Interstellar Storm

Chain piecing the cornerstone blocks with Podrick

In early June, I went to my first quilt retreat with my guild. Since I'm a Type A overplanner, I spent the the week prior prepping my main project: cutting every single piece for my Storm at Sea quilt. I had purchased Creative Grids' Storm at Sea ruler several months earlier, made two blocks, and let them collect dust. I don't think I would have had the discipline to make this quilt if I hadn't been driven out into the middle of nowhere Texas, locked in a building with my sewing machine and perfectly precut pieces, and fed copious amounts of sugary junk food and beer. It basically was the perfect storm of conditions. See what I did there?

Over the course of the next 3 days, the only project I worked on was piecing this queen-sized monster for my bed. There were plenty of breaks to chow down, socialize, a group experiment with a mason jar of 100 proof moonshine, an impromptu excursion to a LQS (where I picked up the fabric for my borders and my backing), and generally shoot the shit. 

Debbie documented my progress

The process was made infinitely easier thanks to the giant design walls the retreat center had. Having 23 other guild mates around also helped keep motivation high. I have a speedy reputation to defend! I was able to get all the blocks assembled before we had to leave Sunday afternoon, so the borders had to wait until I got home.

This is officially  the biggest quilt I've made

The actual fabrics were an assortment of blue and low volume scraps and fussy cuts. A majority of the blue prints are by Lizzy House (Castle Peeps, Constellations, 1001 Peeps, Natural History, Pearl Bracelets, Mini Pearl Bracelets, Butterflies). There were plenty of others though including a few Munki Munki fussy cuts, Japanese prints, Cotton + Steel, and more. I primarily looked for prints featuring moons, stars, bunnies, or cute critters. 

A Munki Munki scrap I've been hoarding fit right in

I used Dream Wool batting from Quilter's Dream for the second time, and I'm very pleased with the finished product. It drapes wonderfully and always seems to be the perfect temperature at night. I would have liked to do custom quilting but I lack the skill and patience for something so big. Finished is better than perfect in my book.

Name: Interstellar Storm
Size: 93" x 93"
Fabric: Assorted blue and low volume prints
Pattern: Storm at Sea
Quilting: Basic stipple
Completed: June 24, 2015