Peachy Keen Patchwork Swoon

About a year ago, there was an informal quilt-a-long on instagram for the Patchwork Swoon quilt pattern.  I jumped in with an unusual color scheme: cream, black, and peachy pink.  The quilt top came together really fast and I really enjoyed the process.

As usual, I had plans to make the quilt bigger than the pattern specifications.  I decided it would be cool to put smaller swoon blocks surrounding the large swoon motif.  I did the math and cut everything.  I soon discovered that my math was wrong and I stuffed it all into my closet and didn't touch it for nearly a full year!

Lately, I am really trying to finish projects, so I finally unearthed this project.  My husband, who incidentally is much better at math than I am, helped me salvage my pink/orange 5" squares and I put a striking border around the quilt top:

I have to admit that I really love how it came out!  It's so pretty- and so "me."  You might have noticed I love to have the color black in my quilts.  I just think it adds nearly effortless contrast to every project.  I love it!

I decided to challenge myself and really quilt the quilt a ton- it was a great opportunity to practice my free motion quilting skills and I also embarked on "ruler work" (using a ruler to help guide the longarm to make designs).  I felt like it was a safe project to practice on because the fabrics are so busy- no big blunders would be very noticeable.  The quilting did take quite a long time and now I have a much better understanding as to why custom longarm quilting can be pretty pricey. 

About three years ago, I bought nearly a full bolt of this Juliana Horner fabric at Joanns for just over $20.  It provided the perfect backing and binding for this quilt and I am happy I finally put it to use. 

This quilt is a keeper....  I could definitely see myself revisiting this pattern again.  Wouldn't it be fun if I made one for each of my children with their favorite colors?  They all like this quilt and it would just be so cool if I made blue (Gregory), purple (Charlotte), and orange (Owen) versions.....

Linking up to Crazy Mom Quilts.