Percolating

I've had this fabric for years and never knew exactly what to do with it.  I think it was intended for Gracie, back before I realized that she wouldn't be this kind of girl.  I actually bought the rest of the bolt one SuperBolt Sunday at Tiny Stitches.  In fact, I also bought the rest of the bolt of the border print.  And yet, I've never cut an inch of it.

When it came time to make the quilt for Greer, I knew I wanted something girly and sweet.  Her mama and daddy are two of my favorite people, and we were so excited to welcome their daughter.  I browsed through my stash and once again wondered how I could make this work.

Enter the WannaBees.  We got together last Thursday, the first time I've managed to make it to bee since our Christmas lunch.  I was busy sewing the last blocks together for the twins' quilts, but brought this fabric and some of the coordinating bits I pulled together from my stash and at Tiny Stitches when I went with Mom back in January.  

While I was stitching away, I asked the group to think about this fabric.  I like to show them things and then let it percolate in the backs of our brains while we work on other projects.  It's amazing the creative solutions we've come up with in this way. 

Ben was cutting and arranging triangles for his one block wonder class.  Lynn was flipping through a magazine that Lene had bought, and trying to come up with a pattern for her daughter.  Lene was auditioning border fabric for her storybook quilt class with Ann Anderberg. 

Lynn showed us an ad in the magazine for this quilt.  She was commenting on how much she liked the simplicity of it, and how it showed off the fabric without being "fussy."  Funny that she chose that word when you consider what I ended up doing with it:

Yes, I fussy cut eighteen 6 1/2" blocks, and an additional seventeen 4 1/2" x 3 1/2" blocks.   Then I cut 1 1/2" strips of the coordinating scraps, and added them courthouse steps style to the smaller blocks so that they would be the same size.

This was a simple way to show off this charming fabric.  I don't understand why it took so long to come up with this idea.  I don't understand why my brain has to make things more complicated than they are. 

Once I figured it out, the blocks went together in no time flat.  Now I've got them up on my design wall, living with it for today to make sure I like the placement. 

Now all I need is a cute name for it.  "See Greer Grow"?  Help!