First Finish for ’15!
My daughter That Clever Chick needed a baby boy quilt for one of her friends, who is on bed rest for seven weeks. I always wish I could consult with the recipient and see what their taste is – do they prefer bright or neutral fabrics? Do they have a decorating theme in mind? But in this case I couldn’t, so I decided to go with fairly predictable cuteness.
Baby quilt
I wanted to incorporate these blocks that I had made a few years ago, but had given up on because they were just too blasé.
I love this penguin fabric, but its color palette is so limited, I had a hard time finding other prints that would blend with it.
I took them to the quilt shop with me and found some fabrics to mix in with them and give the quilt some life.
Could these creatures BE any more adorable? And sea turtles!
(I might have found just a few other fabrics to take home too. And Melanie, I would love to discuss that with you, but my husband reads my blog.)
For this kind of quick quilt, I lay out the whole backing and batting, and then start the top with a panel of the “feature” fabric in the middle. I lay a border strip on one edge of the panel and sew through all the layers, and then just rotate around the central panel with strip after strip, all the way out to the edges. This makes one giant log cabin block. I use thin strips, fat strips, and sometimes big chunks of pieced blocks.
I hesitate to call it “quilt as you go” because there is not a lot of actual quilting going on. The various strips have nice neat edges that look as though I am the queen of stitching in the ditch. Once everything is sewn down, I do go back and do a small amount of quilting in any big open spaces. (Part of me wants to get really good at quilting and strive to be as good as Doreen, but the other part just wants to jump into picking the next set of colors and patterns to combine into a new project.)
We have had two months of dreary gray weather, so it was fun to work with these bright colors. I hope they brighten the waiting period for the new mom, too!
I will never be as good as Doreen! I do quilting primarily to stick my layers together. If it looks good, too, it’s a bonus. But yes, this is cuteness indeed! And what a great way to make it. I have used your method before and it worked quite well. That is a lucky baby.
Oh, and, if you pop over to my blog you can tell me all about your spending. I won’t share your secrets!
Will do!
I love that phrase and I’m going to use it – “I do quilting primarily to stick my layers together.” If I was making a real heirloom or a showpiece I would be more concerned about the quilting adding to the overall look, but for a kid’s quilt, I am content to let the cute prints take center stage.
Turned out beautifully. Be Blessed, Mtetar
Thank you!
I love, love, love this quilt! So cute!
Thanks! I am happy to get one finished down to the last stitch on the binding.
Looks like an aquarium surrounded by a lovely room! It’s great!
Thanks! There is a lot to look at with all those animal prints and I think that’s what is most important. I picture the mom saying, “And that’s an octopus…” etc.
Thanks for the reminder of this easy flip and sew way to construct a baby quilt rapidly, without too much bother about quilting. Your results should surely please the mother and father, and the baby will find it drool worthy. Sometimes you need a quilt fast, like tomorrow, and this method makes that possible. Plus you don’t have to pull an all nighter to get it done.
That’s what I am always hoping for – that the quilt will actually get used often, and worn to well-loved bits! 🙂
I love the penguins. That quilt is adorable!
Thank you! It was so much fun to work with those bright colors.
I cannot imagine that quilt won’t be the one that is the ‘learning’ one for fish and animals
and the one he drags around FOREVER 🙂 YEA, colours are great!
I hope so! I love the sight of a toddler dragging around a quilt! 🙂
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