Safari Moon Blog Hop and Saddle Up Quilt Pattern

Welcome everyone, to the first stop of the

Safari Moon is the absolutely gorgeous new fabric line by designer Frances Newcombe for Art Gallery Fabrics. I was beyond excited when Frances contacted me to see if I wanted to make something with her new line. I couldn't say yes fast enough! As soon as the fabric arrived in the mail, my daughter took one look and told me "I want to go sew something with those!" She knows a good thing when she sees it!

If you follow me on Instagram, you've seen peeks here and there of this project as it has come together. I'm so happy to share the finished quilt with you today, along with some information for those that are interested in making the quilt themselves. When I first saw the colors and designs of the Safari Moon line, I knew I had the perfect project for it. This design has been stuck in my mind since last summer ~ July 10th, 2013 to be exact. That's the date when I received this email from Country Outfitters in my inbox:

Saddle Up Inspiration : Fresh Lemons Quilts

I think we can all agree that is a nice looking couple and pretty cool boots...but it was the quilt that caught my eye. After asking around, I was pointed in the direction of Around the World quilt patterns to recreate this look. But I had a few design elements I wanted to work in - which usually equals more work, right? Those included the squares being on point and also, no squares cut in half (HSTs) at the edge of each "block". I also wanted extra large, super sized blocks. So in the end, I decided to just lay out the entire quilt in diagonal strips and then stitch those together. You may remember this photo of the project, half finished, on my design wall.

Fresh Lemons Quilts studio — Saddle Up by Fresh Lemons Quilts

I'm so happy with how it turned out! I think the large, on point "blocks" and the bright colors give this quilt a totally dramatic look. And if you squint, doesn't this picture look like the quilt is on the beach instead of snow?

For the back I combined the Animalia Splendor print with some solids from my fabric stash. I love those Zebras!

I had a few requests for the pattern for this quilt. I'm sure there are a million ways to put it together, but I thought I'd share the fabric requirements I came up with when I was planning. I basically printed out a picture of my quilt mock up, sewed the diagonal strips together one at a time, and then used a marker to black them off my print out as I went.

Saddle Up Quilt Pattern by Fresh Lemons Quilts

Here was my mock up I made using Photoshop, before beginning the quilt. The quilt is 68" x 68".

And if you are interested in just the number of cut squares needed to make each "block", here you go!

I hope this helps those of you looking to make this quilt! You can find Safari Moon at my following Sponsor's shops:

Fat Quarter Shop

Stash Modern Fabrics

Fabric Spark

The Safari Moon blog hop will be continuing today through March 12th.

Don't forget to visit the talented bloggers below for fresh inspiration each day!

February 24: Faith Jones at Fresh Lemons Quilts February 25: Lindsay Conner at Lindsaysews/Craft Buds February 26: Sara Lawson at Sew Sweetness February 27: Cristy Fincher at Cristy Creates February 28: Amy Smart at Diary of a Quilter March 3: Lee Heinrich at Freshly Pieced March 4: Teri Harlan at Sew Fantastic March 5: Jane Davidson at Quilt Jane March 6: Lynne Goldsworthy at Lilys Quilts March 7: Sandy Whitelaw at Upstairs Hobby Room March 10: Katy Jones at ImAGingerMonkey March 11: Victoria Findlay Wolfe at Victoria Findlay Wolfe Quilts March 12: Megan Bohr at Canoe Ridge Creations