A quilt for a cousin :)

I'm very pleased to have finished this lapquilt which I've made for Nick's cousin, Marisa who lives in Harrisburg, PA. Sadly last year, Marisa and Jimmy were amongst the many people who were emergency evacuated as a result of Tropical Storm Lee ... they lost everything :(

My little quilt won't replace their treasures, family photographs or make everything better but I hope this surprise gift will bring a smile to her face. My inspiration for the design and fabric choices come from Marisa's love of English Country Gardens:

I paper pieced the centre square and then made the rest up as I went along! I think it's worked out well - better balanced than I hoped for and whilst pink and orange isn't a typical colour combination, I like how it adds a bit of pizzazz to the overall look. 

I wanted simplicity on the back - I used the pink from the front and some green Moda Marbles to frame it:

and, of course, finshed it off with a label:

I so look forward to that time in quilt making when you're about to start quilting it and I went through my usual little routine so that we (me and my machine) were perfectly ready:

1) Clean my machine ... Ugh, where does all that fluff come from?

2) Change to a new quilting needle

3) Choose my thread and make enough bobbins

4) Prepare the 2 1/4" folded binding

5) Grab DH to help me baste (I LOVE whoever designed 505 spray!)

6) Turn on the radio and start quilting

This little loveliness will be in the post to USA tomorrow - hopefully it will arrive in time for Christmas :)

Linking up to Crazy Mom Quilts Finish it up Friday