Ring Around the Stars is Finished!

It was down to the wire, but I managed to finish "Ring Around the Stars," my entry for the East Cobb Quilt Guild's Ruby Challenge celebrating the 40th anniversary of the guild.

Ring Around the Stars, 55" square

Getting good outdoor photos was a challenge thanks to breezy conditions plus occasional appearances by the sun. 

It's difficult to see the quilting in many places. The stars were stitched in the ditch with white thread, and all the other quilting was done in red thread. I haven't washed the quilt yet and hope that the quilting will show up better after that happens.

The back of the quilt features a pieced strip showing all 40 fabrics used for the quilt top. One of the rules for the challenge was to include 40 of something--40 blocks, 40 flying geese, 40 fabrics, etc.

I was surprised by how well the quilting shows on the back from a distance. That certainly wasn't true up close, with the red quilting thread becoming almost invisible on the busy backing fabric.

This is one of the better views of the quilting. The curved lines that go from star to star were marked with chalk, but the rest of the quilting was all done freehand. Feathers everywhere!

Finishing this quilt was also my One Monthly Goal for January. Success at my first OMG of the year sure feels good!

The guild meetings featuring the challenge quilts are Thursday night and Friday morning. Afterwards, all guild members will get to vote on-line for their favorites. I believe there are going to be over 100 entries (from a guild with around 300 members.) That statement was incorrect--there were a total of 19 entries. I can't wait to see everyone's interpretation of the theme. We also get to find out the theme for next year's challenge. Hopefully I won't wait until November to start on that one!

Updated Saturday, 1/28/2023--my entry got an honorable mention in the challenge voting. You can see all the entries HERE.

Linking up with:

Midweek Makers at Quilt Fabrication

Wednesday Wait Loss at Inquiring Quilter

Needle and Thread Thursday at My Quilt Infatuation

Finished or Not Friday at Alycia Quilts

Can I Get a Whoop Whoop at Confessions of a Fabric Addict

Peacock Party at Wendy's Quilts and More

Oh Scrap! at Quilting is more fun than Housework

One Monthly Goal at Elm Street Quilts

Happy quilting everyone!

Julie in GA