Monday, February 15, 2010

Lantern Love Blooms


Do you believe in love at first sight? The kind that sweeps you away before you even know what you're doing?

I do.

What other excuse would I have for falling head over heels for Laura Gunn's Lantern Bloom fabric line? What else could possibly explain why within ten minutes of first setting eyes on it, I was clickety-clicking all over the internets, ordering a bit of just about everything in this line?

I am not impulsive by nature. This was highly unusual behavior.

Also, a first: The first time making a quilt from instructions, using exactly the fabric suggested. It's not that I'm oppositional; I'm just naturally scrappy. I'm an equal-opportunity fabric employer. Scrap fabric or new, vintage or contemporary, thrift shop or quilt shop, and all points in between.

What can I say? I'm a new quilter; I know not what I do. But that's also how I roll. I try to use what I have on hand. If that's wrong, I may need an intervention. Send Dr. Drew, please. He's got that brainy-but-hot thing going on.

This weekend, I did get a little sewing time in, and I cut out and pieced this little ditty. Emphasis on little. It's like crib quilt size. What part about 45 x 55 did I not understand? I guess when you're in love, you do silly things, like pretend not to care about size.


Oh, well, I'm still hearting this fabric in a major way. And did you notice? Birds! In cages! So wrong, but yet so right. I used to have birds. I taught Penny the parakeet to wolf whistle. Hey, when you're in your forties, you miss that stuff, so you resort to other means to fulfill your needs. She could also cluck like a chicken, say "Bird" (sort of), and laugh...my laugh...which was a bit unsettling.

This will have a binding out of the wine-colored tile mosaic print, and the backing will be...well, I don't know. I made a mistake and ordered the wrong amount of what was supposed to be the backing. See? All reason flies out the window when you're under Cupid's influence.

Next up: This wall hanging. Free pattern!

4 comments:

Michelle said...

I LOVE the colors in your Lantern Bloom quilt. Gorgeous! The little birdcages are just delightful. :-)

GaAm said...

I love the way you matched the colors in some of the birdcages to the polkadot fabrics, and I love that green mosaic tile fabric. Gorgeous! I also love those sienna marble and red krystal fabrics in the wall hanging. I'll take a quilt using both of those. Thanks very much! j/k of course. :)

My Owl Barn said...

I am with you on "Birds! In cages!So wrong," but this always looks gorgeous as a pattern on fabric. Lovely!

Elizabeth said...

I'm so with you on this one. When it is love, you have to have it. I'm also equal-opportunity with my fabrics. I have a tag category on my blog called Fabric Envy. I love that you're obsessed with this line. I never would have considered it, but the quilt you're making with it is awesome {I'm reading your posts out of order} and I love the little game-holder bag you did for your sister with this fabric too, but then I told you that already. And then you did that quilt for your niece and it was totally awesome too. You rock, P.

xo -E