With my finished quilt tops all being too big to easily sandwich (the dining room table I work on is small), and some 300+ 5″ squares in my stash, I decided yesterday it was time to use some of those charms to whip up a smaller quilt — a project I could see through to completion in one weekend.
I used 81 charms to lay out a random patchwork of 9 horizontal rows of 9 charms each, but that would only have made a 40-1/2″ square. I wanted something at least a little bigger, so once I had the horizontal rows put together I played with various 3-1/2″ strips (also from my pre-cut stash) between the rows to add some length but didn’t like the result.
I rarely buy fabrics for a specific pattern. I know at least a few of you out there also suffer from this same syndrome: I *have* to have that fabric…RIGHT NOW!…though I have no idea where I’ll use it. So I searched through my accumulated ‘right-nows’ until a yard of Kaye England Forever Spring with pink blossoms on a blue background struck me as being ‘the one’ and used it to frame the entire quilt with an added horizontal sashing strip between the 2nd and 3rd rows (think stained glass panel above the doorway of an old house). Pink geranium cornerstones that just happen to match the pinks in Forever Spring pop from the sashing intersections. Here’s my sketch (and a super-easy free pattern!):
The finished size will be 46-1/2″ x 49-1/2″; small enough to work with in my space, large enough to be cozy, and in a color palette awash in a pink and blue garden.
The backing is a shabby chic style with widely scattered pink rose clusters on a white ground. Getting ready to piece it now (this seems to be the only time I remember there are advantages to keeping projects less than 42″ wide; if I remembered that on the front end, my backings would go faster!), sandwich and free-motion quilt this evening.
When a quick, design-as-I-go project comes together like this, I happily accept serendipity with a smile.
p.s. I take no responsibility for math errors in calculations done on a weekend…your mileage may vary. :)
