Lady Edith rides a Giraffe

With that title, I am sure I have your attention...

This is a two-story quilt (no tall tales here) and it begins in two places - Cyberspace, and a house in Laurel, MD.

6-23-14, Cyberspace - Somewhere in cyberspace Cathy Rush is surfing the internet and she comes upon a beautiful fabric - Lady Edith's Rectangles. So moved by the spirit of the fabric, she writes a blogpost. You can read it here.


7-12-2014, Laurel, MD - A beautiful house is a venue for a meditation event. Meditation is followed by dinner. I am one of the several attendees, mostly families some with young children. I know most of these people. We meet regularly for meditation and music events. The following conversation ensued:

A: You remember my mother, don't you?
Me: Yes, of course. It has been a  while. So good to see you, Auntie. I hope you are here for a good few months. When can I come and sample your wonderful cooking?
A: Any time, you are most welcome
Me: Perfect. How about next Saturday, the 26th?
A: We look forward to it.

While I was inviting myself to A's house to sample his mom's cooking, A's wife N was talking to another woman, mentioning her boy's (cutest boy ever) upcoming birthday on July 20th. He would be three years old. And although I heard it (and I knew his birthday already), I did not make any connections. Typical!!!

It was two days later that I realized - what have I done???
I am going to A and N's house for lunch, one week after their boy's birthday. I cannot go empty handed. No, flowers and chocolate just won't do it. I need to make a quilt for that cutest boy ever.

Make a quilt - in a  hurry. What an oxymoron...
There is a big difference between 2-minute noodles and a quilt. It is two weeks!!! (noodles take 2 minutes, a quilt takes 2 weeks and 2 minutes). What pattern, what fabric, what craziness?

As these thoughts swirled in my mind, I come upon the said blogpost by Cathy Rush. And magic happened. I found the perfect pattern for the birthday quilt for the cutest boy ever!!!

I had all the fabrics I needed. I chose giraffes fabric (left over from Down to Earth backing) as the focus fabric. I had to adjust the sizes a bit based on the fabric limitations.

I cut 12 rectangles - 6.5" by 11".

And this is what I was left with - close call, indeed!!!

I used these matching fabrics (remnants from Joann) to make the 4-patch block.

Once I had the giraffe rectangles and the rectangular 4-patches done, this quilt top came together so very quickly.

All 4-patches are not aligned the same way. Yes, I made a mistake conscious design decision to create some interest in the otherwise simple layout ;-)

My dear friends at the Missouri Star Quilt Forum helped me choose the border color.

Border Fabric Audition

Although green looks the best next to the giraffes it fades a bit next to the teal. I decided to go with yellow. And here is the completed quilt top.

I chose this super cute fabric for the backing.

This two-story quilt is truly amazing. I started and completed the quilt top on Saturday. I started and completed the quilting on Tuesday. Wednesday and Thursday, I admired the cute fabrics and my handiwork. The binding was completed on Friday. And the label was completed on Saturday morning, minutes before I jumped into the shower to get ready to leave for A & N's house!!!

Can you believe that this quilt was completed in time in spite of my lollygagging? That is because it is such an awesome quick design. For all those of you who (like me) want their quilts like their noodles - instantly, you should bookmark this page. Better yet, bookmark Cathy's page for a quick reference for quick quilts with just 4 fabrics!!!

If you make this quilt, what focus fabric you will use? I know there is one in your stash...