Horizon Lines

I love a pretty stack of fat quarters, who doesn't? And The Cotton Bolt has an amazing talent for putting together beautiful bundles. I love that she's putting together unique bundles that aren't just a single line or brand, a woman after my own heart! She's also a vendor each year at Garden of Quilts, and I always look forward to visiting her booth. A couple of years ago, I picked up a beautiful bundle that was designed for the Horizon Lines quilt. I figured it was such a straighforward pattern I could figure it out myself if I wanted to go that way, but I also thought maybe I'd do something else...

So the bundle sat on my shelf, for a year. I don't usually sew fat quarter friendly quilts, and I didn't want to break up the bundle because I really loved it. So, the following year, I gave in and bought the pattern. She does use measurements that weren't common, which is fine, but I wasn't able to easily do the math. Plus, I figured, designers should get paid for their work. I didn't love the way she wrote her pattern, to be honest, which was helpful as I prepare to write my own patterns. 

But, even with that, I LOVE how the quilt turned out. After I took pictures, I left it out on the couch and my husband, who hadn't seen it yet, told me how much he loved it. He's always supportive, but I can tell he really loved it, he doesn't usually mention things like that. I didn't think the quilt was particularly masculine, but it definitely works as a manly quilt. 

I had Abby Latimer quilt it with Aspen Canopy. I don't usually go for pictoral pantos, but this one seemed absolutely perfect, and I love how it turned out. I backed it with Ruby Star Hole Punch in a cream color, and I felt like it was perfect: the color was a good match for the prints, and with just a touch of metallic, like some of the prints, it would have fit in perfectly on the front making it a great match for the back. Bonus, I snagged the fabric from Abby on her black friday sale a couple of years ago for a song. I don't typically put prints on the back because of the price, but if I can get a great backing print for close to the price of a solid, I'll totally do it, prints on the back are so fun. That is, if you don't use minky, like I nearly always do because my girls are obsessed. I bound it with an essex linen I had leftover from a previous quilt. I love when I can use leftovers for bindings, and this one was a great match with the texture because there's a linen blend on the front, and the muted green was a great color with the other soft colors.