It feels like so long ago, and just yesterday at the same time. Back in 2014, when my kids were little (I’m talking 2-4 years old) I was craving some artistic outlet with others interested in my same hobby... quilting. At the time, there was a particular quilt shop that had an amazing BOM program called The Block Buster Block of the Month. Basically, you pay $3 and get 2 cuts of fabric and a pattern to complete a 12 x 12 inch block. As long as you complete your block and share it with the group in person at the next monthly meeting, you don’t pay again. There isn’t enough fabric to complete the whole block, so you add some of your own. The theme for this BOM year was batiks. It was perfect!
The colors reminded me of flowers and a Hawaiian experience, so I added a green and a yellow from my stash. You’ll see in each block those colors are running themes. I also used scraps from previous months to enhance other blocks as we worked through the month. I made sure to imagine my flower in each block on point so that I would be able to complete the quilt on point as well.
I had so many ideas and ambitions with this project! It was just what I needed. After a year of taking kids to meetings (and them behaving so well at every one) I had a completed stack of blocks. I started thinking about how to set it and searching for fabrics for sashing and backing and binding, oh my. But then, they started another block of the month that I was in love with too, and the project got tabled so I could make another set of blocks. A whole other story that I will be sharing soon.
Life got away from me. I only did those two years of BOM’s before we couldn’t make the commitment anymore, and I had enough work to complete already anyway. Kids got bigger, and busier, and I really wasn’t doing any quilting at all.
So, this is a quarantine story… and this was definitely a UFO that needed love and attention. I had found sashing, backing, and binding and it was all sitting on the shelf waiting for me to complete it. Now was the time.
I used the very last scraps of my green to create a few leaves and a vine that encircle the blocks. My husband wasn’t a fan of the asymmetrical design, but I love it! I felt like it added interest and a unique flavor.
At first, I struggled with how to quilt it. One night while trying to fall asleep, I had a brainstorm to use a meander in a circular pattern on each flower to give it waving petals look. Then, I used a meander with leaves in the sashing and borders. I finished it with a 2020 label tag and a hand stitched binding. Done and IN LOVE!!
I am so happy I finally finished this wonderful quilt. Every time I look at it, I’m reminded of the wonderful outings with my children to the shop for class and then off to lunch for a treat. This was an awesome project!
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