As far as I'm concerned, 33 degrees and drizzling is just about the most unfair weather ever. All of the bitter cold, and none of the fun (yes, my Northern US and Canadian friends, I do know that is probably balmy for some of you right now, haha!). Just one tiny degree means the difference between the nasty weather we have here today, from a beautiful blanket of snow. Of course, that also means the difference between a pristine snowy backdrop to show off the vibrant colors in my latest quilt finish, or dull inside pictures. Clearly, you can see what I had to go with.
The larger-scale prints and bold colors in these Flora fabrics are so gorgeous, and I really love how the size of the blocks kept those lovely prints intact, which is always a plus. By the way, you can find the Baubles pattern in my Craftsy shop
HERE and also in my Etsy shop
HERE.
On the back of the quilt, I used up all of my leftovers. I used 24 different prints instead of the 16 that the pattern requires, specifically so that I would have some extra bits (okay, a little more than bits) for the backing. That, and it's just too hard to choose which prints to exclude. I did end up having to add that golden yellow print to the scraps to make the best use of every bit of the Flora. Without the addition of the yellow, I wouldn't have had enough fabric for two complete columns (but way more than enough for one), and several fabrics would have gone into my scrap jars. It looks solid in the photo, but this fabric is from Art Gallery's Cultivate collection-
The other part of the backing that I want you to see up close is the gray fabric that I used to widen the backing. It is a Cloud 9 organic fabric, and it is a shot cotton. It's kind of like an Oakshott, but much more subtle.
For those unfamiliar with the term, a shot cotton is a fabric that has one color thread for the warp (the lengthwise threads that provide structure to the fabric), and another color for the weft (the threads that are woven over and under the warp threads). When those two thread colors are very different, as in Oakshotts, the fabric looks iridescent and almost seems to shimmer, even though it is 100% cotton. It is quite striking. This particular fabric is shot in two shades of gray, so it doesn't take on the iridescent quality of an Oakshott cotton, but it definitely doesn't look flat in person.
My JoAnn's actually carries Cloud 9 fabrics in their designer fabric section, and I managed to score a remnant that was just an inch shy of a whole yard! They come in several different colors, and if your JoAnn's doesn't carry them, you can find them on fabric.com and Hawthorne Threads (not sponsors, just passing on helpful tidbits). This collection of shot cottons is called the Cirrus collection.
As soon as I saw the Flora fabrics and started planning my quilt, I had this fabric in mind for the binding. It is from the Fantasia line, and I thought it would be a spot-on match for the sherbet orange in these fabrics. When I saw them together, my hunch was confirmed, so I went ahead and made my binding, thinking that I was way ahead of the game.
Soooo... I wasn't wrong. It IS a perfect match... but then this happened-
I ordered several berry colored fabrics for an upcoming quilt, and they arrived last night. As I unpacked them and laid them out right next to this quilt, I fell in love with the way the rich berry color complimented these prints. Look how awesome that berry sketch looks with the Flora fabrics! I really cursed the fact that my binding was already made, and since I don't have any upcoming quilts with orange, I knew I couldn't immediately use the binding elsewhere. It took every bit of responsible quilter fortitude to go ahead and use that orange binding so it wasn't wasted, but I did it. Rest assured, my next quilt WILL have a berry binding!
I am just itching to get some really good outdoor photos of this quilt, so don't be surprised if you see a couple of them pop up in another post!
So, let's move along to last week's features, shall we? By the way, I haven't said this in awhile, if you're featured on NTT, feel free to grab a "Featured" button for your blog if you'd like!
Sue Daurio's Quilting Adventure shared this fun, bright tumbler quilt (plus a couple of super cute, modern baby quilts within her post)-
Christine at Triangles and Squares linked up this fantastically fresh quilt, made with Kate Spain's Jingle-
And I am loving that orchid color in this quilt by
Shannon of The Fleming's Nine-
It's almost time to party! Just one last bit of business before we get down to it. There are
three amazing giveaways going on right now, and if you haven't yet, you can enter
HERE.
Party time!! Show me what you've got!
1. You can link finished projects or WIP's , but just keep it about quilting and sewing!
2. Link to your specific post (not to your home page!) to make it easier for others.
3. Please remember to spread the word and post my button or a text link.
4. Spread the comment love far and wide!
5. Following me is not a requirement to link, but is so very appreciated!
*Welcome to any new quilty friends joining this week's party! Here's a helpful tip for linking up- select "Auto Crop" when selecting your thumbnail photo. For some reason, trying to crop your own image results in the dreaded "white question mark box," and we definitely want to see your awesome work! :)
