Economic Women

Last September, I went to the Garden of Quilts at Thanksgiving Point with a friend. It was so great. I loved seeing so many quilts, and doing just a bit of shopping. I was a bit surprised and disappointed there weren't more vendors, but it's probably for the best. I spent enough as it was! One thing I bought was really out of character for me: a kit. I don't typically buy or make kits because I have an extensive stash and because I like to put together my own fabric bundles. This one was for a baby quilt, I believe, or possibly a large wall hanging? Pretty sure it was a baby quilt. It was a simple quilt, using economy blocks, and it featured Jill Howarth's Little Women fabric. 

Now, I'm not a huge Little Women fan. But, I do have four daughters, and my husband, surprisingly, really likes the movies. The fabric was just so cute, too, even though, again, it's not really my style. I just couldn't say no, and so an impulse purchase was made and I came home with a kit. 

I determined very early on that I would make it larger. So, I bought some additional yardage of the focal prints so I could make more squares, and I pulled coordinating fabric from my stash. I settled on making slightly larger blocks, using a tutorial by Amy Smart of Diary of a Quilter for 8" finished blocks, and determined to make it a nice lap size at 64x80 using 80 blocks. But, it had to wait...Halloween, Christmas, birthday gift...so many projects with deadlines ahead of it. 

However, after I finished binding the Swoon quilt, I decided to make it my next quilt. To be honest, I dreaded the cutting and the trimming, but it really wasn't as bad as I expected. And the blocks themselves went together fairly quickly. I finished up the top just a few days ago and it's awaiting the trip to the quilter's.