sam's {scrappy} quilt

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

This quilt top was inspired in a last-minute burst of creativity as I was flipping through the Encyclopedia of Pieced Quilt Patterns* and daydreaming of emeralds the other week.

The block itself (#3725) is titled "Sam's Quilt," which seemed appropriate seeing as it's a family name and my husband has hinted that we need a larger-than-lapsized quilt for the family room (finished top is 72" x 77").  So I set to work selecting prints from my stash, cutting plastic templates (and lots of fabric!), and chain piecing like a crazy person.  Now, typically I infuse order into everything I sew (e.g., this quilt), but lately I've been envious of several quilty peers' innate ability to whip up brilliantly scrappy designs that seem so effortlessly carefree and cheerful.  In fact, after seeing this particular beauty, I told myself the next block-based quilt I made would be off-limits to any attempts at order.

Seeing as this approach goes against every designer grain in my being, it's been an interesting experience, to say the least.  Ironically, my little helper's eagerness to participate—namely by tossing triangles all over the floor at random—was actually quite useful in keeping me on my scrappy task.

Indeed, it's safe to say that from piecing to photography, she had a hand (or foot) in it all.

It's certainly not the "scrappy riot of colour" I one day aspire to achieve, but it's a start!  Entering this in the quilt tops category of a²(w)'s Pantone Challenge:  in addition to green, I used off-white fabrics (beige + eggshell + snow) for my neutral and various blue prints for my secondary color.

Much thanks to Ali for hosting and to the amazing sponsors and judges for your generosity and time!  You can check out the (steep!) competition here.

*Note:  Barbara Brackman's Encyclopedia of Pieced Quilt Patterns has been out of print for some time, and eBay/Amazon sellers have raised their prices in light of its relative rarity.  I happened to snatch up an old library copy at a fair price last fall, but I just stumbled up this newly released eBook for less than $30 in case spending upwards of $80 on a used book just isn't your thing ;)

    

Edited to add:  A few of you have commented about the stained glass effect of this quilt.  And I must say, after walking out to this in my family room the past few days...

Yes, it's still up.  Don't judge!

...I'm inclined to add quilted curtains to my {lengthy} sewing/dream home wishlist!