Blogger's Quilt Festival: The Whirlpool Quilt

I'm coming in on the end of things with the Blogger's Quilt Festival this time. I've decided to enter my Whirlpool Quilt. If you are a regular reader, you've already seen this one, but since it's my favorite quilt I've created in a while, I thought I'd share it again. I'm entering this quilt in the Small Quilts category.

This quilt is machine pieced and quilted on my standard machine. It is about 35" x 40". To say I love it is an understatement. In fact, I'm getting ready to create Whirlpool v2. This kind of quilting is so fun and satisfying for me. 

I quilted each segment with matching thread. I love the way it looks on the back. 

The story behind creating this guy is such a great example of finding inspiration anywhere. While on lunch break from a professional conference, I was walking through the mall and came across this display at Anthropologie. It stopped me in my tracks. I loved design and colors (no surprise). I snapped a photo with my phone. When I made it back to the afternoon session of my conference, I started sketching. 

This is my favorite sketch of the several I made that afternoon while sitting in my conference (I promise I was still listening). That evening after the kiddos were in bed, I immediately went to work. I already had these fabrics pulled for another project, but knew they would be perfect for this one. 

The whole process was an experiment. I didn't know if it would work out in the end. This type of project is the best. I love not knowing the ultimate outcome. 

Random Side Note: My husband calls this quilt "Nemo in the Blender". I like Whirlpool a lot little better so that's what we're going with!