My "Spice is Nice" Quilt

This is the "Spice is Nice" quilt that I just finished. (sorry for the poor lighting in the picture ... I had to hang it on the wall to take the photo because I don't have enough floor space to lay it out!) Anyway ... there's a funny story behind it...

So ... I've been wanting to make a new quilt for my living room wall for a while now. I mean ... don't get me wrong. I LOVE LOVE LOVE the Southern Album quilt of my mom's that I recently finished. I have hung it proudly in my living room, and look at it with great joy every day. However, because it is an heirloom, I want to make sure I take care of it well ... and that means that I need to take it off the wall and let it rest occasionally. SO ... I decided to make another quilt to take its place for part of the year. A few months ago, I found a beautiful fabric line from Moda (Shangri-La) that I thought would work nicely with my living room decor. I figured that having the fabric picked out was half the battle ... but who knew that it would be so difficult to find a quilt pattern that I would like enough to make??!!?? I mean I spent tons 'o time looking through books and magazines searching for a pattern that would be easy enough to make quickly but also fit my style. FINALLY ... my sister in law bought a copy of the last issue of Quilts & More magazine, which had this beautiful quilt pattern in it called "Spice is Nice." As soon as I saw it, I knew that it was just what I was looking for. So, I set to work and finished the quilt top in no time flat. Really ... it was very easy. Great instructions and fun tricks for sewing those hour-glass units that I used to dread so much!

Here's the really funny part of the story ... A couple of weeks ago, I was reading on some of my favorite craft blogs, and I stumbled across one called Happy Zombie. As I was reading through it, I found myself really liking the author's style. Then, I came to this post about a quilt that she had designed for a magazine ... and wouldn't you know it - it was the very same quilt that I had searched the world over for and was in the middle of making!!! How fun is that?? I emailed her immediately and had so much fun making this connection across the country! So, now I have a new blogging friend and a beautiful new quilt for my house ... that is, at least, once I can get it quilted! Who knows how long that will take!!