Mermaids on Wings

It started with this fabric - cute and sweet. It is a complete escape from reality. Just perfect.

Cuteness

The concept was to frame the cute fabric and then alternate the resulting block with four-patch blocks. The four patch blocks were made from Lily and Loom charm squares.

Depressed :-(

I loved the mermaids and I loved the deep/rich 4-patch blocks but together they did not seem to work. It seemed dull and sad.

Something had to change.
I chose the colors from the mermaid fabric, cut up some 5" squares and put them up on the design wall.

Mock-up

Much better.  Completed 4-patch blocks were alternated with the framed mermaids and the flimsy came together quickly.

Finished Flimsy

Each block finished at 9". A layout of 5 by 5 resulted in a flimsy of about 45" square.  The possibility of a quick quilt is exciting, I thought.

Backing Fabric

But the backing at about 42" needed a little help. A dark blue border worked.

45" square

This backing fabric came from Sonja. On first glance the backing was fuchsia and turquoise. Once the blue borders were added, the little blue flowers popped up magically.

Hello Mermaid!!!

A yellow binding brightened the somber gray.  Here are a few more pictures - so that you can see the mermaids up close.

Flaming Orange & Pink Hair

Bright and Happy

2 Drink Umbrellas = Mermaid Bodice

Of course the Octopus is my friend

Simple Quilting

Labelled

Finished!!!

Ready to Snuggle

One last shot

Of course, the discarded 4-patch blocks needled me.  But I needed a break so I went out for a walk.

After a walk...

And I received a cute surprise :-)

Good Morning Bunny

Back to the task at hand - the discarded 4-patch blocks. How could I best showcase them?

I had bought a panel (Winged by Kim Shaefer) a few years ago and these birds and bugs was just the perfect solution.

Design Wall

Backing Fabric - Thank you Julie

This backing fabric came from Julie.  Once again the backing needed a little help and once again I used the dark blue fabric to frame the backing.

45" square

Multicolored Striped Binding

I love these birds and bugs :-)

Winged Delight

And here are a few more pictures because these little critters are adorable.

Yellow Bird

Pink Bird

Dancing Together

Bright and Joyful

Butterflies too!!!

Little Bird with Big Attitude

Labelled

And one last look...

Lovely!!!

What started as one simple idea resulted in two quilts. I will take that :-)


If you wish to use this idea here is a short recipe.

Block A - Use a 5.5" square of focus fabric, framed with 2.5" wide strips. Square to 9.5"
Block B - Use four 5" squares to make a 4-patch block. Square to 9.5"

25 blocks (5 by 5 layout) will make a baby quilt measuring about 45" by 45".
For a Mercyful quilt, you will need 63 blocks (7 by 9 layout), measuring about 63" by 81".

The quilt with orange stars (you saw a sneak peek last time) is all done and ready for a photshoot.
I promise to share soon.

I will be sharing with all my favorite linky parties. See full list on the sidebar.

I'd love to hear your thoughts. Hope you are staying safe.

Fit for a Princess & Puppyfish

These are quilts 5 & 6 from the Festival.

The inspiration/design for these two quilts came from Moda Bake Shop.  The pattern is called Bricks.

Once again, I made a sketch...

...while I was drinking my morning cup of chai...OOPS!!!

27 squares and 27 rectangles will make a baby quilt.

Now, you can make this super-scrappy but I wanted to stick with a theme.  Pink and girly.
Here is a hint when you choose fabrics for a project. Pick 5-6 different fabrics  - a dot, a stripe, a near solid, 1 or 2 focus prints, and 1-2 small prints. Make sure that there are some that are dark and some light.

Fit for a Princess

Focus Fabric

Sweet & Pink

Small Print, Dots and Stripe

A simple pattern keeps the focus on the fabrics.  Stare away at the princess and her castle - no major distractions here.  I chose a red/pink hearts backing.

Sweet Hearts

Choosing a binding was easy - a hot pink solid worked well with both the front and the back.

Cherries & Cherry Blossoms

Cherries, Cherry Blossoms and Cupcakes - Can it get any more Girly???
Yes, look at the Princess and her castle :-)

Labelled!

The quilting was once again the simplest (fastest) possible. I used the Cs and mirror image stitch and went over the ditches.

Pretty in Pink

When Mary saw this quilt, her eyes widened.  This would be perfect for her nephew's baby girl.
I was just thrilled that the quilt found a loving home.



Now let me talk about Puppyfish - the twin brother of "Fit for a Princess"
I struggled with the fabric choices.  There were two focus fabrics, but after that I could not find enough fabrics in my stash to make the whole thing work.  Felt limited by the colors in the focus fabrics.

Fishes and Puppies

Did not want to use grey or black from the Fish/Whale fabric - too gloomy.  Although some orange would be fine, it did not seem to be cohesive with the others.

In the end, I chose two dotty fabrics, one stripes and one small print with the two focus fabrics.  Fewer fabrics resulted in only 24 blocks instead of 27 in the original pattern.

Puppyfish

To get to a respectable baby size, I added a navy blue border.  That seemed to work and brought the whole thing together.  The backing was a light green soothing print fabric.

Owls and Birds

I think this was the last of this fabric.  Served me well in a few backings.

Simply quilted with Cs and mirror image of Cs, this was one fast finish.  I may have spent more time picking the fabrics than putting the top together.

Black Binding

Labelled

Jess bought Puppyfish for her granddaughter.  Are you sure, I asked.

Don't you want something more pink?  She was absolutely sure that this was it.

In the Sunlight

This is what I have learnt - Boys won't do pink. Must avoid any trace of fuchsia too.  Florals are a big no-no as well.

But girls are fine with all colors. Happy to be a girl - I get to play with all the colors!!!

I am so happy with the success of this pattern. It is fast and easy, really highlights the focus fabrics, requires only 5-6 fabrics and I am sure you have all of them in your stash.

I can see this getting made into several quilts.  What do you think?

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