"French Kisses" top and quilt along

My first pattern is almost done!  And here is the quilt top. :)

It just needs a few finishing touches... you know, like...
quilting (by Lindsay of Eileen Quilts -- can't wait to work with her!)...
testing (by Kelly)...
editing and publishing! (by me)


I'm sure it will be available as a PDF, and I'm trying to figure out if it will be cost-effective to have it available as a paper pattern too, but because of how I'm diagramming everything, it really will be best in color (easy to do with a PDF of course).


If you study the design, you can see that it is a play on a couple basic half-square triangle designs, two of my favorite HST designs.  One night (hmmm, I believe it was actually the wee hours of the morning), while I was nursing the Little Miss, I dreamt up combining the two designs (I do a lot of imaginary quilt play while I'm nursing).  The thing is, I love HST designs, but I don't like all the piecing that goes with them; all those little triangles really make for a lot of pieces!  So I thought about how I could potentially simplify the blocks, and here it is -- "French Kisses."


Wanna see it again?  But with different colors?
The first quilt I did up with this pattern is actually going to go on our bed.  Here is a picture of it without the borders added (fabric is Secret Garden by Sandi Henderson, if you're curious).  I did a lot of fussy cutting for this one, and also played with solids on the corners of the blocks.

Sleeping under it will be cozy. 

The pattern cover will feature the quilt in Rouenneries Deux, (as you all know how I like the French General fabrics) and the directions will be written for both fat quarters or a layer cake.  The pattern should be conducive to a fat-eighth bundle too, with the cutting diagrams easily lending themselves to figuring that out (all the cut sizes are less than 9").

yea!  Someone's making a button for me!

When the pattern is all ready, I'll be kicking it off with a quilt along, and a giveaway of this Rouenneries Deux layer cake!

So, if you like the design, and would like me to do your math for you, I'd love you to join us. :)

And if you want to get your fabric ready -- these are my (not 100% final and published, but really close) fabric requirements: 

Quilt measures 64" x 80"

20 fat quarters (10 light/background and 10 medium or dark)

2 1/4 yds. outer border (I used the roche solid because it looks like linen)

(If you want more variety for your focal centers or for fussy cutting, throw in an extra fat quarter or two)

OR

A layer cake

2 1/2 yds. background fabric

2 1/4 yds. border

(Again, throw in a fat quarter or two if you'd like more flexibility with your fabric choices, or to fussy cut)

I hope you like "French Kisses" as much as I do.

(sorry, again, couldn't help myself). ;)

And now may my children sleep dreamily so I can get the computer work for this done!