Gatsby! (or, the quilt formerly known as Architextures)

TGIF and I go something finished!  The Architextures quilt has been finished and received its grown-up quilt name: Gatsby!  I know someone you are probably fans of that book. Supposedly it's great literature; an American Classic, but I just never "got" it.  Now don't get me wrong, I am a big reader. I love books! But Gatsby...  There were some characters, and some stuff happened, there were a lot of parties, but no plot to speak of.  (Just my two cents.)  So what does any of this have to do with the quilt?  Well, it's very colorful and flashy but there's not much plot (pattern) :)

I got the Architextures charm pack that served as the jumping off point for this quilt way back in March(!) and it's been pretty much in progress since then. Finally, I made myself stop rearranging blocks and sew the darn thing together.  It is made up of an Architextures charm pack, Architexures coordinating solids pack (both purchased on Etsy from here) plus some of the many blue solids I had collected.  Each HST finished at 4" square.

I decided on simple straight line quilting for two reasons: I didn't want to distract from the design, and I knew the crisscrossing quilting over the points of the HSTs would help tame bulky seams.  I chose a bright lime green for the thread and it might be my favorite part of the whole quilt.  The green doesn't fight with the craziness of the rest of the top, but it pops right out at you and holds its own.

Of course the binding had to be lime green, too.  The color of the binding is truest in the first and last pictures on this page; for some reason it looks a little dirty in the closeups.  The backing is, of course, the wonderful IKEA Numbers fabric. I've had some of it cut and set aside for this quilt almost since I started making HSTs.  I adore the simplicity of it and the way that a the stark black and white print looks on the back of a raucous, colorful quilt.

When I was first arranging this quilt on the design wall I tried to avoid having any solids of the same color touch each other. Later, I tweaked the design to allow matching solids to touch in quite a few places. I am glad I made the change; I think the larger shapes formed by the matching solids give your eye something to land on amidst the randomness of the design.

The quilt finished at 52"x 60" and will be staying at my house, to live in the living room as one of our couch quilts for ever and ever :)  If I ever grow tired of it maybe I'll move it someplace else, but I doubt I will.  I have already used it a few times and it is perfectly sized and snuggly.

Linking up to Finish it Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts. Happy Friday!