If diamonds are a girl’s best friend, this is my kind of diamonds.

A couple of years ago I purchased a package of flannel 10″ squares (also known as a Moda layer cake) that I believe is a collection by Lisa Bongean. The fabric looks like suede and feels luxurious. It was love at first sight.

I didn’t have a plan for the fabric until I watched Jenny Doan’s tutorial for Simple Diamonds. I ordered the Missouri Star Quilt Company Template and started cutting triangles. With the template I could cut two triangles from one square with very little waste. The hardest part of making the quilt was determining the color placement.

Apparently my goldendoodle, Chester, has an eye for color and decided some pieces needed a shuffle.

After several weeks of serving as Chester’s jigsaw puzzle, I determined that the quilt needed to get done. My husband was going out of town for work and the weather was going to be bitterly cold, so I made enough chicken tortilla soup to keep me fed and vowed that I wouldn’t go anywhere until that quilt top was done.

Originally I was going to back the quilt with Minky (a soft fabric that feels like mink to the touch); however, I read on a blog about a double-sided plush fabric that was thick enough that batting was unnecessary. So that’s what I went with because I wanted this quilt to be super soft and cuddly with a nice drape. I also folded the backing onto the front to bind the quilt, so even the edges have a super soft feel. (All the quilting is done “in the ditch” so it doesn’t interrupt the lovely fabric.)

This quilt is a blanket of love for my son because he loves flannel quilts. When he moved to his own apartment, he took his flannel graduation quilt from Grandma and another flannel quilt she made for our family because it was his favorite couch quilt. Now he’ll have one from his mom.

So even though I was away from home for a week in Texas, I managed to complete two of my works-in-progress during January. Whoop! Whoop! With that progress, I recalculated my fabric use and purchases: I used 15.5 yards to complete two quilts and I purchased 9 yards. That means my fabric storage is lightened by 6.5 yards. Another Whoop! Whoop!

February Goals

I signed up for Christa Watson’s “Squiggles” quilt along, so my goal is to catch up and keep up the pace so that I have a finished quilt by the end of the month. Here’s a peek at my J is for Jeep™ fabric by Riley Blake. When the quilt is done, I’ll explain why Jeeps play an important part of my story.

Linkups

This week I’m linking up with these creative quilters:

• Patty at Elm Street Quilts,
• Amanda Jean at Crazy Mom Quilts
• Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict
• Sherry at Powered by Quilting
• Tish’s Adventures in Wonderland

Joyfully,

Tracie