October 29, 2011

Bloggers' Quilt Festival :: Fall 2011



Welcome to any first time visitors!

Wow! As I was recently blog hopping (one of my most favorite ways to spend time) I wondered upon the Bloggers' Quilt Festival which is a virtual quilt show coinciding with the International Quilt Show in Houston, Texas.  I am participating with my most recently finished quilt. Click on over and you will see a few hundred (or more) quilts.  Grab a beverage and get ready to browse - you'll be there a while.  Enjoy!
The Details

Why : This quilt was made to match the colors in the family room.  Funny story, I wanted cherry apple red and gray.  The red paint was easy to pick out and it looks fabulous but the gray, well....not so much. As it turns out I didn't realize that I should really take the paint chip outside in the sun before buying 10 gallons of it and asking DH to paint the whole room.  Once it was finished it wasn't a steely gray but more of a cornflower blue and he wasn't going to redo it so, I decided to make a quilt to match. As a new quilter, my quilts up to this point are to be admired.  I take pictures of them, hang them on the back of the easy chair for a week or two, roll them up and put them away but I don't really USE them.  I wanted this to be a quilt that got used, and snuggled in and not so special or nice that it was just a showpiece.
The Lesson : I learned that I much prefer to do ALL the cutting first and then the sewing another day.  I don't mind cutting but piecing is more fun for me when I just grab the fabric and step on the pedal!

What I Love :  I chose this pattern from Modern Basics by Amy Ellis because it was modern and simple.  In fact, I almost love the back more than the front.  The red speaks to me and I think it is fantastic with just a little splash of the gray and blue.  I would love for you to leave a comment and tell me which side you like better, the front or the back and why.
Fabrics: As I am a Kona girl, this is made with just three colors, Kona Ash, Kona Dresden Blue and Kona Red.  On the back, there is one square of Kona Tomato - can you find it?  

A special thanks to Amy for putting together this Blogger's Festival so we can oohh and ahhh over some fantastic quilts, special thanks to the generous sponsors for offering prizes and thanks to YOU for reading this post!