Rejection, friendship and cover stars.

BLAM!! Secret squirrel sewing revealed!

Okay, so for those that follow me on Instagram this isn't new, I did show it about a month and a half ago. But I just recently got it back from Love Patchwork and Quilting and was able to take it on our annual beach vacation for some glamour shots :)

This quilt was created from the... I don't want to say rejection of another, but essentially it was.

And I've never been more happy with a rejection in all my life. Now that is, then... not so much ;)

Last February I pitched an idea to Love Patchwork and Quilting thinking it was a pretty good idea and I was excited about it. This was the first idea I had pitched since my Carousel quilt had been published and I was nervous, really nervous.

(I know you're all impressed with my fancy, high tech sketch, I roll old school around here!)

Anyway, I made up a couple of blocks for the quilt I was calling Allsorts and emailed Jen at LP&Q with my idea. 

She was quick to get back, but not with the news that I wanted to hear. I'm going to be honest here folks, I was crushed. It would seem, that she was at that moment waiting to receive another quilt based on the same idea. Turns out it was my gal Angie from Sewvivor that quilt jacked my brain and stole my idea ;) It's amazing how you can totally think you're coming up with a great one of a kind idea only to find out you're not quite as original as you thought. Though I'm pretty sure that Angie and I are quilty soul sisters, this isn't the first time we've come up with the same ideas!

Little did I know that not making this quilt would lead to one of the most amazing quilt related events of my life to date.

Eep!! That's my quilt! On the cover of Love Patchwork and Quilting!! I never in a million years thought that I could accomplish something like this. It has been a dream come true for me. I still find it hard to believe that something I've made could be in a magazine, let alone on the cover!

And I can say with certainty that this quilt would not have happened without my sweet friend Gina. She's always been my go-to gal for sounding projects off of and I would be lost without her help and support. So when LP&Q turned down Allsorts I was hesitant to pitch another idea. But i put on my big girl panties, put together my idea and fabrics and pitched the idea to Gina first. And it was her that told me I had to pitch to them, I'd be crazy not to. So I did. And much to my delight they loved it!

It all started out with one of my all time favourite colour palettes, some of the best prints in my collection and what I'm pretty sure is my absolute favourite Carolyn Friedlander print ever. I make a lot of colour palette stacks. I'm constantly pulling stacks and never making anything with them. But this one, this one was begging to be made into something!

Or somethings...

Because one can never have enough matching pillows right?! And bonus, the HST pillow was made entirely from off-cuts from the quilt!

I quilted both pillows and the quilt in Aurifil #2600 Dove Grey, surprising right? No brass. I wanted the quilting to just fade away, give some nice texture and not be noticed.

I think I succeeded on that. Subtle, but there when you look. 

photo courtesy of Love Patchwork and Quilting magazine

Even on the back the quilting just blends right in.

You'd never know that I've actually quilted circles on this one! It's mostly straight lines, but the black Carolyn Friedlander crosshatch print I used on the back hides it all quite well.

I used the same black crosshatch for the binding, with the exception of a little piece of Tula Pinks hex box print that I couldn't resist adding to finish one of the stars.

I think it's a nice little pop of colour! And I absolutely love that Tula print!

photo courtesy of Love Patchwork and Quilting magazine

I didn't have time for a proper photo shoot before i mailed it off and wasn't sure when it would be making it's way back to me so Alice at LP&Q sent me a couple of shots from the mag. They sure do know how to make things look good!

photo courtesy of Love Patchwork and Quilting magazine

I'm running out of things to say about this quilt and I still have pictures I want to share!

How about a shot with Batman?! Everyone needs at least one quilt shot with Batman :) Am I right?!

Okay, okay I'll finish up here.

Quilt details

Pattern - Twinkle Twinkle by me!

Finished Size - 54" x 72"

Star fabrics - Too many to name but mostly Lizzy House, Tula Pink and Cotton and Steel

Background, backing and binding fabrics - Carolyn Friedlander

Pieced and quilted entirely with Aurifil #2600 Dove Grey.

Now I'm going to get crazy and link up with Finish it up Friday over at crazy mom quilts because it's been way too long!

And if you're local and want to make this quilt, I'll be teaching it at my LQS this November. Just click on the picture of it in my sidebar :)

High fives for a quilty finish I can finally share!

xo nicole

And now maybe a few vacation pics...

Yeah, it was pretty chilly, not that it stopped the boys from going out in the dingy!