I am FINALLY able to post a progress report on my newest star quilt. I work best on a tight deadline and I desperately want this piece done before my engagement at Quilting in the Desert in less than two weeks. I also want it to accompany me to Dubai next month. I'm actually going to make that deadline! I was working on it for a couple hours this morning, took a break and came back to my room and was captivated by how pretty it looked sitting in my machine so I took photos from my point of view. I love the little circles. I put in some baby clamshells and have beaded them with little gold beads. There are four of these corners and I am filling them with tight echoing and baby feathers. I am just starting a round feather wreath that will go around the entire outside of the piece tucking underneath the linen corners. This is being done with a very heavy silk thread. Obviously this piece is still in it's awkward "puberty stage" but I am VERY happy with how she is turning out. When I was going thru the photo folder I came across these beginning pictures and wanted to share. This is when I was just getting The Ultimate Stencil project going and learning what it could do. I laid the stencil down in the middle of my piece.. marked the lines that I needed and drafted the center star pattern... and quilted the main outline. Very cool! By the way, the huge star going around is actually a commercially cut stencil thru Quilting Creations...It's NH131 and NH132. When I originally designed this large stencil medallion a few years ago, I used the very same grid system on my drafting table that has since become The Ultimate Stencil. Funny how things come around. And now you know why I've named this quilt "The Ultimate Star". Hugs, Cindy :)