March Madness: The Championship Game!

We're excited to announce the two quilts in our championship game! 

Congratulations to Shimmering Constellation and Circling Stars! 

In addition to showing you the quilts one more time, we're sharing short interviews with the designers so you can learn a little more about each design. 

Thanks to everyone who has helped narrow the patterns down from our original 50 to the Sweet Sixteen to these final two.  As a thank you for your participation, this final round of voting will include the opportunity to win fabric prizes! 

Leave a comment below with your vote for this game (choose Shimmering Constellation or Circling Stars). One comment per person, please. You can also vote a second time on our Facebook Group – Sew Interesting, and a third time on our Pinterest board. 

Voting for this game is open through Monday, April 4 at 5 pm EST. We'll announce the winner on Tuesday, April 5th. 
Voting is now closed. Thank you for playing!

Shimmering Constellation by Wendy Sheppard
using Gold Standard/Simply Sterling

Circling Stars by Jackie Robinson using Basic Blacks and Beiges

Wendy Sheppard talks about her Shimmering Constellation design:

What attracted you to the Gold Standard/Simply Sterling collection?

I like the metallic accents  in the prints and colors of the collection.

Can you talk about how fabric placement enhances this design?

When I work with a fabric collection that has multiple main colors, I try to sprinkle the colors all over the quilt design. So that's why you see a mix of gold, gray and black in the design. The reason the design looks more complicated than it actually is rests solely on the fabric placement for this design.  I think of it as optical illusion at play. At least for me, whenever I see a quilt with many colors/fabrics, I automatically go into a "WOW" mode and think it is a difficult quilt.

How did you come up with this design? 

I started with the stars -- but then I felt like having stars all over the quilt design is too predictable.  That's when I came up with the alternate block to give the design a bit more interest.  I then softened the edges of the other blocks with gold on white prints to give a bit of "halo" effect to the star blocks.

What do you like best about this quilt?

I like it for many reasons - I like that it is a traditional quilt, but with striking visual elements for a home decor piece to add fun statement to a room.  What I love it best is that it is an easy quilt to construct, but with much more to offer in the final design and layout.

Jackie Robinson talks about her Circling Stars design:

What inspired your Basic Blacks and Beiges collection?

It came from when I was a quilt shop owner and could never get enough good blacks and beiges. The fabrics have varying values, which adds interest when they’re all used together.

Tell us about the star block in Circling Stars.

One of the artists in the Benartex design studio, Liz Kolansky, created this block for the front cover of some marketing materials. It is a block that is reminiscent of 54-40 or Fight, but it isn’t. I really liked it and asked Liz if I could use it for a quilt design.

Tell us about the layout.

The black setting triangles make the star blocks pop. Then simple straight borders frame the design.

What do you like best about the quilt?

The illusion of circles created by the blocks. It’s circles without actually piecing circles. 

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It's a battle of the stars! 

Shimmering Constellation vs. Circling Stars 

Which one will be the fan favorite quilt pattern?

Here's how to vote AND how to enter the giveaway:

• To vote: Leave a comment below with your vote for this game (choose Shimmering Constellation or Circling Stars). One comment per person, please. You can also vote a second time on our Facebook Group – Sew Interesting, and a third time on our Pinterest board. Voting for this game is open through Monday, April 4 at 5 pm EST. We'll announce the winner on Tuesday, April 5th. 

• To enter the giveaway: Send an email to socialmedia23 (at) gmail.com with Battle of the Stars in the subject line.
• Both the voting for Favorite Pattern and the giveaway will be open through Monday, April 4th at 5 pm EST. We'll announce the Favorite Pattern and giveaway winners on Tuesday, April 5th. 
• Prizes: One lucky winner will receive a box of Benartex fat quarters! Winner will be randomly chosen from received emails and will be notified by email as well as announced here on the blog. 

Good luck to both of these fantastic patterns!