Flowers in the Meadow

 

I. love. this. quilt. I made it for my friends Annie and Daniel, who were married this summer in a lovely ceremony. It's not spring yet, but the quilt reminds me of spring and summer, of grassy meadows with a few wildflowers poking through.

 

As you might notice, it's not summer in the pictures. Though I knew I wanted to make them a quilt, and I knew that I would use lots of green, with some touches of dark pink, I didn't start cutting the fabric until December. I'm glad I waited, as I constructed the quilt front after making this one, and I know that "Flowers in the Meadow" is better as a result.

The design started with the pattern to Amy Butler's Decorative Patchwork Throw (found In Stitches). I liked the idea of big chunks of fabric (and I used a fair number of Amy Butler prints in this quilt). But, like usual, the quilt transmogrified along the way. An improv adventure ensued, with one basic principle: big swaths of fabric.

Lots of awesome fabrics? Check. I varied the piecing, incorporating a big 9-patch block as well as some squares-in-squares and squares-in-rectangles and more squares and rectangles.

And then the chickens gave me an idea. The fabric didn't really fit with the other greens, but chickens are so Annie and Daniel. They would have a chicken coop if they could, and eat fresh eggs all the time (their dog, Mason, might not let this happen so easily). But there was a nice chicken pair, and it needed to make its way into the quilt. A little fussy cutting and zig-zag stitching later, and there lay the chickens.

 

The chickens were up for some company, and so arrived the turtle pair. Another green print that didn't quite work with the rest of the quilt, but placed on a white background and attached to the quilt, now made sense.

The birds are not green and neither is the background fabric. But they're loud and fun and wanted to preen on the quilt. So I let them. They work with the deep magenta and pink fabric that, I think, helps the quilt pop.

Annie and I agree that the grey fabric is just lovely. It might be my favorite, if I have to pick favorites and I used 2 big chunks of it. I should have ordered more of it, but when I was selecting fabrics online, I didn't realize the extent of its beauty.

I am not a pink person, but pink works here, and I knew it was the right color for the binding. In late December, I scurried to the store to get it, as my not-too-large pink collection lacked a good pink with enough yardage for the binding (the quilt is ~ 54" x 72").

As for the quilting, I opted for diagonal stripes, at varying widths. Sometimes an inch or 2 separate the lines, sometimes just 1/4" or a 1/2". Masking tape helped me stay on target, though it was a little tough in spots.

Finally, an outtake from today's picture-taking. My commuter bike really wanted to make an appearance on the blog, because some friends think I'm a little loony for biking in the snow. They're probably right, but I don't bike in the snow, only on the less snowy streets. Totally safe...except when it's slick.