Wild Cherry

You don't need me to tell you about how awful this endless winter of our discontent has been, how the snow drifts threatening to bury the house or snowflakes sticking to the windows made me feel suffocated....nope, not gonna rant; I've already done that, and so have you, I'm sure. But really, this winter did a number on me, and if it snowed one more time, I was going to curl up in a little ball on my closet floor and stay there until my tulips bloomed.

I needed to at least look at something cheerful every day, so quilting to the rescue! I started my first wall quilt, to hang on the wall across from the bed, to be something beautiful I see when I first open my eyes in the morning (instead of the white s--- outside the window [use the four-letter s-word of your choice there])

Here's how this quilt evolved: Once upon a time, I noticed I had a bunch of pretty deep rosy-pink fabrics in my stash. I gathered them together, thinking about what kind of quilt I wanted to make with them, and put them in the project closet...where they sat for about *ahem* three years. I'd go to the closet often to get and work on the quilts I'd given priority, and every once in a while I'd think about the pile...maybe add a fabric, maybe take one away...but still no ideas for a quilt design. At one point, I realized Rosy Pinks needed some lively new friends, so I introduced a couple yellow solids and a couple greens. Well okay, the party was gettin' started.

Late last year I began thinking about making my first wall quilt. Then I re-read Liberated Medallion Quilts by Gwen Marston (she is my absolute quilting idol, for her quilts and for her liberated approach to designing and piecing). I kept thinking, "That Amy Butler 'Love' fabric would make a great center medallion..." So all that combined with some serious winter blues, and I knew it was time to get crackin'.

Here's the finished quilt top, taped up where it will hang, replacing a large Georgia O'Keefe print.
(Georgia, I really like your work, but I've been looking at that big purple petunia since I had my first apartment. It's time to go.)

Hand-quilting it shouldn't take too long. 
Soon, my pretty, soon...

Linked up with Lee at Freshly Pieced for WIP Wednesday!