It's Thanksgiving here in the US. This quilt combines stars and hearts and family mementos, so by way of giving thanks for brightness and love, here is its story.
This quilt came to me for minor repairs. I find it very well balanced and visually pleasing. The blocks are 25" square, so the overall effect is quite strong and graphic, but is balanced by the soft pink sashing and scrappy piecing of the stars.
One black plaid fabric was weak and worn throughout the quilt. Another fabric was totally missing from two places, not even a shred left to help understand what to patch with. I found replacement fabrics that blended in, while giving some contrast to the fabrics directly on either side. As I auditioned fabrics, I realized that the quilter had been pretty careful to not put similar fabrics as neighbors.
The pattern is called String Star. A "new" fabric was made with strips of scrap fabric for each star point. The diamond template was laid on that and then cut out. These long, narrow strips of fabric are often the left overs from clothing construction. When she bought the quilt, the owner was told that the stars were pieced with scraps from the dresses of the women and girls in just one family! That's inspiration for a great family memory quilt, isn't it?
The quilting is notable. There are hearts in both the white corner squares of the blocks, and the white squares at the intersections of the sashing.
Sometimes, hearts on a quilt mean it was made for a wedding. Whether or not that's true in this case, hearts are certainly a lovely sentiment!
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