Mark & Heidi's Wedding Ring

 It's time for the big reveal...

Last June, I invited my nephew Mark and his fiancee Heidi to a quilt design consultation party. We looked at patterns and took a field trip to the LQS. We didn't find the focus fabric we were looking for, so we jumped online and found Kate Spain's Sunnyside line. Heidi wanted blues, and Mark wanted a bit of orange (note the Syracuse hat). I happened to have a mini charm pack of Sunnyside in my stash, and we decided on the main print from that 2.5" square!

Quite a few of the other prints in the quilt are from Sunnyside, but I needed to add in more blues for the gradation. I think I traveled to five or six quilt shops until I was happy with the fabrics.

If you've visited my blog before, you know I love paper piecing. Judy Neimeyer's patterns just make me happy! I love her methodical process and perfect patterns. This was my third time making a wedding ring star and I just love it. 

It's hard for me to complete a pattern without making some modifications. This time, I designed a border to echo the curve of the rings and added some simple applique. It took some time and consultation with my friend Maria to figure out a process for adding the scalloped border with bias edging. (I love Maria! We speak the same quilting language.)

The backing fabric was Plan B. My first purchase was a white on white that was just boring. I love this more modern option. (If I find the receipt, I'll add a link to the shop.) Oh, the binding! I cut up a whole yard of fabric into 2.25" strips. Overkill. I have extra, so you'll be seeing it again! I spent a few nights on the couch watching listening to TV while I hand stitched.

I'll step back and let the machine quilting by Pat Harrison speak for itself...

The queen size bed in Pete's room is dwarfed by this massive quilt.

My brother put me in this photo for scale! The portable quilt rack is just barely big enough. We had to bring it out on the deck for photos because our ceilings aren't high enough.

Mark & Heidi's Wedding Ring

Started June 2014

Completed April 2015

Working Time: 140 hours

Size: 112" square

Machine pieced and hand appliqued by Tina Craig, Seaside Stitches

Professionally machine quilted by Pat Harrison, Ocean Waves Quilting Co.

Bali Wedding Star Pattern by Judy Neimeyer, Quiltworx

Original border design by Tina Craig

Process blog posts:

Fabric selection

Block 1 and mockup

Piecing Arcs

Progress

Melons

Piecing done

Border applique

Top done

Binding

Awards:
Ninigret Quilters, October 2015:
Best Large Pieced Quilt
NQA Certified Judges Ribbon
Vendor Choice-Bob's Featherweights

Narragansett Bay Quilters Association, April 2016:
Best of Show
1st Place Exemplary Machine Quilting- Track
1st Place Exemplary Use of Color
2nd Place Exemplary Piecing