Ugly Fabric Challenge II

Last fall a group of us in one of my online groups decided to do another Ugly Fabric challenge and I picked the fabric. Now I know that for some the fabric is not something they would consider to be ugly. Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.  The fabric I picked I am not even sure how it ended up in my stash. To me, it looks like a baby's bib after they have eaten when it is spattered with food.

Last time we did this I made a purse from a pattern I designed.  The floral was the ugly fabric that was sent to me.

This year's fabric is below:

I spent a lot of time thinking and looking for fabrics to use with the challenge fabric and trying to figure out what to do.  I saw a quilt with hearts and decided that would work, but I knew I had to find a pattern or design a pattern that would work with my 1/8th of a yard of challenge fabric, so I sat down with paper and pencil and began sketching out multiple designs. I finally came up with the design you see below.  I am not sure if there are others out there that have come up with the same pattern, but mine uses 2.5" strips. I made a test block using fabric strips left over from a quilt I made my niece.

After I figured out the number of strips I would need I went shopping for fabrics that would coordinate with the ugly fabric.

I pieced six hearts and have thought of using two of them on the back of the quilt or seeing if I can find more of the peach-colored fabrics I used to make a couple of other blocks and make another baby quilt.

I pieced the quilt top using 2.5" strips and the few squared I had left of the ugly fabric, plus two squares of the lightest color as cornerstones. The background is scrappy white on whites.  

I added the borders and pressed the top.  It is 50" square and will be put aside for the next time I need a baby girl quilt. It came out very nice and I am sure someone will love it.

Because I had the two extra blocks I had to go in search of a fabric that would work to make two more hearts that would coordinate with the first two and after a false start I found this fabric and was able to make two more hearts and then complete a second quilt top.  

It was more peachy or coral and the lavender in the hearts on the heart block and in the ugly fabric went well with the lavender that I used for a border.  I like both quilts and they will make great baby gifts next time someone I know has a girl.

I enjoyed this ugly fabric challenge and hope to do it again in a couple years. Who knows what bright ideas I might have for what to do with a FQ or straight 8th of fabric.