Inspiration from Betsy C

Lately I've been on the lookout for interesting quilt ideas that I may use for my "comfort quilts" (as I've been calling them, for lack of a better name). Not too complicated, fun to make, easy to love. I found such a pattern in Betsy Chutchian's recent book:

The book features eight quilts and gives directions for each in three different sizes: bed, lap, and mini. FYI for those of you small quilt lovers, the minis are incredible!

This is the one I chose to make:

The first thing I thought of when I saw this quilt was "I could make that" by which I mean, I could make it 100% out of my stash. Not only that, but I could utilize some underused colors, such as pinks and yellow/golds.  I like that its all 19th century repros, but colorful and modern at the same time.

The second thing I thought of was, I already have the perfect backing fabric:

This has been languishing in my stash for years, waiting for "just the right quilt" .. heheh... do you know what I mean? Not a repro, but who cares?

Making this quilt was so easy and so fun! I used the above as my focus fabric, and pulled about twenty fabrics for the rectangles (I hesitate to call them blocks).

Here it is with the body sewn together, before trimming and adding the borders. It did tend to lean toward wonky-ness a bit, due to the edges all being on the bias, but don't worry, it all resolved in the end :-) 

Here it is, construction completed, quilted and bound, and fresh out of the dryer:

I machine quilted it mostly in the ditch, with a 4" grid. I think this particular quilt lends itself better to an all-over stipple, but I'm not brave enough to try that on my home machine. The quilt measures 50x57, a nice size throw, and cheery without looking too juvenile.

This will go to someone in need of comfort. Not sure who yet. Maybe no one I know will get sick for a while. That would be a good thing! But if not to someone I know personally, then it might go to Quilters for Hospice or to the VA.

That's it for the moment!

love,
Sandy