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Free quilt pattern: Radiant Star 36
Quilting is not confined to one continent. It is a passion that circles the globe! APQS dealer Lyn Crump lives in Queensland, Australia, where she has enjoyed piecing quilts for over 16 years. Very early in her quilting journey Lyn realized she preferred to make subtle changes to commercial patterns to make them “her own.” It didn’t take long before she abandoned published patterns completely. Through inspiration from local and international classes and the Internet, she began creating her own original designs. Lyn commented, “I am inspired by the colours of fabric, clothes, nature and a desire to present originality in my quilts.”
In 2004, one of those tutors opened her eyes to machine quilting; in 2008 she purchased a an APQS longarm machine and never looked back! Said Lyn, “Something in the quilting process sings to my imagination. I never really know what I am quilting for the whole quilt when I put it on my frame. I let the top, fabric and piecing lead my thoughts and I quilt along to the music the quilt makes, with my machine.”
It comes as no surprise that her enthusiasm would eventually translate into a very successful career as a competitive quilter. Lyn has garnered numerous ribbons and awards for her unique, original designs, including “Best Machine Quilting,” the “Excellence in Machine Quilting” award and the Bernina Best of Show Award. Lyn’s quilts showcase her eye for color and design, which has landed her work in publications such as Quilt Magic, Down Under Quilts, and Australian Patchwork and Quilting magazines.
The quilt pattern that she has generously shared with us highlights her eye for detail – not only through the fussy cutting techniques that focus on special fabric elements, but also through the dynamic quilting designs that accentuate the quilt’s strong angles and points.
Lyn used her APQS Millennium to stitch another “star point” in the four corner background pieces, and then quilted clever echoes and fill designs around each one to highlight it. To illustrate what an impact the quilting has on the final project, Lyn left one triangle unquilted to show how the quilting can dramatically change the quilt’s look, bringing it to life!
To more clearly separate the pieced star from the quilted elements, Lyn marked an S curve using a stencil, then filled in the curve with freehand feathers.
If you’ve never tried “fussy cutting” before, Lyn’s pattern provides clear instructions for using template plastic to audition your fabric and help you find the design elements that you’d like to repeat in the center as well as in the diamonds of the star. She chose to use leftover half-square triangles to add some pizzazz around the star as an extra border, but you can also add a plain border and have more room for quilting your own designs!
