It's Done

At least I think it is. Part of me keeps threatening to do some more hand quilting with embroidery floss. But the other part is telling me this thing is so busy that no one will even see it.

 I just love it. And my little bear does too. There was something really sweet about the way he hopped into bed and snuggled up underneath his new quilt as soon as it was done. Makes it all worth it somehow.

This quilt uses earthy tones (as did my previous quilt), but with more of an emphasis on orange/orchre. The blocks included are: log cabins, Dutchman's puzzle, pinwheels, Ana Maria's feather block, a large Dresden plate, and more. All of them were so much fun to make and I'm sure they will be showing up again in my upcoming quilts.

Speaking of upcoming quilts, the next one has begun...

Cassandra

PS - Happy Birthday Alex!

Feather Quilt Block

I am a super-fan of Anna Maria Horner. I love her fabrics, patterns, and books soooo much. So, needless to say, I let out a little bit of a squeal when I saw her Feather Bed Quilt pattern for the first time. So clever, so colorful, sigh.

If you follow us here at Mighty Distractible at all, you will know that I like designing my own quilts very much. So, sadly, I couldn't see myself following her beautiful quilt pattern anytime soon - until I started design on Little Bear's big-boy-bed quilt. His room is nature-themed, so a few feather blocks were right at home in the design. Four to be exact.

The feather blocks measure out to 9x18, so I used them as big, bold accents. Below you can see my design in-progress:

I was so excited to piece these blocks that they were literally the first thing I tackled on this quilt. They are done and laying on a table all pressed, just waiting to take their place in the big design. As I work on the other blocks for this quilt, I will admit to stopping to admire my feathers about every hour or so. Crazy, huh? But I just love them.

wait for it....wait for it...

yay! a feather!

The pattern was very clear, easy to follow, and the templates provided pieced together perfectly. This was the first time I ever actually sewed a block that was cut from printed out pattern pieces (as opposed to blocks like a log cabin or propeller). It has sort of opened up a whole new design thing for me. I would love to try my hand at designing a quilt block of this sort. Curiously, the whole process kind of reminded me of garment sewing.

I'm sure there is more to come on my quilt as it comes to life. Stay tuned....

–Cassandra

PS - Did I mention that Anna (I like to think we are on a first-name basis now) is giving her Feather Bed Quilt pattern (and tons of others) away for FREE?