A Fireworks Birthday

Before I start, let me say:

Finally.

I've been working on this quilt for what seems like forever.  I'm so happy I can finally share it!

Okay, let me back up.

My mom has a big birthday this year, and I wanted to make her something really special.  I originally thought about making her a Swoon quilt, but she found out (through this very blog) and I didn't want her to not be surprised because of it.  Back to the drawing board!

My mom loves Bonnie & Camille, the Moda designers, and their quilts.  They're very classic without being stuffy, and their fabrics are very fresh and fun: bright colors and lots of florals.  I knew I wanted to make her something with these fabrics, especially because my local quilt shop has three of their lines currently in stock.  I also wanted the quilt to be something intricate, something that would be worth the time spent.  I decided on the Fireworks quilt pattern, also by Thimble Blossoms, because it was similar enough to Swoon that I could still enjoy the classic design, but it would still be a surprise when my mom opened it.  It also looked like a nice challenge.

It was certainly that!

I bought all the fabrics in late January, so I'd have plenty of time to work on this.  I was still down to the wire, but all's good now.  Sixteen fat quarters grouped in pairs make up these blocks--I tried to not duplicate any pairings, so even though each print shows up twice, they're all used with different coordinates.  My favorite blocks ended up being the orange and blue pairings, for some reason.  I love green, red, and yellow, but the blue and orange just stuck out as the best use.  Next great color couple?  Don't tell Nick, he's still stuck on brown and blue.

These blocks were quite involved: it took two days to cut all the fabrics, and over sixteen hours to complete the blocks.  Depending on the roll I was on, I could complete a block in anywhere from 60-90 minutes.  In fact, I went through two seasons of Parks and Recreation while sewing these.  I'd come home from work, make dinner, and then try to complete a block before doing whatever else I needed to do.  On the weekends I'd be able to make two or three in a row before moving on to something else.  

I was working up until the last minute on this.  I wanted to get it professionally quilted, and knew I'd be working on someone else's timeline at that point, so I had to drop it off at least two weeks in advance.  I was still in my pajamas at noon on the day I dropped it off--I had been up since 7:00, piecing and sewing the blocks together, trying to get it done before it was too late.  Everything turned out fine, and I couldn't be happier with the quilting.  I want all my quilts professionally done now, even though that's not really financially feasible!

My mom received this last week, and wanted to wait until her birthday (March 27) to open it.  I don't think so!  I was too excited to wait on her.  Thankfully, she loved it, and even told me her cat Reggie slept on it that night, so it must be an okay quilt.

Mom sent me this from their dock

If you'd like to read a bit more, my longarmer featured my quilt on their blog a few days ago.  

I hope everyone had a great weekend--what'd you sew?

Happy birthday Mom!  I love you!