The first time I saw Modern Handcraft's curated bundle for Robert Kaufman I fell in love... like deep in love. The fat quarters in this bundle are my colors. I love them all together! Immediately when I saw this bundle I knew I wanted to make it into a Northwest Star Quilt.
It just so happens the Northwest Star Quilt is a fat quarter quilt pattern so this is the perfect bundle for a very fun pattern.
Get your copy of the Northwest Star Quilt here.
The Bundle
This bundle is curated by Modern Handcraft for Robert Kaufman Fabrics. I love their curated bundles and have bought several in the past. It's fun to see the colors other designers put together into a bundle.
You can find the bundle I used here.
This particular bundle has 20 fat quarters. The colors all go together so well, but this quilt is a large throw size which means I only need 15 fat quarters. It was hard to narrow down which fabrics to pull out and put to the side.
Curated bundles are a great option for those of us who are color challenged and struggle with putting fabrics together. If this is you, then look for patterns that are fat quarter friendly and buy already coordinated bundles. This is how I choose a lot of the fabrics for my quilts.
If you are new to quilting, a fat quarter is a piece of fabric that measures 18 in. x 21 in. This is a common measurement and it's very easy to find these cuts of fabrics in stores. Most fabric stores will also cut one upon request.
You can see the final 15 fat quarters I chose in the image below.
Northwest Star Pattern
The Northwest Star Pattern is such a fun, modern pattern. As of writing this I have made 4 different versions of this pattern and have 2 more waiting to be made. I can't stop!Why do I love it so much? Well for one, it's not hard. The pattern is written for the advanced beginner quilter. The hardest piecing in this pattern is probably the flying geese blocks. If you have never sewn flying geese before then I have a tutorial for you here to get some practice.
I find the most challenging part with flying geese is the trimming. My solution to this is the Wing Clipper Ruler. I absolutely love this ruler. Most rulers for trimming flying geese only trim one size of block. This trims multiple. This is one of my top 3 favorite rulers!
If you don't know what strip piecing is, it's when the pattern calls for several pieces of fabric to be sewn together and then cut into units, instead of small pieces sewn together individually. This saves times.
It's important with the strip piecing in this quilt to know how to use a scant 1/4 inch seam. If you don't your strips won't measure the correct width. So I suggest sewing a practice unit to make sure your seams are consistent and your needle is in the right spot before starting with your quilt.
The Northwest Star Quilt Pattern has 5 sizes! I wanted to make sure and include most of the sizes people would want:
- Baby 36 in. x 36 in.
- Small Throw 48 in. x 60 in.
- Large Throw 60 in. x 72 in.
- Twin 72 in. x 96 in.
- Queen 96 in. x 108 in.
I also included a coloring sheet so you can mock up your own before you start cutting and sewing.
This Quilt
I was so excited to see this quilt come together I really didn't take enough photos of the process. I had been looking forward to sewing with this bundle for so long that when it came time to use it I just couldn't stop sewing.I ordered some of my current favorite fabric for the backing. I love the Starry line from Ruby Star Society. It's getting harder and harder to find certain colors. But I especially love it for backings because it isn't directional or have a print that really needs to be lined up to look good when you piece the back. I think I have used this fabric on three backings now and as the background fabric on my twin size Northwest Star Quilt.
Here is a link to some Starry Fabric.
My colorblind son and I (also colorblind) tried to choose the color of background we thought went best with the quilt colors. LOL! I think we did pretty good, but what do we know?
I sent this quilt out to be quilted by Kaitlyn from Knot and Thread Design. She does all of my quilts and is wonderful! She helps me choose the design because usually I can't decide.
The panto we chose is called Light City of Fountains.
I mean?!? I am just in love with this quilt. The colors remind me of a sunset. When I was thinking of a name for the pattern I thought of the Pacific Northwest and all the beautiful sunsets over the mountains. I grew up in the Northwest and live there when I am in the US. So the Northwest Star seemed like a perfect name.
I thought about using the extra fat quarters from the bundle as the binding. But I really didn't want anything to distract from the quilt. So I went to my local quilt shop and found Pickle by Essex Linen which is one of the fabrics in the quilt. I love this color! It's a perfect pop of color for the edge of the quilt.
Make sure to share your version with me!
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