Finished Project | Baby Quilt

I completed this baby quilt last evening.  I took a picture before it was laundered. I had finished the top and basted (using homemade basting spray) it to the batting some time ago, but did not get around to putting on the backing and quilting it.  My skills have improved, but yes, you can see that wavy, wonky line in the right border.

This is my own pattern that is simply a 4 patch with pink, gray, red and white colors, set in a simple sashing (1.5" cut) with red corner stones (1.5" squares).   The 4 patch was from 5 inch squares that I cut from fabric.  This would be a lovely charm-square friendly quilt, too. I found this fabric at Tuesday Morning which had this little girl with bees on leash and colorful red and pink toadstools.  I had other complimentary fabrics (also from TM)  to complete.  I put a border on 2 sides and used a red-checked gingham for the back.  I made another quilt with similar palette/fabrics.  This gave me a chance to use up the balance of the fabric.  (Hmmm....as I'm looking at this quilt, I think that I had made binding strips, too, from the border...last evening I simply cut 2.5" strips of gingham...oh well...)

This quilt will be gifted to one of my daugher's friends who is expecting a baby girl in late December. I think it fun and fresh.

One thing that I was bound (pun intended!) and determined to do was join the terminal connections of the binding on a 45 degree angle.  For the spatially challenged, this is a tough thing to do. If you are not careful, you'll end up with an unwelcomed twist.  Once your brain gets it right, it will always be right, but until then.....

I sew my binding to the back and bring it to the front and use a reverse blanket stitch.  I'm not making show quilts--I only started this year learning this craft-- but rather utility quilts for parents and babies to use and abuse. I'm not going to handstitch.  This method allows for the binding to lay very flat on the front.  It works for me.

I no longer fear binding.  Sharon Schamber's quilt binding video set all fears aside.  From that video on, I became a serial glue baster.  Starching wrong side of fabric and then pressing creates a stable product.  Glue basting one side at a time to each corner (to include folding the corner) creates a sta-put no-pins-to-stick-you sewing line with a CLEAR visual on where to stop sewing as you approach you corner (the ironed crease!) as you approach the mitered corner. No more "guestimating"

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Pinwheels Baby Quilt

I still continue to work on my quilting skills.  Free motion quilting is definitely something that needs improvement.  But, I'm being intrepid and forging ahead anyway.  Less than perfect results, but practice...well, I need I lot more!

I started this quilt with a fat quarter bundle that I purchased at either Walmart or Tuesday Morning.  I added in some other fabrics to get the size that I needed.  My goal was simply to practice making pinwheels.  So I made as many pinwheels as I could with the fabrick that I had.  I'm a sucker for gray, and I loved the gray and turquoise fabric.   

I used a 5 x 4 block arrangement with sashing and cornerstones. I made all of this up as I went along muttering frequently that having a design intention would have been a good strategy.  But I liked how it came together with what was on hand. But, in hindsight, I should have made my borders a scoush (sp?) thinner--but in fairness, I did audition a bit on sizes, and felt that this would be okay.

Though I have a design board, alot of good it did me.  My mind wandered, and I ended up having sashing upside down.  How did I know?  The cornerstones are directional.  (!#$^@$%&^$^&).  The idea was to have a print and solid every other block.  That is how I had it laid out on the design wall.  After ripping out two rows of seams I said #uck it!, and accepted that I had a new interpretation of the original design.  Just when I thought I had conquered my newbie mistakes, I made two collosal ones.

After having the quilt top made, I found out that a family friend had a new son.  This goes to newly-arrived Cameron.

Though I have many bumps and jiggles in my free motion quilting, once a quilt is laundered it looks less noticeable.  This marks my 7th baby quilt that I've made.  Now that I've improved (but am far from proficient), I have labeled my last two quilts.

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