Magic Stars

You might remember back in August I sent two quilt tops to be quilted - one king size and one throw size.  I got them back, all quilted, late last week!  I immediately sat down and got them trimmed up and sewed the binding on both quilts, then I started turning it to the back and finishing it by hand.  I'm still working on the king size one, but I finished the throw size quilt!

I asked for 100% cotton batting for both quilts because I like the way it breathes, I like the way it feels, and I like what it does when you wash it.  Above, you can see a photo of the center of the quilt as it was when I got it back.  The quilting is visible, but it's still pretty smooth.  You can't feel it in the photo, but it was kind of stiff and didn't have very much drape.

After washing, the quilting has much more depth, the stars in the pattern are much more visible, and the quilt has amazing softness and drape.  This is because when you wash it the first time, the batting shrinks a tiny bit.  All of my fabrics were prewashed before I started piecing the top, and before I prepared the backings.  They had already done their shrinking, but when the batting shrinks, it pulls the fabrics along with it.  You get much more depth in the quilting and the whole hand of the quilt changes into something that wraps around you when pull it over you.

In this quilt, the stars being more visible was a happy surprise.  I had asked Sheryl (from Hedgehog Quilting) to use the Midnight Sparkle pattern to quilt both of these.  She had it but had never used it.  The stars are actually stitched twice, so they have a double layer of thread and stand out a bit from the swirling background.  Once the quilt was washed, they popped a little bit more.  I don't think they distract from the quilting or the different fabrics, they're just another layer on top of all the rest and I just love the way they add to the finished look!

I'm about halfway around the hand stitching on the king size quilt and hope to get it finished this week!