the road trip quilt

A few years back, I spent the better part of a year driving an hour and a half to work each day. It was a lovely drive in the spring and summer months. I loved watching the progression of the green-to-gray ratio along the roadsides. The first touch of bright spring green peeked out from amongst the bare gray trunks and dark evergreens in the early spring. As summer approached, you'd see more and more shades of green as the naked trees sprouted their leaves until eventually all along the highway was a wall of various shades and hues of green.

When I started collecting fabrics, I'd grab a half yard here, a fat quarter there, and it started to get pretty obvious that I was predominantly drawn to greens. I think those road trips, and growing up in a place where the greens came and went with the seasons, contributed to my love for the color green in most of its variations (no minty greens, please!).

So, when I decided I needed a quilt to keep for myself (I have been severely reprimanded by some quilter friends for giving away my first few), it was fairly obvious which fabrics I would use.

I like simple, so I went with simple. 7" squares of widely varied greens with some more gray-toned squares throughout. Below is the finished top.


I found a sheet at Target to back it with, and added a pieced strip of the front fabrics.


I qulted it in the ditch from top to bottom, then with random lines from side to side, using clear thread.


and here it is, all quilted and bound and washed. Another reason I call it the road trip quilt, is that I finished binding it as we traveled across the country.


I had the hardest time finding the right fabric to bind this with! I really wanted a bright green with a yellowish tinge to it, and couldn't find the right color anywhere. I finally went to a quilt shop with my mother in law, and she found the perfect fabric for it. I had been wanting a solid color, but this robert kaufman print had all the perfect colors and shadings in it to make a great binding for all these varied greens. nice find!