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(Oh, I just want to PICK that leaf out of the lower left of that photo.)

I started making blocks for this quilt back in early June, after digging through a pile of fabric and feeling that this was truly the only project I wanted to be doing, at all. By the end? I was starting new projects not to have to finish it. I emailed Kelly (who just finished an AMAZING Carnaby Street x-plus quilt, that is featured on Quilt Story!) whining, “it’ll never be done.” She encouraged me to keep trucking, which I did, and now–

It’s done, it’s done, hooray and whew.

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It’s a generous throw size, about 72” x 72”. I like these big quilts. You can snuggle more babies under them. (#notpregnant.)

I added some non-Liberty prints in the mix, just for dimension. Holler if you need an ID on any of the prints!

I quilted it in a free-motion wonky square pattern. I think my free-motion quilting is truly improving. For awhile, I really felt like I was going to stink at it forever–but this time I sat down and just did it, and it felt so much more natural.

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I bound it in the charcoal Madrona Road Memoir print.

I’m especially proud of the back of this quilt.

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I backed it with an Amy Butler print from Cameo. I love the blue-grey colors with the greys and pastels of the front of the quilt. When I bought it on 50% off sale at FQS, I dumbly and blithely bought 3.5 yards, which is almost always what I auto-pilot buy when I am buying quilt backs. Of course, not enough for a 72” square quilt. I think I managed brilliantly. Looks intentional, right? The romantic story of the Memoir print plays out in the Amy Butler print, framed by some pretty sweet Liberty florals–like all these fabrics were meant to go together.

If you’re looking to do your own x-plus quilt, I used Amy Badskirt’s tutorial but cut sizes from this pin to make 12” finished blocks. I made 36 blocks, 6 x 6.

Stay tuned this week for a tip if you’re planning to make an x-plus quilt. It’s a leftovers/scrap management tip. (The idea isn’t original to me. But I love it so much I’ve got to share it.)