Welcome to the tenth annual Quilt Along here at mmmquilts! Once again, this free Quilt Along kicks off today, on my birthday, and ends on June 15, what was the birthday of one 'famous Canadian', my dad. I am so glad you are here, reading this post, and I hope that you will join in. This year's quilt along features a smaller quilt, and, as usual, the pace is nice and slow, so it's easily worked in with your regular quilting projects.
The name for this quilt took a bit of research. I wanted a star-related name, but something that wasn’t already in use, and something that was simple but catchy. I do love that it is starting on the third day of the Artemis II mission and that there is a Canadian astronaut on board. That led me to finding the lyrics to Chris Hadfield and the Barenaked Ladies’ song, I.S.S. (Is Somebody Singing) recorded when he was on the I.S.S. (International Space Station). Sadly nothing jumped out at me there. However, in looking up constellations, and nebulas, and lots of astronomy terms, I learned what a protostar is, (very nearly used that name) a very young star, still in formation, in the process of gathering mass from its parent molecular cloud. I like that, and may come back to it, but this quilt is a cluster of stars, layered upon each other. So when I was looking at constellations, I saw Lyra, the harp, which lies in the northern sky (yay north, apologies my southern friends) and the connection to music, especially the harp’s link to the piano, did it. That and the fact that I love that name, Lyra. Lyra also contains Vega, which I’m sure you’ve heard of, the second brightest star in the northern hemisphere, fifth brightest overall.
I remember hearing about Lyra when I’ve attended the Dark Nights events at Point Pelee National Park where the Windsor Astronomical Society comes with their big telescopes and we stargaze, planet-gaze, and learn how truly insignificant we are and how marvelous and incomprehensible the universe is. Would you believe this constellation was first catalogued in the second century?! By Ptolemy. Stars and space fascinate me, more than just in quilts!
The quilt will get its own post on Saturday, but here it is so you can start thinking and perusing your stash.
There are four blocks connected with wide sashing. The quilt measure 40½” square, so either a baby quilt or small lap quilt, aka boomer blankie as my friend Rose calls these! Look for two backgrounds; mine are the white with grey outlined flowers and the small orange floral. The centre star is the same fabric as the border, or make it a completely solo pop of colour, and the two stars within the blocks need two colours. Mine are coral and lime green. Thus, five fabrics in total. Each one is roughly ½ yard with the white being a little more. I’ll be back next Friday with the exact requirements.
Questions!
1. Are there prizes?
Nope. Last year I cut back and this year I am not doing any! I also hope you’ll use your stash (let’s cut back on consumerism) and not purchase any fabric if possible, but if you do not have a healthy stash, then feel free!
2. Does my quilt have to be quilted to qualify for the parade of quilts?
Nope. A finished top is just fine! However, I do hope you can finish it, as I certainly don’t want to contribute to more forlorn tops.
3. Why these particular dates?
I am honouring my dad, whose birthday was June 15. He would’ve been 100 this year. The first QAL, Freefall, started in the spring and just happened to end on June 15 the way I’d set up the schedule, so I decided in subsequent QALs, to start on my birthday, April 3, which is in spring, and end as always on his. Dad always would joke about June 15 being an auspicious day because it was the birthday of a ‘famous Canadian’ - himself! He would surreptitiously write on the calendar every year that very phrase on his date. We four kids loved this, though my mum would just roll her eyes, though I think she got a little kick out of it. My sister found this amongst my mum’s stuff when they were cleaning out her house after she’d passed away.
He instilled in us a profound love of and pride in being Canadian. So this daughter of that famous Canadian likes to remember her dad in this way, and I know he’d be tickled.
4. Is this a beginner-friendly pattern?
It has got a couple of challenging shapes, for sure, though I will give you tips and templates when it comes to making those units. If you havevrulers such as the Tri Recs or Wonder Triangles by Marti Michell that will be a great help. More when it comes to those units.
Here is the schedule for this year:
April 3 - QAL Kick-off
April 10 - Fabric requirements
April 17 - Cutting
April 24 - Square in a Square units
May 1 - Green star points
May 8 - HRT star points
May 15 - Quilt top assembly
I’ll update this with links as we progress. See you next Friday for the fabric requirements. Or tomorrow for the post on my Lyra quilt! I do hope you’ll join in; we have a wonderful group, many of whom have been with me all ten years. I love that, and truly feel humble that so many of you come back again and again… which brings me to the other meaning in this quilt - the closeness that quilting together brings, and how we each shine as we create little pieces of joy in our own corners of this planet.
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