A Windsor Garden Plus Quilt

As 2017 was winding down, I decided I was going to start putting myself out there in the quilting world. It was a little scary, and I was prepared to receive a lot of "no thank yous" in response. Deane Beesley had posted that she was looking for some sewers and quilters that would be able to make items for her fabric designers to display at Quilt Market. I applied and forgot about it. I received an email that I would be put on a list to possibly be contacted by one of the designers. I then received an email from Lizzie Clark asking if I could make a quilt and pillow for spring Quilt Market. (Ummm...YES!!!) After Quilt Market, Lizzie asked me to participate in a blog hop for her new Wonder Full fabric line. Then Kelly Parker Smith (another Sweet Bee Designs fabric designer) asked me to participate in her blog hop for her new Windsor Garden fabric line. Moral of the story...PUT YOURSELF OUT THERE! Yes...you may be told "no" multiple times, but it only takes one "yes" to start a wonderful adventure. But I digress...

I received 14 gorgeous fat quarters of Kelly's new Windsor Garden fabric line. (They are all beautiful, but I think the Beatrice lemon prints are my favorite. The floral Amelia prints are a close second, though.) Normally when I have an amazing fat quarter pack of lovely new fabrics, I won't cut into them. Fortunately, I had to cut into them. 

I had the difficult decision of deciding what to make with these beautiful fabrics. So. Many. Options. In January, I hosted my first quilt-along on Instagram. The #plusblockqal was so much fun and a huge success. (Check out the #plusblockqal and #plusblockqalcomplete hashtags over on Instagram to see all the pretty quilts that were made...and are still being made.) Of course I never finished my original plus block quilt so I figured this was a chance to redeem myself! (Not a surprise, but I didn't get the binding on yet. It's kind of my thing.) I used the three lighter prints for the plus part of each block and the bright/dark prints to make a scrappy background.  

I still haven't perfected the "quilt swirl!"

The pluses are subtle, but I love the bright scrappiness.

Each block is 10.5 inches (10 inch finished). You can find cutting instructions for the blocks here. I made 20 blocks for this quilt, so it measures 40 inches x 50 inches. I used one of my favorite pantographs (Fantasy Flame) to longarm quilt it.

Moda Bella Indigo backing.

My family and I are heading to Minnesota on a fishing vacation, and I will have a huge stack of quilts ready to hand bind in the car! I already have a beautiful Moda Bella Persimmon binding made and ready to put on this quilt. I promise to share some pictures of this beautiful quilt at the lake. Thanks for stopping by!