I’m excited to show you this quilt… mainly because these fabrics are just so fantastically fun!

You may have seen them before – they’re designed by the insanely talented and creative Laurie Wisbrun of Scarlet Fig. I’ve been a long time admirer of Laurie’s fabric designs – I was immediately in love with her original design, birds on chairs. And since then I’ve watched as she’s added many new colors and new prints to her expanding line (many of which are available in her Etsy shop).

Laurie recently got some very exciting news – several of her designs have been licensed by Kaufman fabrics and will be printed and available in 2010. She writes “my first collection with them will feature some of my patterns with birdies, couches and chairs. I’ll be selling those for another month or so and then Kaufman will pick up distribution next spring. Some designs will be carried by Kaufman and some will be retired. So if there’s one that you are interested in, let me know and I’ll make sure you can get some!”

The Animal Sherbet prints, as used in this quilt, will be available through her shop for another few months. There’s a possibility that Kaufman will add these prints as well, but for now, if there are any you have your eye on, let her know! She’s offering a special for anyone who finds her shop through my blog. For the next two weeks, you will receive 15% off your order – just make sure you make a note that you found her through my blog and she’ll issue a refund for 15% off your fabric.

Anyway, back to the quilt… Needless to say, I was thrilled when she contacted me about making a quilt for her out of her animal sherbet line. These prints are so fabulous — sherbet colored elephants, giraffes and rhinos, along with some wonderful corresponding stripes and dots.

We briefly discussed design ideas and sizes, but if you know me, you know that I don’t follow direction well. Luckily, Laurie also said that she’s a fan of surprises… so here you go Laurie – your big surprise!

This design is of course inspired by Kaffe Fasset’s Jewel Squares quilt. I just love the mix of different sized squares. However, I certainly didn’t have the time for an entire quilt of squares! So instead I decided to do these smaller groupings of squares, surrounded by a sea of white. I wanted something that would really show off these prints, and I think the various sized squares do that nicely. It also gave me the opportunity to add in a lot of my favorite solids!

The back makes me laugh a bit… you won’t find it as funny, but we actually originally discussed a simple charm square quilt as a possible design, so the back reflects a bit of that — a design which certainly would have been easier and also much faster!

I really like the addition of a little of the solid green on the front of the quilt, so I decided to use it on the back as well. (didn’t I tell you you’d be seeing this great Kona Artichoke again and again?!) The binding is the stripe from this line, which really works perfectly. I always love stripes for binding!

It’s washed and dried and looks oh so cozy. It measures approximately 52″ x 67″, which I think is a great size for a throw. And as much as I wanted to curl up with it on the couch, I refrained, and instead it’s on its way to Laurie. Thank you so much for letting me play with your gorgeous fabrics, Laurie! I hope you love your new quilt!!