Birthstones and a Giveaway

Y'all know that this is the time of year that our family usually spends lots of time at the baseball field.  It is wonderful to support your child in something that they love, and I wouldn't have it any other way.  But...I have to admit that I love a little bit of rain when I'm really itching to get a quilt finished.

I made the most of Saturday's rainout, and just had to wait for the ground to dry out a little bit for some sunshiny photos.  I had so much fun creating this design, and even though I think it really glows in solids, I think that tonal fabrics with solid centers would look equally cool.

I really worried about the darkest gems overpowering the quilt (particularly the garnet one, because I thought it may look too brown).  All in all though, I think they add a lot of depth.

I struggled with the binding choice with this one.  I really wanted to use fabric from my stash, and I had enough of the Kona Royal.  I actually made the binding with the Royal, but it just didn't feel quite right.  I ended up going with a black binding, and it just makes the colors sparkle.  The black had to be purchased, which was a bummer, but I'm much happier with the result.

Gray and black are always my go-to backing colors when I'm working on a quilt with all of the colors of the rainbow, but I've never done a black binding (though I have done charcoal gray).  It's always hard for me to choose another color.  I know this is overthinking things, but I worry that choosing a single color from the front will throw off the color balance in the quilt.  It just feels like gray and black belong there, and set the colors off without competing with them.

The backing is pieced with one of my most favorite gray fabrics in the world- Cloud 9 Cirrus in Shadow.  I love the dimension that the shot cotton gives the quilt, and it is ultra soft.  The other fabric in the back is from the Crystalia collection by Hoffman.  The other fabrics in the Crystalia collection aren't my style, but this one is so neat.  It looks kind of like an abstract skyline.

The colors and pattern in this fabric are really amazing, but as much as I love it, it's one of those fabrics that is difficult to mix with others, because (to me) it feels so edgy.  I looked at this fabric online for a looong time before I bought it, and when I couldn't stop looking at it, I finally decided to just buy a yard and quit obsessing over it.  It's so different from my usual fabric choices, and I had no idea what I would do with it, hence the reluctance to actually buy it.  I'm so glad I did though, because it's the perfect compliment to all of the solids on the front of this quilt.

I am working on the pattern for this one, and I hope to have it finished for you soon (by the weekend, if I can manage), so be on the lookout!

Edited to add- so sorry I forgot to add that this quilt is 64" x 66"!

On an unrelated note, Facebook has just informed me that today marks my three year blogging anniversary.  Thank goodness for the photo memory pop-ups, or I wouldn't have even realized it!  It is so hard to believe that only three short years ago, I started this blog so that I could meet friends in the modern quilting community;  and boy oh boy, I have certainly done that!   I love quilting,  and it makes me so happy to share my quilts through this blog.  The modern quilting community is such a blessing and a source of inspiration for me, so I want to say thank you!

As a thank you, and to commemorate my three year blog anniversary, I am giving away a PDF pattern to three readers.  You can choose any of my patterns, including Birthstones!  Just leave a comment on this post to enter (one entry per person, please).  I'll announce the winners on Saturday!

This giveaway is now closed.  I'll be posting the winners in a post soon!  :)