A First!

I have been wanting to post this for a while, but, well, I had to FINISH it first.  I did it...my first big quilt is done!  It began as a stack of charm packs and white yardage.  After sewing here and there for months and taking long breaks because I was terrified to baste the thing and then quilt it and then bind it - yikes!  It is now done.  And I love it and I'm pretty proud of myself.  Yes, it's ok to toot your own horn when you accomplish something fantastic!  I present to you White Diamonds in Bliss:

Here's the back...almost as fun as the front!

I thought with the gorgeous sunshine I'd be able to get awesome pictures.  I was, however, reminded once again that I am no photographer.  Even in great daylight I can't capture the beautiful colors.  You get the idea, though, right??

It all started when I caught the quilting bug last spring and started messing around with different quilt blocks and styles.  I'd find a block I wanted to try, figure out what to do with LOTS of trial and error, seam ripping, and probably cursing along the way make it, and stuff it in my "in progress" drawer, thinking that I'd get back to them someday...they're still in the drawer.  In June I decided to take the plunge and make something sizeable - I thought if I was going to spend money and time stitching away, I should probably make something I could use.  This is definitely sizable!  Look at how I had to take my pics:

Yup, I had to stand on my kids' slide to get pics from above  (don't be jealous of my fab, very professional photo studio)...this thing is big!  I still have to measure it, but I used batting for a full size quilt and there wasn't a whole lot left over.  No wonder this thing took me ages to finish!

I wanted a simple, modern design that didn't take a lot of cutting and difficult piecing.  It was scary enough to make a quilt this big.  This pattern was just the ticket (inspired by this quilt).  I used 5 (or maybe 6) charm packs of Bonnie & Camille's Bliss and cut 5" white squares to make the "diamonds".  I also had some Bliss flannel that I cut into 5" squares and mixed in.  I thought about making it a bit smaller, but didn't feel like cutting up the charms...so that and the pattern dictated the size.  I love that it's big, though...better to snuggle on the couch with the boys!

I used Mod Buds in aqua from Liz Scott's Sugar Pop line for the back, pieced together with leftover charms and some more of the flannel.  I just want to say that I cannot wait for Liz's Domestic Bliss line to arrive in stores - I am going to buy it all!

The binding is Sarah Jane's Dot to Dot in red from her Children at Play collection.  I think it works perfectly and, in my opinion, they are the PERFECT sized dots!

So, there you have it - my first big quilt finish.  I'm linking to Quilt Story's Fabric Tuesday...go check it out!