ser·en·dip·i·ty (srn-dp-t)
n. pl. ser·en·dip·i·ties
1. The faculty of making fortunate discoveries by accident.
2. The fact or occurrence of such discoveries.
3. An instance of making such a discovery.
When auditioning names for this quilt and pattern, I fielded suggestions from Steve and Chaney. Stretchagons was the runner up but in the end I couldn't allow myself to forget how this quilt came to be.
The short of it is that I was having a bad day and fabric, a rotary cutter, and some thread gave me a way to express my feelings. It's funny how such a cheery quilt could come from such negative emotions isn't it?
With little thought I pulled the fabrics together and with even less thought I started cutting the different fabrics. I began piecing the blocks and from there the design grew. The blocks, the colors, the shapes, they all came together from a random non-plan.
Some quilters call that improv; I call it serendipity.
Now, I did give more than a thought to the quilting and went with straight line quilting outlining the rows of "stretchagons" and tiny triangles.
I backed it with a vintage sheet that went perfectly with the colors. This quilt is so soft and I found it refreshing not to stipple the heck out of it and instead let the colors and the pattern speak for themselves {I think they did quite nicely!}.
I bound it with my favorite Hope Valley print that also shows up in the quilt itself. And BTW, I found those binding clips and I can honestly say that this is the best binding I have ever done; not too tight but not too full either. Take that, Sewing Circle Ladies! LOL
I received such an encouraging response when I posted my progress of this quilt that I decided to jump in and do what I've been wanting to do for some time now... write my first real pattern. I think it's pretty obvious that I love to quilt and almost equally, I love to write. Math, measurements, calculations, and precision are very rewarding for me so with all these things combined I really enjoyed writing this pattern. I hope other quilters will enjoy making this quilt too!
I have added a pattern shop here on my blog and the pattern is available for instant download. I'll also be listing it in my Etsy shop but it will be slightly more expensive there because Etsy takes their lovely cut. You will also be able to find this finished quilt in my Etsy shop.
If you do happen to purchase this pattern you have me at your disposal to answer questions and walk you through the process if you are new to quilting. Serendipity is perfect for the motivated beginner all the way to the experienced quilter. You can start and finish this quilt in a weekend and the size is certainly not overwhelming for a new quilter. And don't let the little triangles scare you... there's a cool little trick to them plus a bonus!
The basics:
- It measures approximately 48" x 54"
- It takes 10 Fat Quarters for variety {you could easily make this quilt with scraps}
- You need 1.5 yards of a solid or neutral fabric