Bloggers' Quilt Festival: 3-D quilty-fun!

It's Bloggers' Quilt Festival again!  And I am FINALLY posting another quilt!  This quilt has been done for a while but I haven't posted it because I didn't want the recipients to see it here before I gave it to them in person--and I kept forgetting to take it with me whenever I was headed their way.  I made this for my brother and sister-in-law and their new baby. 

 

This is one of the coolest-looking quilts I've made so far in my quilting career.  It is called Downtown.  The pattern was in the Big Book of Building Block Quilts by Sara Nephew.  There are lots of fun 3-D quilts in this little book--and I LOVE 3-D quilts. I want to make some of the harder ones but I thought I should get my feet wet with this beginner-level one first.  And I have to say, it was very easy to put together.

The hardest part of making this quilt was fabric selection.  For 3-D quilts, the value (light, medium, dark) of the color is key.  I was somewhat limited because I'm still playing the use-what's-on-hand game.  Luckily, I had enough of the red, orange, and yellow to put this together.  

When it came time to pick out the backing, I almost caved and went to the fabric store for something suitable.  After talking me out of some really bad (read: ugly or too-girly) fabric choices, my husband spotted this black paint-splatter fabric in a box of stuff from my freecycle friends.  And there was just enough to back this quilt!

At my sister's urging, I tried to take a few pictures somewhere other than spread out on my living room floor.  I have three lovely mosquito bites to show for my efforts.   But there you have it...the 3-D baby quilt in nature.

Enjoy the festival!