I will readily admit that I am not a very good quilter. Before beginning the quilt I am about to describe, I had only successfully completed one quilt. I have two others in various stages of completion, which will probably never be finished. Just like my sewing, spinning and crocheting, I don't quilt often enough to be very good at it. There just aren't enough hours in the day!
But on to the story. I have a friend who was about 6 months pregnant when I met her and just recently gave birth to her second child. I don't know why I didn't get the idea sooner, but the week she was due it dawned on me that it would probably be nice to make something for the baby. Even though it seems popular these days to have a baby shower for every baby, she was more traditional and didn't have one for her second baby. When she was last at my house she commented how much she liked the quilt I had laying on my sofa, so I decided a quilt would be a nice present for a baby.
I have a small obsession with buying fat quarters just because they are colorful and pretty to look at. Now it was time I actually made something with them!! I get a bit tired of seeing pastel baby stuff and decided to go with bright colors. I think I even read somewhere that bright colors are thought to give babies a kind of euphoric high, so even a better reason to make something colorful if it will keep a baby entertained.
I dove into my giant stack of fat quarters and picked out a rainbow of 8 colors. I had a huge piece of black cotton that I thought would work nicely for the backing, but in my head I could picture my mother saying to me (in a pearl-clutching sort of way) "Black for A BABY??" Um... Yes? I didn't think it would look right with another color, and anything white for a baby is just asking for disaster, so here's hoping my friends wouldn't think it weird for a black backed quilt.
Since my quilting skills are lacking, I wanted something easy to sew. I decided on just plain squares with the colors laid out into a diagonal gradient. I used a craft size batting (36"x45") and cut out 5" squares. Here they are all laid out on the carpet.
But on to the story. I have a friend who was about 6 months pregnant when I met her and just recently gave birth to her second child. I don't know why I didn't get the idea sooner, but the week she was due it dawned on me that it would probably be nice to make something for the baby. Even though it seems popular these days to have a baby shower for every baby, she was more traditional and didn't have one for her second baby. When she was last at my house she commented how much she liked the quilt I had laying on my sofa, so I decided a quilt would be a nice present for a baby.
I have a small obsession with buying fat quarters just because they are colorful and pretty to look at. Now it was time I actually made something with them!! I get a bit tired of seeing pastel baby stuff and decided to go with bright colors. I think I even read somewhere that bright colors are thought to give babies a kind of euphoric high, so even a better reason to make something colorful if it will keep a baby entertained.
I dove into my giant stack of fat quarters and picked out a rainbow of 8 colors. I had a huge piece of black cotton that I thought would work nicely for the backing, but in my head I could picture my mother saying to me (in a pearl-clutching sort of way) "Black for A BABY??" Um... Yes? I didn't think it would look right with another color, and anything white for a baby is just asking for disaster, so here's hoping my friends wouldn't think it weird for a black backed quilt.
Since my quilting skills are lacking, I wanted something easy to sew. I decided on just plain squares with the colors laid out into a diagonal gradient. I used a craft size batting (36"x45") and cut out 5" squares. Here they are all laid out on the carpet.
See that quilted pillow in the corner of the pillow? That's what I WISH my quilting looked like. But, alas, my mother is a far better quilter than I. Looking back, I should have picked less busy prints for the light blue and aqua, but oh well.
While I was sewing, I tried to channel Eleanor Burns of Quilt in a Day. I love watching her show and how easy she makes it look. I didn't fling any scraps over my shoulder like she does though.
After careful pinning and only one sewing mishap, I managed to sew the whole top in about 3 hours. I cut out the backing and made the quilt sandwich on my newly swept kitchen floor. Here it is all basted with pins and taped to the floor.
While I was sewing, I tried to channel Eleanor Burns of Quilt in a Day. I love watching her show and how easy she makes it look. I didn't fling any scraps over my shoulder like she does though.
After careful pinning and only one sewing mishap, I managed to sew the whole top in about 3 hours. I cut out the backing and made the quilt sandwich on my newly swept kitchen floor. Here it is all basted with pins and taped to the floor.
I'm sorry the photo is poorly lit and rather blurry. I was in a hurry to get this quilt finished in one day, and just snapped a few photos with my phone.
Although I do have a walking foot and darning foot, my machine quilting is still rather lousy so I decided to just tie this quilt. I used purple embroidery floss that perfectly matched the purple fabric.
For the binding, I just folded the backing onto the front and pressed it under. The finished 'binding' was about 1/2". It took several tries and a youtube video for me to remember how to attach the walking foot onto my machine, but in the end it did a nice job sewing down the binding.
Although I do have a walking foot and darning foot, my machine quilting is still rather lousy so I decided to just tie this quilt. I used purple embroidery floss that perfectly matched the purple fabric.
For the binding, I just folded the backing onto the front and pressed it under. The finished 'binding' was about 1/2". It took several tries and a youtube video for me to remember how to attach the walking foot onto my machine, but in the end it did a nice job sewing down the binding.
And here it is! I think the black looks nice as a border. I went down to the hospital and delivered the quilt to my friends and they loved it. Nothing quite like a soft quilt to snuggle in, no matter how old you are!
RSS Feed
