a really special quilt to me and I wanted to put in the work, so I filled the background of the stars with swirls, but since I'm using a darker thread to match the background, I absolutely kept the quilting minimal on the foreground blocks, as I've never liked the look of dark thread on lighter fabrics.

Half of this quilt is negative space, so I decided to draw a big intricate star, and then surround it with wavy lines. I named this quilt Polaris because the star I drew reminded me a bit of the North Star.

And wow, I love this quilt! I already named a favorite for the year (Star-Crossed) but I'm starting to wonder if this quilt is a close second place.