"Blue, navy blue
I'm as blue as I can be
'cause my steady boy said "ship ahoy"
and joined the Navy (sha-la, la, la, sha-la, la)

Does anyone remember that song?  It is Navy Blue by Diane Renay and if you remember it,
you might be..... umm, well, slightly mature.  I remember sitting in a tree in our back yard and singing it at the top of my lungs!  Oh, the joys of being young!

On to the story:

My version of a scrappy quilt was considered by most to be "controlled" scrappy.  I wanted to up my game so I decided to throw caution to the wind and go truly and wildly scrappy!!  I took a class from Bonnie Hunter to do "My Blue Heaven".

I literally cut strips from EVERY blue fabric I owed and threw it into a bin and committed to using some of everything in the bin for this quilt.

But can I take this much contrast and wild abandon, feel comfortable with it, and make it into something worthy of a good night's sleep?   I was told I could....  so I dove in and starting putting things together...  but still, I was hesitant. 

And that was probably why I would work on it for a while, then put it away...  for over 2 years!   I just wasn't feeling it.

Unexpectedly, I kinda liked the blocks once I got a couple together but it was still a bit too crazy for me.  For example, my studio is ALWAYS post-cyclone but I brag that I know where EVERYTHING is.... cleaning and organizing just destroys my system. 

But once the blocks starting jumping into position, I got a little excited.  and the farther back I stood (which is where I would be if it were on a bed), I was rather impressed that my lapse in controlled scrappy might actually resemble a quilt when it was finished.

But now that the top is fully pieced (but not yet quilted).... 

and being modeled on a bed.....

I absolutely LOVE it!

Now for the quilting.....

....  but that's another day.


Adapted from Bonnie Hunter's My Blue Heaven at Quiltville.