Whimsy Time

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I love this quilt!  And that says a lot coming from someone who doesn't really care for pink.  I have a few pink-ish shirts that I wear to work sometimes and I always get asked if I'm feeling alright when I wear pink instead of my typical and more conservative darker colors.

This quilt just screams spring to me... the ducks... the sheep

The bunnies...

l carefully cut to avoid any unfortunate fussy-cut beheading incidents. ;)

Each print comes from Laurie Wisbrun's Modern Whimsy line.  She graciously sent me each print in the line to play with.  And my goodness... sewing with organic cotton is amazing!  It also quilts beautifully and crinkles up and is super soft.

I quilted it with a simple stipple with my new sewing machine.  It quilts wonderfully... it was so much fun and I usually don't say that about stippling!  Now that I've got a good handle on how the machine quilts, I'm excited to branch out and start trying some other free motion techniques.

I backed it with a vintage sheet that I've been holding on to for a long time.  I think it's perfect and so soft.

I think I'm returning to pin basting.  I love how easy it is to quilt without removing pins but I don't like how basting gums up my needle {even though it says that it doesn't}.  If it does that to my needle then I'm worried about what it could do to the rest of my machine.  Surprisingly enough, it didn't take that long to pin and I didn't end up with any wrinkles in the backing either.

It's bound with the green circles from Whimsy and I'm really pleased with the green against the pink.  I think it's a nice contrast and keeps the quilt from going over-the-top-pink.  I hand stitched the binding to the back which is still one of my favorite parts of making a quilt.

The blocks are traditional hourglass blocks which have roots in "quilt code".  Basically, a quilt with hourglass blocks would be hung in the window indicating that it was safe to travel and the color of the block told which time of day was the safest.  I know there's some controversy over whether this code actually existed but it's still a fascinating story.  Edited to add: in keeping with wanting to learn more about the history of quilting, I'll be including more snippets of info as I research the quilt designs I'm using.

Things I learned:
- I hate to pin when I piece but I made myself do it and was reminded that it's well worth it
- I despise basting with pins but I'm going to go back to this method. Pinning didn't take that long...
- I love my new Juki sewing machine.  It makes quilting so much easier!
- I still prefer hand stitching my binding.
- I learned a little bit about the history of the quilt code.
- I love working with organic fabric!  It can be pricey but it's worth it!

Quilt stats:
- Measures 44"x 52"
- Prints are from Laurie Wisbrun's Modern Whimsy line
- The batting is bamboo
- Solid is Kona Medium Pink

This adorable quilt is for sale here and would make the perfect spring baby quilt.  I'd hold on to it myself but all the babies due around us are boys...

Linking up for Fabric Tuesday & Finish it up Friday!