the panda quilts: #5: sashing & rectangle modern meadow

i immediately new what pattern/fabrics to use for carrie's quilt. courtney's quilt left me befuddled. i looked at patterns online and in my books; i browsed the online shops; i wandered up and down the aisles at textile, but nothing jumped out at me and screamed "COURTNEY!"

 until i saw this and my mind was made up:

i stumbled upon this pattern online. it seemed easy to follow and i liked how it showcased bigger portions of the print fabrics.

one of my favorite things about quilting is picking out fabric - i like pulling things from different designers and finding nice combinations.  this quilt pattern calls for 10 different prints, so i was surprised that i bought ALL the prints from the same designer, joel dewberry. most are from the older modern meadow line and one is from the newer heirloom line. they just looked so darn good together! i especially love the flower fields (i used it for my skirt), and the herringbone is one of my all-time favorites:

i used kona snow for the neutral sashing strips and the binding, and ordered a shot cotton called "nut" to use in the "B" rows.  herein lies the problem of ordering fabric online: while you save money, you really can't tell colors 100% accurately. when the order arrived, the shot cotton looked way too reddish-brown. so i went to textile - i couldn't find a single solid that matched perfectly. i found something at joann that was exactly the right shade i needed. all that to say: my goose chase for the perfect shade of brown really delayed my start, and i wondered if i'd make my self-imposed christmas deadline.

i had it in my head that this pattern would go a lot quicker than the small plates quilt, and while there was less cutting to do, pinning and sewing all the sashing strips took longer than i imagined. but it all came together quite nicely.

basting on the kitchen floor...barely enough room!

for the back, i sewed a strip of the leftover prints and anchored it with kona stone and kona mustard.
for quilting, i did vertical straight lines on both sides of the printed "A" rows.

i finished it on december 23...just in the nick of time. courtney had remarked to her boyfriend that she hoped i'd make her a quilt for christmas, so i am glad i could make her wish come true!