Scarlet Stars with a Border

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I have been putting off quilting my Scarlet Stars mini quilt because it just didn't seem finished to me.  The pattern is a terrific one designed by Kim Diehl as a part of her Simple What Nots Club.  This is what I had when I finished the pattern:

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However, I felt that it needed something more–a border.  I had more of one of the red fabrics used in the blocks, so I cut three inch strips and added a border.  I think it completed the quilt, and I liked it much better with the addition.  The quilt now finishes at 21" square, and is the perfect size for a lamp table, or to place a plant or candle arrangement on top of.

After adding the border, I quilted it with a half inch cross hatch design.  I was worried that the quilting was too close together, but maybe there isn't any such thing. I saw in a You Tube tutorial by Jacquie Gehring that the closer your quilting lines the more forgiving they are.  It is counter intuitive, for sure, but it seems to be true.  I used my walking foot and checked my lines for half inch accuracy every four or five lines to even things up and it seemed to work great.  It came out satisfyingly straight.

I was very pleased with the result, and have added one more red and white quilt to my February decorating scheme.  Time to start planning some green projects for March, right?

 

48 responses to “Scarlet Stars with a Border”

  1. You are so right. It looks better! That is really a cute combo of blocks. Nice job!
    Mary

  2. You are so right. It looks better! That is really a cute combo of blocks. Nice job!
    Mary

  3. You are so right. It looks better! That is really a cute combo of blocks. Nice job!
    Mary

  4. I love your Scarlet Stars with the 3″ border too. I need to finish four big quilts and then I plan to make some more mini quilts for my tables too. Right now a Patriotic Table topper I made is on my Dining Room table.

  5. I love your Scarlet Stars with the 3″ border too. I need to finish four big quilts and then I plan to make some more mini quilts for my tables too. Right now a Patriotic Table topper I made is on my Dining Room table.

  6. I love your Scarlet Stars with the 3″ border too. I need to finish four big quilts and then I plan to make some more mini quilts for my tables too. Right now a Patriotic Table topper I made is on my Dining Room table.

  7. Very nice! The wide border really does finish the quilt beautifully. Love the heart runner you posted yesterday, too. You are well and truly ready for this month’s hearty celebrations.

  8. Very nice! The wide border really does finish the quilt beautifully. Love the heart runner you posted yesterday, too. You are well and truly ready for this month’s hearty celebrations.

  9. Very nice! The wide border really does finish the quilt beautifully. Love the heart runner you posted yesterday, too. You are well and truly ready for this month’s hearty celebrations.

  10. I agree that the additional border gave this delightful little quilt a more “finished” look. Well done!
    Hugs!

  11. I agree that the additional border gave this delightful little quilt a more “finished” look. Well done!
    Hugs!

  12. I agree that the additional border gave this delightful little quilt a more “finished” look. Well done!
    Hugs!

  13. ooohhhh, good advice about quilting lines closer together. I will try that. I have a baby quilt I’m going to baste and quilt this week. ;p

  14. ooohhhh, good advice about quilting lines closer together. I will try that. I have a baby quilt I’m going to baste and quilt this week. ;p

  15. ooohhhh, good advice about quilting lines closer together. I will try that. I have a baby quilt I’m going to baste and quilt this week. ;p

  16. I have several unfinished quilt tops that I can’t afford to send out to be quilted anymore. I plan to start trying cross-hatching with my walking foot. Seeing how nice your quilt top turned out with your grid quilting inspires me to try finishing more of my own, especially since I really like the look of grid quilting. Thanks.

  17. I have several unfinished quilt tops that I can’t afford to send out to be quilted anymore. I plan to start trying cross-hatching with my walking foot. Seeing how nice your quilt top turned out with your grid quilting inspires me to try finishing more of my own, especially since I really like the look of grid quilting. Thanks.

  18. I have several unfinished quilt tops that I can’t afford to send out to be quilted anymore. I plan to start trying cross-hatching with my walking foot. Seeing how nice your quilt top turned out with your grid quilting inspires me to try finishing more of my own, especially since I really like the look of grid quilting. Thanks.

  19. Love the little quilt and it does look better with a nice wide border on it. I also liked the hearts runner on the previous post. I’ve also been doing cross hatch quilting here lately to finish up some small projects laying around. I love cross hatch and had forgotten how easy it is to quilt.

  20. Love the little quilt and it does look better with a nice wide border on it. I also liked the hearts runner on the previous post. I’ve also been doing cross hatch quilting here lately to finish up some small projects laying around. I love cross hatch and had forgotten how easy it is to quilt.

  21. Love the little quilt and it does look better with a nice wide border on it. I also liked the hearts runner on the previous post. I’ve also been doing cross hatch quilting here lately to finish up some small projects laying around. I love cross hatch and had forgotten how easy it is to quilt.