Impulse Buy While Recovering From Surgery

Close up of fabrics.

About 10 years ago, more or less, I was still very new to quilting and kind of naive when it came to fabric requirements. I didn't use patterns, only my own designs. To this day, I often design quilts based on the fabric I have on hand. I guess I put the cart before the horse in that I start out with fabric and build my quilts based on what I have. The whole idea of reading a pattern and buying fabric accordingly was very foreign to my way of thinking.
Between Christmas and New Year's, I had emergency gall bladder removal surgery. (I'm sure there's a medically correct term for it.) During recovery I spent lot's of time on Ebay looking at fabric - mostly pre-cuts. One day I succumbed to a GREAT deal - 400! yes 400 4" blue on white squares. I think this was before 5" charm squares became an industry standard. Anyway, into a drawer they went never to be seen again... not for a long time anyway.

Final layout before borders.

Backing.

Last year, when I decided I really wanted to concentrate on making Josh's Hugs Quilts, I pulled them out. I was learning all about HSTs (half-square triangles). There was a yellow with blue roses fabric in my stash and that dark/medium blue fabric. So of course, I made MORE 4" squares. Then I made a ton of HSTs. I chose to lay them out in a chevron pattern. I added a border of denim looking cotton also from my stash. I had found the backing fabric in a thrift shop and it seemed perfect. I quilted it with my walking foot - yes, even the curves. This quilt is what I came up with. It measures 42.5"x57.5". And now I think I only have 300! little blue/white squares left. Yeah, I barely made a dent.

Close up of quilting.

Finished quilt hanging in my garden.