Starbursting with Fun

Pinterest Inspiration

Pinterest is so addicting and filled with inspiration.  So when I was ready to create my next art quilt, I turned to my Pinterest boards for inspiration and while there were several contenders...this image spoke to me.  I just loved the colorful explosion.  First up was to select fabrics for the various wedges, and so I turned to my handy dandy boxes of 2.5" and 5" scrap squares.  I selected a fun assortment of colors that had radiance, glow and magic...and got to work fusing 2.25" squares of fusible on the reverse side and in one night had this fun palette ready to create.

Fabric Palette

Vortex Background and Planning

And there they sat for a full week, as they looked so pretty and I was unsure how to proceed.  Well, a recent sew day with friends provided the perfect opportunity to start cutting and creating my sunburst quilt.

Fused vortex

I selected a dark background and chalked a vortex of lines to help guide the wedges to create that outward explosion.  Then I just created wedges out of the various colors and went to work laying them out to create interest.  I probably added 2-3 wedges of each of the fabrics in my palette and tried to distribute all fabrics and colors equally around the center of the vortex.  I just added layers of color until I went through the entire color wheel and did minor tweaking at the very end.

The Leftover Scraps

After fusing the wedges down, there were a bunch of scraps left over.  So what's a rational person to do with tiny scraps?  Well pull out more background pieces and make more Starburst mini quilts!  So I started playing with different color backgrounds, where to center the vortex and even color range.  And I just kept working until I used almost all the scraps.

And by the end of the night, I had 6 mini Starburst quilts...yes 6!  They really were addicting.

Fused Starburst Quilts

All the mini quilts have been layered with backing and starry fabric backings...and now await quilting.  Here is the first completed quilt in the series...

To me its a colorful version of when the Millenium Falcon goes to hyperdrive in Star Wars.  So I asked Doug to borrow one of his lego creations for this fun shot that blends our two loves together!

May the free motion quilting force be with me as I finished the remaining five mini quilts in this series!