Remember when I mentioned that sometimes, a quilt pattern just BEGS to be made- that instant- and I can’t ignore it? That would be the case for this one, called Playground Picnic by Melissa Corry of Happy Quilting.

The blocks are so interesting! I couldn’t stop staring at her quilt, and I knew I needed to have it in my collection. It’s such a neat block design, I had to see how she designed it! And it really was a clever assortment of trimmed on-point bits and pieces to come up with the final block look. Love love love it.

A good quilt pattern needs fabric that is up to the task of making that pattern really shine, and after I purchased the pattern I headed straight to Simply Love Fabrics to grab a FQ Bundle of Wild Bouquet, probably my favorite line from this year by Citrus and Mint Designs for Riley Blake Designs. UM. It’s a match made in HEAVEN! After each block would finish (I did block by block instead of days of chain piecing, my standard) I’d stand back and declare that “THIS one is my favorite!” Each is so extremely gorgeous!

I couldn’t decide on a single print for the binding, so I went with a scrappy binding from my leftover fabric. It was a wise decision, yes indeed. While I knew some really fancy quilting would be amazing… I ran out of time and quilting $$ so I just did a meander on my own domestic machine. It went really well, and I don’t regret that decision. It makes it a little more personal, having quilted it myself. The backing is an assortment of backing fabrics I’ve had on hand, and its a perfect look to go with the front prints.

So, I highly recommend making this quilt because you will LOVE the finished result, and I also highly recommend finding a place more suitable than a dusty, desert park to take photos of the quilt when it is finished. This one really needed a meadow of beautiful flowers or a lush garden for its backdrop… but dirt and desert trees are all I have available! 

Have you made any quilts this year that have made your favorites list? This made my list this year!