Kate Conklin Designs...Sea views quilt...and a GIVEAWAY!

If you haven't checked out Kate Conklin Designs, you absolutely must! I am convinced we would be fast friends if she didn't live a around the globe in Australia. Seriously, she is uber talented, beautiful, and has some awesome quilt patterns that she sells too...plus, she is hosting a giveaway of this pattern and the fabrics used so make sure to go and enter...

"Sea Views"

When I first saw Michelle Engel Bencsko's gorgeous "Beyond the Sea" organic fabric I had two thoughts. The first was that it would be perfect for my mother in law. Their house directly overlooks the beach and she'd been hinting that she'd love a quilt designed by me.Its hard to find beachy fabrics that are fresh and modern, but this range ticks all the boxes. Cloud9's organic fabric is so soft and silky and the the colours and designs are just gorgeous (my favourites are Sandpiper and Coral).

My second thought was that it would be perfect to try curved piecing on, evoking a sense of waves at the beach. It was a little scary trying something new on such beautiful fabric, especially since I only had a fat quarter of each, but after a couple of practice blocks I saw that it was quite easy. I found an excellent video here on piecing curves without pins, and it opened up new, exciting possibilities for quilt designs!

I'm really bad at making decisions, so I shared a number of design sketches on my blog, as well as asking for advice on how to quilt it. I really appreciated all of the ideas - there's so many amazingly creative people out there who are willing to share. I'm keen to make another quilt with curved piecing so I can try out a slightly different design, maybe a baby quilt next time.

Fortunately my mother in law loves her "Sea Veiws" quilt, and I must admit I do too. I think it works because the simple design lets the fabric shine and the combination of the fabric and the wavy blocks give it a calming, peaceful feel. The wavy quilting was easy and didn't take long, and I like the way the "Earth" binding frames the front and the back of the quilt

I'm currently hosting a giveaway in conjunction with Cloud9 Fabrics. So if you'd like to make your own "Sea Views" quilt head over to my blog - www.kateconklindesigns.com - for a chance to win my pattern as well as a fat quarter bundle of the "Beyond the Sea" fabric!

If you want to check out in more detail the posts that helped create this quilt,  click here, and here.

Thanks Kate. I am all entered and ready to win. LOVE your mother in law's view...no fair! Love your blog and all your patterns. Keep them coming!

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