Third Street Neighborhood

More scrappy houses, this time for a wedding. I found the Third Street Neighborhood quilt pattern on Etsy and though I'm usually not a fan of black and white prints, this particular pattern--with its colorful doors--intrigued me. I originally planned to bind the quilt with the same fabric used for the backing--a pure white with black and gray Queen Anne's lace print--but at the last minute was inspired to use the same solid red as a couple of the doors. I am still undecided if that was a good design choice, although everyone who saw the finished quilt loved the red binding. I am just a pastel sort of person at heart. The quilting is a whimsical design with hearts and spirals, reminiscent of Dr. Seuss, which softens both the bold colors and geometrical shapes and suggests a Home Is Where The Heart Is theme.

We delivered the quilt this weekend to Rob and Courtney's wedding, which was a completely lovely event.

Suburbs

I first saw the Suburbs quilt on display at Fabric Depot and it instantly became a favorite.  Even better, the pattern was in the discounted section of the Outdoor Sale for only a few dollars.  I'm not sure why, but I've found some of my favorite quilt patterns in the Outdoor Sale.  There's something about flipping through a basket of discontinued patterns, looking for a bargain.  Or maybe I'm better at focusing when there are not aisles upon aisles of patterns competing for my attention.  The Suburbs pattern is very fat-quarter-friendly, with little waste.  Each fat quarter makes four houses and four doors.  I used fat quarters from my stash for a scrappy look, a marbled blue for the winter sky, and a spirally quilting pattern that evokes images of snow swirling around houses where everyone is snuggled inside by a fire.  I probably need to live in Connecticut or Vermont or somewhere that actually gets snow; perhaps that would end my purely romantic view of snowy landscapes and winter wonderlands.

The only thing better than a scrappy quilt is a scrappy baby quilt and this one is for Baby R.  A bunting was also made that was oh-so-cute, but for reasons unknown, no picture was taken.