Another February Finally Finish: Pinky

I started the Pinky quilt during the first week of January which is a good time of year to make a quilt with bright, happy colors to celebrate the new year and to help me forget the cold, dreary weather outside. Also, another reason for making this quilt was the commitment I made this year to finally use my stash of Tula Pink fabric which I've been collecting for several years now and I was, in my mind, at risk of being issued a citation by the Tula Pink enforcers for fabric abandonment.  As soon as I finished the top, I had to set it aside for other projects and finally was able to finish this quilt this past Saturday. I thought I should explain why I named this quilt Pinky which is no disrespect to Tula Pink's name, since I don't like being called "Rosie". I first was going to name it Totally Tula, but realized  since this quilt is a variation of the Slinky quilt I finished last year, Pinky seemed fit better.

  

This quilt measures approximately 56"x76".  The squares were cut 4-1/2" and the solid Mint strips were cut 4-1/2" wide and the lengths were cut in 4-1/2", 8-1/2", 12-1/2" and 16-1/2" increments.  I used my two Chipper charms packs and trimmed them to 4-1/2" which is a good thing I did since none of the squares were a consistent 5" square as they should be. After my squares were trimmed and additional 4-1/2" squares were cut from my stash, I put them in an order so that it was easy to put them up on my display board. After the first four rows were up, I could see that Pinky lacked any spark or energy.  I didn't take a photo so you will have to take my word that the quilt was going to be lifeless but then it's a good thing since there's no proof of this attempted misuse of beautiful fabric and I could have been banned from ever using Tula Pink fabrics again by the you know who enforcers.

I don't understand why my initial batch of squares did not include the Queen Elizabeth head print nor the orange Tabby Cat print nor the bright green silouhette print. I also added some squares from more current fabric lines like Spirit Animal.  Truth be told, I don't like fussy cutting but really should have for these prints. After these much needed squares were added to the mix, this quilt finally had some spark.

I think it also helped, that unlike the Slinky quilt, the Pinky rows were offset unevenly on each  side which, pardon the mention of the fabric line, added to the "Free Spirit" feel and look.  Even though I had to refigure my layout, I think it was worth it.  Because the rows were offset, I did not add the top and bottom borders since I thought it would look funny.  The solid Mint fabric was the perfect complement to the many prints used and was included in a Tulip Pink kit which I purchased from Craftsy many years ago. Yes, I'm guilty of buying kits just for the fabric and no intentions of using the pattern especially when it goes on sale.

Here are some close-ups of the squares and the wonky loops I quilted with the perfect Essential thread I had in Mint.

Since I started a new fabric fast this year, I had to break it when we were in Texas last month where I found this Art Gallery print on sale for 50% off; I knew it would be perfect for Pinky. The fabric I already had, which was just okay, will be returned to the backing vault to wait for another quilt. I did use a Tula Pink fabric for the binding.

More often than not, whenever I have a finally finish, you can bet the weather is not going to co-operate for taking outside photos.  I should let the local weather reporters know that I could help them with their weather predictions by telling them if I have a finally finish quilt I want to photograph. I was ready to post with just inside photos of the quilt, which most of them are, but thankfully, Monday's weather allowed me to take a photo of Pinky on the front porch. Posting just doesn't look right if an outside photo of my quilt is not included.

Here's a photo of the layout for the Pinky Quilt, the top layout is based on 5" cut squares and would measure 60"x76" and the bottom one would be for 4-1//2" cut squares which is the one I used.  The numbers at the end of each row is the finished size for the setting strips and the numbers in the middle refers to the number of squares needed. I know I'm going to make more of these, especially with all of the charm packs I have in my stash and, of course, my partners in quiltmaking, my die-cutters.  To add to the "Inky" theme of these quilts which I seem to have started, if I make them crib size, they're going to be named "Binky".  I really don't think there won't be a "Kinky" or "Stinky" version though.

The only good thing about this cold weather we're having for the past weeks is that it makes for some good sewing time.  My SewJo has returned and yesterday's yarn yearning has been tempered down a bit. I sure can't wait for Spring and sunshine or as I sometimes refer to as good photo-taking weather.  The Master Quilt Holder doesn't like standing out in the cold, especially this Winter.

Linking up with:  My Quilt Infatuation NTT