Hurray for Modern Quilts!

Some friends of mine are expecting their first child in August.  I'm thrilled for them and so baby quilt it is!   Her room colors are yellow & grey.  Those are really wonderful colors and perfect for the new, clean lines of the modern quilts that I'm so attracted to. 

 

Here is my fabric selection

 

 

I will let you know that this is NOT my strong suit.  Chosing colors that play well with each other

and that fit into the pattern I've chosen.  True to my 'oh' moment I realize I should have chosen one more alternate yellow fabric and I'll show you why. 

 

Here's the quilt I want to recreate:

It's from the wonderful book

Sunday Morning Quilts

 

The quilt I just LOVED is this one created by Amanda Jean:

 

Since it's an 'example' and not a pattern I had to wing it.

Also not something I do well.

My issue was I thought making this quilt would be simple given that I simply needed to exchange all the 'orange' for 'yellow'

One thing is that the quilts in this book are created using scraps.

right

So I'm to think that Ms. Jean just rambled thru her stash of scraps & tossed this together and it turned out perfectly.

Then here's me:

 

"Oh crap, there's like (1,2,... counts) and then two grey and then white.

But all the little squares a just a bit wonky so they are charming. This is a deception

I tried to make wonky but eventually you have to make it square.

oops

 

I totally guessed at what size the little charming wonky (oh my god ripped out three of them) squares should be and sallied forth.

 

Here's what I had

 

(Note: the only thing easy should have been the top and bottom and I managed to mess that up too but that's a story further down...Ugh!) 

My lovely daughter was very quick to say 'Awwww, that's so cuuuute!" and then she pointed out:

"But the grey square (2nd from left) is the only one that's all straight and so it stands out".  

 

What I saw was that the center square of that one also wasn't quite working as the center 2" square and it's bordering fabrics were too close together in value so it appears as one large(ish) square.

 

I liked all the others though.  And I would have changed it BUT I wasn't working from a scrap pile & had no other choices. 

Moving on.

 

Here is the top together:

 

please note the shadow of another work just behind this one on my wall.  NOT part of this top.

I noted that when I stitched the little squares all together I could make some a bit more wonky & so I sewed a bit more of that grey side into the seam so that it appears to be off just enough for my eye to be happy.(ish)

 

As I look at it compared to Amanda Jeans I'm ok with it. 

 

RE: the yellow top and grey bottom. The bottom was fine.  Selvedge to selvedge, 45".  Good to go.  The yellow however I had two cuts of fabric from the store; one that was a precut (remnant) that I just took thinking I could use it for the back & one that I wanted for the top specfically. 

 

So guess which one I cut into to create the little squares... YUP, the top one.  That left the smaller cut of yellow for the top section and since I was loath to have any seams in that glorious fabric I simply cut the grey (& little squares section) down by an inch.  *sigh*

 

You might be thinking  ...an inch?... she's all hissy over an inch?  Well, ya.  See I'm certain that I have some mild affliction of OCD (NOT Obsessive Craft Disorder -the other one) and so when I set out to follow a pattern I am literal to the enth degree and if it's off even by just that much I'm miserable and deem the entire work a failure.  You'll note that there are no Mariner's Compass quilts here. :)  After all, the whole point of quilting from patterns is to be exact & stay with the pattern.* 

 

anyway...

 

I needed to back it, what little materials I had left weren't enough & I don't like pieced back's myself. 

IF I wanted to piece some more I will make another top. *giggles*

 

I found this darling fabric at Joanns.  I love how it has all the colors and then some pink which works for me. 

(they already know they are having a girl)

 

My favorite part is how the white 'o's' of dots are all lined up like computer code and reminds me

of The Matrix.  Since my buddies are also sci-fi fans they may appreciate it too.

 

 

I was considering quilting it from the back and simply following all those darling daisies but I'm not sure yet. 

I'll post some shots when I start quilting which should be this weekend.

 

Cheers!

 

 *I was so happy to learn that I could make art quilts instead!

And why I am now venturing into the Modern Quilt world when I need to make a bed type quilt*