I wanted a clean-lined quilt for my newest great-nephew. His mom had mentioned that the colors of the baby’s room were tan and forest green, with woodland creatures.

So I found this pattern in Modern Quilts Illustrated #15.

The curved piecing was very reminiscent of leaves, so the first challenge was rounding up all the fabrics that I thought would work for my project. I didn’t want to go with the grey background and thought I might be able to substitute a tan and still get the same transparency effect.

In keeping with my effort to only purchase organic fabric, I found some that were nearly perfect from Hawthorne Supply Company. Many of their regular quilt fabrics have an organic option.

So the above fabric was the inspiration, but I knew it would just be on the back. I really loved the idea that the quilt would have this slick modern look/feel on the front but still have an element of the baby’s room and theme on the back. It’s always nice to have something that will extend beyond just “baby”.

At any rate, I was a little concerned about the curved piecing, but to be honest it was pretty simple. The directions and graphics in the pattern are very straightforward. I made a copy of the template on some template plastic that I had hidden somewhere for years. (It was perfect for the task.)

And I set about piecing and laying out the quilt. It had plenty of white space so overall it was a fairly quick assembly. The hardest part was all the planning in order to get the colors just the way I wanted them.

The result was an extremely cool pattern and vibe.

I ended the quilt with some machine embroidery which I put on the front of the quilt next to the binding in one straight line. It added an element of interest, like a painting signed on the front. I don’t have a pic of the quilt label, because I don’t want to make all the names public. (sad face emoji)

From this pic, you are seeing the bottom half of the quilt as it hags over the railing, so it’s about twice that high.

In general, it was one of the most satisfying quilts I’ve done. Matching the colors to the back, maintaining the theme, and still incorporating craftsmanship and interest. I wanted it to be a quilt that could be washed and washed and loved to pieces.

Don’t be afraid to walk away from your usual work or traditional quilts once in awhile. You might be surprised to find a fun and interesting new aesthetic. I never want to be boxed into a corner or predictable in this craft.

If you’ve been plugging along, feeling like you are in a rut, try something completely different. In fact, try the opposite of what you normally do. I’m personally feeling like I need some improvisational quilting these days. Structure is feeling a little uncomfortable.

I guess we’ll see what comes next. Happy stitching, friends!