Belle Etoile du Jour
Quilt #181 of 200 quilts, 88″ square
Began December 2016 • Finished May 2017
A couple of weeks ago, I had my son and grandson hold up the unquilted top of this creation, and I include it here so you can see the quilt top. I was late starting this quilt, as everyone else in the world began making it in November when Bonnie Hunter announced her En Provence Mystery Quilt for 2016, based on colors she’d seen in her trip to France. 
I decided that if I made the various units, as described in the mystery, then stowed them away, I might be able to get back to the quilting even when I was convalescing from the planned rotator cuff surgery. I was able to finish all but two steps. When it was time for me to do those, I figured out how to sew one-handed, and my saintly friend Lisa trimmed up 60 blocks for me. 
I did my best to get it up on my garage-door-photo-studio today, but I had a wrinkle in the quilt that I just couldn’t manage to ease out, so I have to resort to other photos to show it off. I like looking from the back of the quilt outward, like it’s stained glass. I had purchased about 5 yards of backing fabric, unable to remember how big the quilt top was. I needed more, so spliced in a yellow coordinating print, then took it all over to my Cathy, my quilter.
She was a good sport and let me choose a new pantograph for her collection, which I think really works well with the quilt. The original quilt called for purple fabrics in those 18″ blocks, but I went instead with periwinkle, a favorite color of mine.
The title comes from an old poem, where the poet calls flowers “Day Stars.” I had Google translate “beautiful day stars” into French, then ran it by my French-speaking husband who said it was fine. (I didn’t want to be swearing in French, or something.) I don’t really believe there is a top or bottom to this quilt, so I sewed the label on an angle, just for fun.
And again, if you haven’t started your listing of your quilts, start now!
OccasionalPiece--Quilt! 
This is a beautiful quilt, Elizabeth. And that backing fabric is perfect.
You did an awesome job of this quilt Elizabeth… often one handed and in pain too, I expect! The backing is absolutely beautiful and the colour of the binding lovely! That fourth photo really shows up the quilting perfectly! I can tell you are proud of it, as you should be! 181 and counting……!
What a beautiful quilt! I like that you used the periwinkle, rather than purple. I have all the body parts for this quilt made, but they have been languishing in a basket since January…you have again inspired me to finish. I had forgotten how pretty this quilt was. Uh oh, I looked at the basket and there are a million body parts….could they have been breeding since January, or is that how many there always were…if so, no wonder I let them languish. 🙄
Ah, dear Elizabeth. You bring such visual joy to your readers.
The quilt is beautiful. The quilting design struck me as perfect to show off the patchwork, you did a great job choosing a pantograph. I haven’t numbered my quilts in all these years. Perhaps I will begin numbering each year’s quilts.
What a beauty. I got mine done although not quilted yet. After seeing yours done better get mine completed too. Glad your recovery is going well.
When someone is holding this quilt for you, no matter what, tell them it’s upside-down.
It’s very pretty, Elizabeth! I like the looks of it on the bed. Is that where you’ll keep it? The colors are really fresh, and the backing works beautifully with the front. You picked a good pantograph; I’m sure your quilter appreciates that choice. I like the angled label – what a nice, different idea! It’s another wonderful 2017 finish!
Another one to put in my TOP TEN list of your quilts (I think there are twenty quilts in that list now.)
I love the finished quult. What a great friend squaring the blocks up for you. Healing takes time.
It turned out beautifully, Elizabeth. Love the periwinkle! I quilted mine up today so will work on my binding this week. I just love the pattern. Your backing is so perfect for it too.
Judging from how I feel about squaring blocks, that is a sainted friend indeed! The quilt is lovely in all its photos, and the print for the back is perfect.
So happy you chose periwinkle for this, it really is lovely!
It’s gorgeous, Elizabeth.
I love this quilt (surprise) and especially like that you completely made it your own, and managed to do so while spending a great deal of the making time one handed, Lisa deserves a round of applause, too, for squaring up blocks. So many people want to neglect this step, and they don’t realize what a difference shaving off those tiny bits of excess or off square edges make to the finished quilt. As usual, I have regrets I didn’t also make this pattern, and it’s on my list for someday, along with a gazillion others.