Flea Market Fancy

I finally finished my Flea Market Fancy quilt.  I fell in love with this fabric line a couple years after it was made.  Since I was unable to purchase any at my local quilt store I hit Etsy and Ebay.  I gladly scooped up other quilter’s scraps.  Once I had some from each of the beautiful color ways I went to work on designing a pattern.  Sounds easy and the finished quilt top looks easy enough.  But, it was more brain work than it looks.  I was working with scraps and I had to make sure I picked a size that would maximize each piece and leave little to waste. 

This top took me several weeks to piece.  Then, sadly, it sat and sat while I struggled to choose the perfect backing.  Finally, I decided no other design would compliment this line.  I went with solids.  I chose an aqua for the back and a grass green/gray for the binding.  I also had two lonely squares left from piecing the top, so I added them to the back.

The gray piece was actually an “accidental, on purpose” that I add quite frequently.  I measured out how much of the binding I would need and pieced it.  When I was stitching it on the back side I noticed I was short several inches.  I grabbed some gray binding that I already had and voila.  Now, as soon as I finished with the binding and was standing up to admire my most beautiful quilt.  I noticed a lone piece of green binding that had fallen under my chair.  I like the interest that the gray adds so in the end it worked out great.

For the quilting I did an all over stipple.  That is my favorite way to finish a piece and as this was my favorite line I was sold. 

I am so excited at the progress I am making in filling our basement quilt cupboard.

Funny side note, Denyse Schmidt did a re-release of the Flea Market Fancy.  I did save my pennies and purchased 2 yards of each color way.  I have yet to cut into them.  I am hoping once my sewing room is all finished and I have them out I will be inspired to use them and not just hoard them.