Sharing the Granny love....

A few months back the 'Sew and Sews' girls decided that we would contribute a bunch of 2 1/2" scraps into an exchange pool so we could make granny squares out of different fabric to our existing scrap piles. We all agreed that we were a little jaded by some of the scraps that we'd been recycling (over and over) in our own scrappy quilting endeavors.
We had the best fun diving into the pool and playing the matching/contrasting granny game. It was hard work avoiding what you were comfortable with and trying to dodge fabric that you had actually contributed! Many a "what about this one?" shout out was heard as we begged for ongoing colour combination reviews.
I think after that first night I finished up with enough for 7 blocks. At the time I was regretting not bringing my phone to take photos of the combinations I'd concocted....even more so when my sewing bag fell off the back seat on the way home, spilling the contents over the floor of the car! Sad but true.
After stitching those initial first few blocks the lure of the granny square pulled me right in and I couldn't wait for the next catch up so I delved back into my scrap bin completing my 25.
And here she is....a Granny Square Quilt just for me!

I've made 3 grannies now and I've loved them all. The first I gave away for a fundraiser and the other was a joint gift for a friend so the whole time I had me in mind for this one.
For 'my granny' I've used cornerstones which I incorporated into the block. That worked quite well and was less stressful than matching up blocks using long sashing strips.

The backing fabric is a piece of fabric that I bought in Melbourne when we first went interstate on the first 'Sew and Sews' fabric buying extravaganza! It was in a discount basked at GJ's for about $4m! It's a bit vintagey-nanna looking so it has been kept in storage all this time for just the right project and this was certainly it.
Because of the vibrant back and the mixture of fabrics on the front, I struggled for the perfect binding. In the end I opted to go plain and chose Kona Charcoal. I love it. No....I really love it!
If you want to make a Granny Square quilt of your own head on over to Jolene's blog for her tutorial.

This quilt is 5 x 5 (25 blocks with borders) which finishes up at around 65" square and is free motioned stippled.
And for the last word. I placed my absolute favourite 'exchange' block right in the middle. It's purple...a colour I NEVER use let alone own. Thank you girls for sharing the Granny love...we should do it again!
I've linked up to Crazy Mom's Finish it up Friday!