Stars in the Technicolor Galaxy...

I know that you can scarcely believe it, but this master procrastinator has stayed on task for two months in a row with the Technicolor Galaxy BOM!  Block #2 was a big task and I've actually held off quilting them all until next month when there are only 4 blocks to complete and the load is a bit lighter.

This month covered all twelve Star Point blocks that surround the Color Wheel.  Each block is foundation paper pieced and has 14 different pieces.  They were very easy to assemble but it was keeping track of the progression of color around the wheel that was the tricky part.  I pretty much kept the Color Wheel splayed out on the floor at all times and each time I completed a piece, I laid it out where it will eventually be sewn into place.

Since I consider myself to be fairly proficient in paper piecing at this point, there wasn't too much technique that was new EXCEPT for the materials that I used.  Until this point, I've only used regular copier paper.  The templates that I purchased along with the class included wash away foundation pieces.  They feel a bit like iron-on interfacing and have the patterns printed directly onto them.  They are supposed to wash out completely the first time that you launder the finished quilt.  I really liked how I could apply my fabric directly onto the foundation pieces and hold them securely with a swipe of washable glue stick instead of a myriad of pins.  Everything stayed so nice and flat!  It will be interesting to see the texture after the first washing!

But aren't the colors just gorgeous? I love how one blends right into the next and how the low volumes of the background add extra interest without taking away from the brightness of the colored star points.  Now it's onto Block #3 for April - piano keys!

Linking up:

A Preppy Baby...

After finishing the Hazel quilt, I still had one more baby quilt to make before a double baby shower in April.  I pulled similar rainbow-themed fabrics to make a Preppy the Whale quilt and at the last guild meeting before the retreat weekend, I cut out all the pieces so that once I got to retreat, I could jump right into sewing.

At the end of the first day of the retreat, I had the entire top completed!  I adjusted the Oh Fransson pattern to make a similar size to the Hazel quilt.  To do this, I paired it down to 2 columns and only 6 rows and bumped up the width of the horizontal and vertical sashing.  Just those 12 blocks took a decent amount of uninterrupted sewing time, so I'm impressed by the makers who have done the larger sized tops requiring 30+ whales!

I like the softer rainbow colors - just enough yellows, pink, and purple to balance out all the cooler tones and still just right for a baby boy.

I pretty much repeated the loopy meander that I used when quilting the Hazel top and backed it in the same blue flannel.  The good news is that the quilting went even faster this time around and I would have finished it completely in just a few hours if I hadn't run out of white thread with only a handful of space left to quilt.  So I must be making progress!  Still have to work on keeping my stitches consistent, but it's become a much less scary process for me.

So both of these quilts are ready to be gifted and I hope that they bring some comfort and brightness to some sweet spring baby boys :)  Don't they look adorable together?