Be a Mermaid

I was so excited when Heather Ross re-released Mendocino, one of my all time favorite fabric collections.  I had some of the original collection that I'd been hoarding but it always felt too precious to actually use.  With a new bundle in hand (thank you Hawthorne Threads!) and my Briar Rose addiction sated I pulled this assortment of prints and got cutting.

I started by fussy cutting the mermaids and then add rows of chevron "waves" above and below.  There are lots of ways to make a chevron but I prefer the rectangle approach - Crazy Mom Quilts has a great tutorial which I just adjusted for the center squares.

In no time at all I had a flimsy together.  I made the binding, pieced the back, basted it, bought more thread than I'd possibly need to quilt it...  and then it just sat.

Finally I grabbed this for something to do at quilt camp.  I'm not sure why I was so intimidated by the thought of quilting this, I finished it in one afternoon.  With the binding already made it was super fast and easy to square it up, slap on the binding, and tack it down during the Super Bowl - with the overtime I even had time to finish;-)

Now that it's done I couldn't love it more!!!  I wish I'd completely finished it while we were still at the beach so I could get pictures there but I'll have to settle for these...  maybe I'll do some more this summer.

And it's the perfect companion for this pillow!

Swimming along with this week's Finish it Up Friday by Crazy Mom Quilts.

Quilt Stats:
Finished quilt is 43" x 52"
Fabrics: Mendocino by Heather Ross.  Michael Miller Cotton Couture Apricot
Batting: Quilter's Dream Orient.
Thread: 50 wt. Aurifil in  Light Turquoise (2805).