Wild Thing -- or What Was She Thinking!

It started out innocently, really it did! I found 40 four patches when putting my studio "back together" after one of the summer evacuation scares. They were made a year or so ago from my scrap pile and somehow forgotten. Fabrics with memories of quilts gone by that just needed to be included in a new project.

I didn't want to make more four patches to make a bigger quilt, but alone they wouldn't even cover Pixxie -- for the record, she's a southern Chihuahua and does like her quilts. Oh what to do?

Why not surround the patches with strips and use my newly found skills as a Square in a Square certified instructor and turn them into Option 5's (anything in the middle). And why not use that bolt of beautiful black wood-tone looking fabric? Why not indeed. Okay, round one and it wasn't much bigger. Hum...what about that cool lime green stripe that I just had to add to my stash earlier this summer? Make it an Option 2 (two times around)...hum...why not. Oh I loved what the stripe did for the overall look! But I didn't want to put lime green next to lime green, it was too dizzy looking. For the record, I like dizzy - but the quilt needed something else, besides it was still small and if you are going to make a quilt and really use it (and use up some of your stash) then it's gotta be bigger right?

Well, about that time I nicknamed this my 'dangling carrot' cuz it was really hard to keep focused on the task at hand (as in "punching the clock on Monday morning" -- this potential quilt was calling my name! Quite a distraction I must admit.)

As I shared in an earlier post several online friends said they'd help me out and send me carrot fabric, I asked for 5 inch squares thinking I'd just join it in with the SnS format...in the meantime I purchased 3 yards of carrot fabric to use "somewhere" in the quilt...and then I got emails that folks had other veggies besides carrots did I want those too? why not! and before I knew it I had carrots and other veggies (and seed package prints) included in this wacky wild quilt.

And it GREW!! 88 x 111!!

Is that wild or what!

Here's a close up of the blocks.
The carrot sashing was suppose to make a secondary design of a star, but sorta got lost since I didn't use the back in the center -- my thinking? I wanted more scraps!
Oh well, maybe there will be secondary stars sashing in another quilt...

Here's the close up of the veggie blocks in the border from my friends

More blocks from friends
Did I mention that I used lime green thread?
Why not!?!

Close up of a little thread play at the bottom

This is the back flipped over to show the thread play AND the hand dyed backing.

I used a new batting, FiberCo's bamboo blend, a 50% bamboo and 50% cotton - just a little something I picked up at Houston Market (smile). I can't wait to bind it in that lime green stripe, on the bias of course. Once it's bound I plan on washing it to see how the bamboo holds up. I've been told that it does beautifully and drapes really well. All I know is it is SOFT!

So there ya' go my friends -- my Dangling Carrot quilt is wild and wacky and finished, and no, I couldn't tell you what I was really thinking as this quilt grew...I was just escaping to my own little corner in my own little room in my own little world on my "day off" and yes, it took a month of Sundays (smile) but it's finished and when the next cold spell comes we'll give it a try out on the bed to see if it's as warm as our Hobbs Tuscany Wool batting (smile).

Did I mention it was 70+ degrees today!! Oh I love the Texas Gulf Coast!!