I’ve had this quilt finished and rolled up under my drafting table all summer.  I have a friend at church whose oldest daughter just got MARRIED, and this daughter of hers is a photography major and likes artsy things, so I felt like I needed to make her something for a wedding gift rather than head to Target and buy something.  I ordered the fabric in time for the big day, got it all pieced too late, but in time for a visit this spring.  Unfortunately my free motion quilting wasn’t going quite as planned, so I missed that window to give it to her as well.  Finally this past weekend she was here again and I hurriedly unrolled it to take some photos before whisking it over to her.  Here it is, wrinkles and all.

I ordered a fat quarter pack of Joel Dewberry’s Modern Meadow line (not the colorway in the link, though).  I took 8 of the fat quarters and cut them into big 17 inch  squares and made 2 rows of big blocks in the center of the quilt.

Then I added big solid stripes of some Moda Bella Solid and Cross weave on the top and bottom and called it a quilt top.

For the back I took scraps of the fat quarters to make a narrow stripe and used some more Moda Crossweave, all the same color this time, to complete it.  I really like the simplicity of it because it shows off the loveliness of the fabric so well– and it was fairly instant gratification.  I added ties to one edge so that it can be rolled and tied and taken on picnics for years and years to come.

I quilted it in my signature swirls, but had a hard time getting my machine to cooperate this time around.  I was just using the foot my machine came with and my tension was crazy and my thread would break every time I changed directions.   It made me want to swear.  I didn’t swear, of course, but I really wanted to.  Then I tried RaeLyn’s spring loaded foot and was able to buzz through the whole thing in an afternoon at her house.  I spent about 4 hours on 12 inches of the quilt before our sewing date and then did the whole rest of it in an afternoon between the hours of 1 and 4– with lots of chatting and eating and kid chasing mixed in.  (RaeLyn– We really need to get together again.  Soon!)

So, anyway, here’s the quilt that’s been hiding all summer.  I have fat quarters cut to make another, just need to get some more solid fabrics to go with them.  And I think I’ll keep the next one.