Blooms!!

I am so excited to share with you my newest finish, Blooms!! This quilt features my first fabric line, Curated Blooms, so well!  Let's take a closer look..

When designing the quilt, I  had so much fun taking the blocks all the way to the edge. This layout is new for me, but wow, the impact is stunning. It is almost as if there is a secondary design going on with the sashing being used as "blocks" as well. 

 One thing I have had to learn to juggle is writing and planning my patterns to go along with my fabric designs well in advance of the fabric actually coming out.  Once the fabric comes out, then I make the quilts.  

 I found with this quilt in particular that I was a bit off on the fabric requirements.  That has been corrected on my pattern page, here.  But just so you know, the 67 x 67 inch quilt will definitely need at least 2 of my fat quarter bundles if you are going for a scrappy quilt and not doing the exact fabric placement as my own quilt. 

 What I love most about this quilt are the sashing blocks.  My word, the blocks just came together so great.  The piecing is not for the faint of heart, I can promise you that.  This is one of the most intense piecing quilts I have ever designed and pieced. However, the instructions are done well and you will be able to make this.  The pattern is recommended for intermediate to advanced quilters.

 I really wanted to showcase the fabric as well as the piecing in this quilt. For that reason I kept the quilting "simple." At least my kind of simple....  It was almost more challenging for me to keep it simple because I had to do the same thing over and over again. 

In the blocks I simply added straight lines with a little bit of free motion.  I really love how the blocks turned out.  It definitely shows the fabrics well, which is another bonus, especially with it being my own designs!  Woohoo! 

As you can see, I incorporated the sash blocks with the Blooms blocks. I drew out and quilted a line to mimic the shapes of both, shown in the picture as a 1/2" spaced line. 

 In the background space, I quilted a tight and loose bubble/shell/swirl filler. Every other block got the tight filler, as well as the loose one. 

Here's a close up of the tight filler. This takes a lot of time, but I love the effect it has.  I used cream 60wt thread for both the top and bobbin, including in the dark fabrics. I don't like changing my thread colors, lol! 

 The back!  Oh, isn't it so beautiful?  I love how it turned out. I used two layers of batting, which helps with thread tension as well as showcasing the detailed quilting. 

The pattern is available in paper and PDF format. I cannot wait to see your version of this beautiful quilt. 

 I had to take a picture of my helper, Micah, my oldest son.  He is such a joy to me, so grown up at 17, yet such a tease. He is so great to help me whenever I need to hang up my quilts and anything else I ask of him. He's my little buddy who is 6'3" - where did the time go?  He's leaving on a mission for our church in June - so I am definitely soaking in all the time I can with him.  

Happy Quilting y'all!