Swoon - block #3

Up next, the Malibu Barbie block! The fabrics are another Central Park print by Kate Spain and Kei Honeycomb. I really like those Kei Honeycomb fabrics. I admit, they make me a bit dizzy if I look at them too long, but the colours are always great and they play so well with lots of other fabrics. As for the Malibu Barbie reference, circa 1977 or thereabouts I had a Malibu Barbie. I remember she came dressed in a bright aqua bathing suit and came with an golden yellow towel. Her flesh had the orange hue we used to get from the early generation self-tanning creams (anybody remember Coppertone QT?) I was admiring how well the colours went together as I was making the HST's and was just struck with the image of Malibu Barbie.

It takes about three hours to make each block, including the time spent cutting the fabrics. It probably doesn't take everyone quite that long but I'm not really moving all that quickly on them and I do wander off to the coffee pot now and again. I have really reverted back to some long-abandoned sewing/quilting practices, like pressing seams open instead of to one side, and using pins to align everything. The result is I think my piecing is better for it so it is worth the extra time. 

The pattern calls for sashing between the blocks. I'm thinking I might use something that contrasts with the Kona Snow I am using as background. I discovered a new, solid grey I really like by Moda. It is a Bella Solid and the colour is Etchings Charcoal. It is a warm, smoky colour that I think I might adopt as an alternative go-to neutral. I have this crazy notion to bind this quilt with something purple, such as this Melody Miller print. I think it would be a great contrast to the fabrics in the blocks. At three hours per block and six more blocks to go, I have a bit more time to think it over.

The sun is shining this weekend and the snow is melting quickly. We had a few days of -36 temperatures so +7 feels like spring. I'm loving it!

e.