tartan, triangle stars + trinkets

Still working away on my emerald-toned quilts... annnd about six other WIPs that I'll share another time in light of the hard deadline for these two (only five days to go... eek!)  You can check out some of the beauties that some very talented quilters have already entered in the challenge here.

After spending an absurd amount of time figuring out fabrics for the layout...

I finally started and finished the tartan top last week.

It's about 57" square.  I had originally planned on ~70" until I went to calculate yardage requirements based on my sketch.  (Note to future self:  next time, run the numbers before deciding to just order a half yard of every shade.)   I'm not *as* in love with it as I was hoping, but I think I have my haphazard ordering to thank for that—with not enough of too many fabrics, not all the overlaps worked out how I had envisioned.  (Next time I'll take greater care to avoid that issue.)  I do, however, have an idea for a quilting design that I hope will unify the plaid, so we shall see!

On the plus side, having more leftovers of certain shades than anticipated, I decided to try some coordinated fun for the "back" (truth be told, by this point I think I've spent as much time on it as the front!)  Here's a sneak peak at the pre-set stones...

And a finished (bezel-set) emerald:

I have to say, I really have become quite smitten with the back and at the end of the day might just call this a two-sided tartan (or tartan-backed bezel emeralds).  But before I figure out which side is which and what to call the completed quilt, I have to figure out what to do about binding(!)  I'm really having trouble with this one.  As of right now, it's between Simply Color ombre in aqua and a random greenish/blue print from my stash.  Or I guess I could just go with white?  Beige? Oy.

Good thing I only have one set of binding to worry about before Sunday {for now, at least}.  I'm also hoping to complete a second top in time for the challenge.  I've made some progress on the "Sam's quilt" stars, though admittedly there are far more pieces lying around than completed blocks at this point.  Which isn't difficult seeing as there is exactly one fully assembled star {of 42}.

Wish me luck!

Linking up with WIP Wednesday ;)