BQF: Welcome to Fabricland

I can hardly find the words to tell you about the quilt I'm sharing for Bloggers Quilt Festival this time around.  I am so excited to share this quilt with you all for a zillion reasons, but here's the top 3:

1. This is my first real quilt pattern.  I have written a full PDF pattern, available here, so you can make your very own Fabricland!

2. This quilt is based on some doodles my late father used to draw.  It reminds me of him, and makes me feel close to him, even though he's been gone for several years now.

3. I am really loving solids these days, and the solids I used here are Free Spirit Solids, which are super buttery soft!!  I really enjoyed working with these solids, I will definitely use them again!

My dad was a really big part of my life.  He died in my early 20's, and as an adult, I often think of him and wonder what he would think of what I'm doing.  When it comes to my quilting, I know he'd be super proud of me for finding something I enjoy so much.  And he would be super proud of this quilt, I know it would make him smile.  My dad worked two jobs for most of my childhood and both involved a lot of time on the phone.  One job was in sales and the other in the telephone survey industry.  My dad was the kind of guy who liked to use his hands...all the time.  If you went into his office, more often than not, if was on the phone, he'd have a pen in hand with a notepad, and would be doodling a pattern similar to this quilt.  I've found myself doing the same thing in the last year or so, and that was my inspiration for this quilt.

I started with a bunch of quilty math and diagrams, talked to the lovely Brenda at Pink Castle Fabrics about my fabric needs, and thus, a quilt was born.  This quilt is comprised of 1,420 little squares, placed just so to create a fabulous repeating pattern.  I chose a light, medium, and dark value variation for each of the colors I was working with, which creates a neat, sparkling kind of effect to the quilt.

And now for the shameless self-promotion...you can purchase my e-pattern at my new pattern shop or you can purchase a kit for this quilt right here at Pink Castle Fabrics.   The Fabricland PDF pattern includes all of the information you'll need to make this quilt, including color photos and complete piecing diagrams to follow, as well as requirements for batting and binding.  The finished size of this quilt is 70" x 80".  The kit includes all of the fabric you'll need to complete the quilt top, as well as the e-pattern.

Quilt Stats
Name: Fabricland
Fabrics: Various Free Spirit Designer Solids, available in a custom bundle here
Pattern: Original design by me, available for purchase here!
Binding: Free Spirit Designer Solid Pastel Gray
Size: 70" x 80"

I hope you are enjoying Bloggers Quilt Festival!   Last fall was my first Bloggers Quilt Festival.  I was a fairly new blogger, but I was positively smitten with the quilting community online, and BQF really sealed the for me.  Not only did I love the opportunity to share this hobby that I was quickly falling in love with, but it was really clear to me that this community is so open and giving and welcoming.  I know I'll be checking Amy's BQF linky post frequently over the next week so I can see all of the other amazing quilts that will be shared there.  If you haven't written a post and shared a quilt yet, do it.  Even if it's not a quilt you just finished, share it.  I know I'd love to see it!