Among the many special exhibits at last week’s Northwest Quilting Expo (held in Portland, Oregon) was a small one called “Reach for the Stars” featuring quilts made using Minnesota quilter Terri Krysan’s design of the same name. The quilts were made by Portland quilters who had seen my version on display at the Pine Needle and wanted to make their own.
Here is Maxine’s bold and beautiful quilt in black, white, and blue:
Joie’s quilt is a vision in green and purple, one of my favorite color combinations:
Lana’s lovely quilt was made as a fundraiser for her grandson’s school (it sold for over $2000!):
The owners of the quilt graciously loaned it to Lana so it could be part of the special exhibit.
Andrea’s quilt was made from the same line of fabrics as Lana’s but with a more limited palette of blues and greens:
So serene! Did you notice the different border treatment? Andrea opted not to carry the checkerboard blocks to the outer borders so she put the unused ones on the back:
You can see some of the lovely motifs that longarmer Kazumi Peterson used.
Sharon R.’s scrappy checkerboard border cleverly pulls together all the colors used in her blocks:
Sharon S. used the bright colors in her butterfly focus fabric to great dramatic effect, then calmed it down with her earthy brown and black checkerboard border:
This is my version, also displayed in the exhibit:
Andrea was out of town during the quilt show but the remaining six of us gathered for group shots in front of each quilt. Here we are in front of Maxine’s:
Left to right: Sharon Schaper, Sharon Ripley, Joie Lattz, Maxine Borosund, Dawn White, and Lana Kamerer. With us in spirit: Andrea Hinderhofer.
These are all so lovely! It’s so much fun to see many quilts made from the same pattern and how different each one looks. Congratulations to all who finished their quilt from that stunning pattern.
Wow! Those are all so great! Thanks for sharing.
The Reach For The Stars quilts are all just beautiful. What is the measurement of yours, Dawn?
It’s a long queen — 84″ x 105″.
What a fun post! Must be a great feeling to see your quilts in a special exhibit.
I love seeing all the different color choices people make. Thanks for sharing.
These are fantastic! Every single one of them. I’m so glad you were able to collect all of the pictures and share it out to the blog world for us to enjoy. I don’t have much time to hop on social media much, and I really have a hard time to stop and leave any comments … but please know that I still follow your progress and projects each week and love seeing what’s going on!
Dawn or anyone who can answer…where is a pattern for this? I fell in love with a version but there is no title on it and yours is the closest to it. I would love to make this for my future daughter in law which I saw done in greys and tans which she would love. Can you help me?
Thank you,
Rita
Hi, Rita. The original design is by Terri Krysan of Lakeville, Minnesota. Directions appeared in seven consecutive issues of Quilter’s Newsletter Magazine, starting with Oct./Nov. 2013 and ending with Oct./Nov. 2014. The magazine is no longer being published but you might be able to find copies in your local library. Check quiltersnewsletter(dot)com to see if digital copies are still available. You might also contact your local quilt guilds to see if any members have kept back issues. Good luck!
Love the sampler look of this quilt but can’t find the pattern. Does anyone still have it? I can’t even find the back issues.
Becky, I think your best bet is to check your local library and/or quilt guild. Also, I just looked on etsy.com and see that the first of seven issues, Oct/Nov 2013, is available for $5. There are quite a few listings for QN so you might find some of the other issues too.
Do you sell patterns for these quilts? I really love the the blue and white quilt called blue giant; my granddaughter wants one like it. Thanks — Nancy Seward
Nancy, there is no pattern for Reach for the Stars, designed by Terri Krysan. Directions for the quilt appeared in seven consecutive issues of Quilters Newsletter magazine, Oct/Nov 2013 – Oct/Nov 2014.
I love the pieced border. I’m not going to be making the quilt but would like to add the border to a quilt I’m currently making. I’m perplexed on how to figure the number of units to make for a border. On a regular border, I would just divide the width and length of the center by the width of the border unit – like by 4 if my border was comprised of 4″ squares. But this unique border confuses me since it’s on point – what would the finished width of the units be?
Adele, if you take a 4″ block and set it on point, the width is 1.41 x the original measurement. So . . . 4″ x 1.41 = 5.64. I think you could safely round up to 5-3/4″ (5.75) for planning purposes knowing the final finished width of the units would be a skosh smaller than that.
I have lost the page of the pattern that say how large is the framing piece for each block . I was in the navy and on our way to our forever home it got lost in shipping and i am trying to get it done . I would be so grateful for just that measurement . And then i can get mine done.
Wowza!! I loved seeing all of your beautiful quilts…they are stunning! I had no idea my quilt, Reach for the Stars, would have traveled so far and inspired so many talented women! Thank you, ya’ll made my day! ❤️
Hi Terri! I would love to know how many versions there are out there of Reach for the Stars. I am always on the lookout!