Not a moment too soon, either. It’s a baby gift for my boss and her wife, who are adopting, and they got their referral Friday. I’m taking it to work with me tomorrow, since they’re both working then.
The quilt’s nothing complicated, just six-inch blocks with appliques, but it’s pretty cute. I found an adorable little alphabet-type print with arks and various animals on it, so the center block is an ark. All the other blocks have pairs of animals (dogs, cats, horses, and turtles) appliqued on, and the framing is the alphabet print. It’s bright and colorful, and the prints are busy enough that spit-up and such shouldn’t show too much between washings. It also ties in with their nursery decor (huge Noah’s ark murals on every wall.)
It was a good little project to get my feet wet–something small, fast, and easy to help me get the basics down. I learned a lot about fabric combinations as well the technical aspects of quilting, and I think my next project (for my new niece or nephew–yea!) will be a bit more ambitious. This one has room for improvement, but it turned out nicely for a first attempt. Besides, if they don’t like it, they can make their own baby quilt, right?
That sounds like a GREAT baby quilt, especially since it ties into their decor. Plus, the parents can use it as an educational aid by pointing out the pairs of animals and telling Baby the names and sounds. Well, in the case of the turtles, at least the name.
Gotta admit, baby quilts are GREAT to get. Baby Kate (now pushing 4) still loves the one her grandma made for her.
Be aware that there’s an enormous quilt subculture out there. Lady Chance’s mother (since she retired) has been heavy into it and lives in Lancaster, PA which appears to be quilt central for the world. She gets a lot out of it.
How awesome. I am inspired by you. Actually, I am envious. I am working on my 10th cross stitched baby quilt top right now. After I am finished with it, I will sew the back on and get started on a real baby quilt. I found an awesome pattern at a free pattern site. I also found another pattern to do after I get the first one done, just to get some expierence.
May I ask how long it took from start to finish the one you just completed? I tend to get very involved in projects when I have the time. Sometimes my kids have to remind me they haven’t had supper yet.
Can you post a picture? I would love to see it.
i think the subculture is driven by the international conspiracy of fabric store owners, who have figured out how to make the seemingly simple hobby horribly addictive.
sunflower and i both quilt, and we own enough fabric to gift wrap the house. once the addiction starts, it is almost impossible tio drive past a fabric store without stopping to see if “they could have that lavendar print the other store ran out of…”
Definitely congrats are in order, CrazyCatLady. That is wonderful. I have designed… oh… hmm… 15 or so quilts? And to date have only actually finished 3 of them. Still working on them, though, as time and health allow. If I can offer any assistance, or answer any questions, you have only to ask.
wry chuckle Indeed. That sounds like you’re talking about my house. Now that luminousman is almost finished with college, and has been living on his own for several years now, I finally convinced hubby to convert his room to my Sewing/Quilting/Craft Room. It’s still a work in progress, though I have almost half of my fabric stash now sorted and in clear containers. However… I just happened to be in the neighborhood of my favorite fabric store [sub]what? no, really, I was just driving by…[/sub] and thought I’d see what was on sale. I found this perfect lavender fabric that will go with the one for my bedroom wall, and then I saw the beige that will be the perfect background to the one for my aunt and then…
They’re right, it is addicting. Just hide a lot of the stash from hubby, and bring it out a little at a time. Pretend you’ve had it a long time. And whatever you do, NEVER, EVER tell him how much fabric really costs. innocent smile
Thanks for the compliments and congratulations, everybody. Pictures will be forthcoming, but it may be a while, since we don’t have a digital camera. Ooh, but come to think of it, I do believe the new moms have one. Maybe they can get me a good digital pic.
It took…well, I bought the fabric about five weeks ago, but I didn’t actually work on it all that time. I’d work on it pretty hot and heavy for an evening or two, then I’d leave it lay for a week or two. If I’d worked on it a bit every time I had a day off, it probably would have taken me around 2 weeks. Like I said, it’s a really, really simple quilt.
While we’re talking conspiracy, let’s not forget the bookstore owners. Have you seen the cornucopia of quilting books out there? In addition to needing to pop in and see if this store has the fabric the other place is out of, I can certainly see myself having to buy tons of books, because “this one has a pattern I don’t have yet.”
To be honest, I don’t Dr.J would mind the expense a bit. If it keeps me happy and occupied and doesn’t put us in debt, it’s all good to him. Besides, I imagine he’s just thrilled I’ve actually finished something for a change.
Hey, Hey! Quilters on board the SD. Whoda’ think it. I’m just finishing up a baby quilt myself, pieced and 48" square. I don’t like all that pastel, cutesy stuff for babies, so I scale down traditional patterns to make them fit. The quilt is big enough to be serviceable for several years, and convenient in that it fits baby and mom for those extra-close times. There’s nothing quite like seeing the smiles of appreciation from folks that have been gifted with a quilt.
Well, of course there are quilters here. We’ve even had a couple of threads.
So, CCL, how did you applique it? You said quick and easy, so I’m going to guess you used a fusible and sewed the edges by machine…I have a wish to become actually good at hand applique (instead of terrible), but haven’t had the time to take a class. As if I don’t have enough handwork projects already.
Congratulations! It’s so much fun to finish a quilt. I have stacks of tops that will never be finished, unfortunately! I’m so process, not product! But I do have two baby quilts I made last month that are going to be done by the 15th at the latest. I’ve been searching for the perfect backing fabric for one (baby’s middle name is Sunshine, so I wanted a print with suns on it) and I found it last night, but it’s the wrong, wrong, wrong color, so now I either have to make another quilt or just make her a little outfit out of the sun fabric and use a sunny yellow to back the first quilt and quilt sun faces in the large blocks.
The other quilt is paper-pieced fish in really bold colors…that one is ready to machine quilt on my next day off.
Very close, DM. I adhered the critters with a glue stick (the book recommended basting spray, but the glue worked as well with better control and less mess), then sewed around the edges with the machine. I think I might try the fusible next time, though.
KB, I think I’d just go with the yellow and quilt sun faces on it. Yellow is such a nice color for baby stuff, and I like the subtlety of quilting the suns in.
I agree with CCL, kb. I also like the idea of using the yellow, and quilting the sun shapes onto it. As for the applique, I saw a show on PBS once about that. She (Eleanor Burns) used fusible interfacing, and it went so quick and easy. She did recommend tacking it down either by hand or machine once it is fused to the block, to make sure it holds up over time, and to look better if you like to use fancy stitches.
Congrats, CrazyCatLady! I have made one wallhanging baby quilt, and a full sized lover’s knot. I love the attic windows pattern for a baby quilt - my mom made a gorgeous bright one with jungle animals peering through all the windows. Beautiful!
This makes me want to get out my card trick that has been in progress for a few months now. I hit a measuring snag and put it away, but I have a new sewing machine (Thanks, Santa!) and need to get it broken in.
Yes, I am. I’m still a beginner, so I need the how-to books. The Quilt-in-a-Day pattern that I used to make Lover’s Knot took me about 120 hours to make.
I forgot…I also made my mom a table runner and placemats. That had triangles in it, and it took me forever to get them right. (the directions were bad, bad, bad.)
Ok, third time’s the charm, hopefully. ARRGHHHH… What key does my left hand keep bumping that erases everything I just typed!!! grrrr…
Maybe I should just let quiltguy answer, with all the trouble I keep having today.
Anyway, I thought I’d give it a shot, since I have made several blocks using her method. I really like it much better than all those triangles.
Cut 3 squares of each of the four colors, all the same size. Sew two of them together. Sew the remaining one to one of the other colors. Then join those two rectangular units. Repeat till they are all sewn together, and you have four units of 3 same colored squares and one different. Sew the four units together, being careful to match up the odd colored square with the other unit of that color. I hope I am making sense. This is tougher than I thought, writing it out instead of just drawing a picture of it.
I guess I didn’t really answer how the traditional way differs from Eleanor Burns’ way. The traditional way is all triangles, and a lot of them. Makes for a bulky block, imo, as well as taking a lot more time. I like doing it with the squares.
Actually, you could even do it with one square and one rectangle equal in size to two squares sewn together of each color. That would save four more seams in each block. And, to finish this block off, if you want to set it on point, you would need setting triangles, or you could just use four rectangles of your background color on each side. That is how I did mine. It looks fine, and it took much less time and aggravation for me to do.
I hope this helps you. If you have trouble following any of that, just ask, and I’ll try to explain more precisely.
Re-reading all that I realize I left something out. When you are joining the two different colored squares, make sure you put the new color on the left side. So, the three that match will all be on the bottom and right side of the whole unit. So the one new color in that unit becomes the top right square of the unit to the left. That way, when you join them, it will go together in the look you’re after. I found it easier to decide ahead of time which color I wanted where in the card trick block, before I started sewing them all together.
Ok, re-reading the whole thing, I’m just confusing myself. Let me regroup. Cut three squares of each of the four colors, then sew two of each together, then make another square of the single squares left. Then, sew the double units onto that square, matching up the colors. Hopefully that makes more sense.
Must be why I’m not a writer. wry chuckle
Ha! I made two Lover’s Knot quilts like that, Mithril. I think I may have used Burns’ pattern for the Card Trick quilt I did, too, but I can’t remember now.
CCL, I use fusible interfacing, and while it sticks well and makes it really easy, the fabric isn’t as soft, it’s kind of stiff. Also there are 3 million kinds of fusible, and it’s a pain to figure out what you want. I may try glue sticks next time…
My current projects: I just finished a wedding quilt for my brother in pink and green (very floral!), it came out very well. Then I got to do something I wanted for once, and I took a class for fun and made an English Medallion, which is also very floral. (I’m not really a florals person, it just happened!) Now I’m putting together a reading-themed wallhanging–I’ve been collecting literary prints and found this great fabric with pictures of people reading books while sunbathing, walking, shopping, surfing, and biking. And I dragged out some old blocks I made in a $5 quilt class and am putting them together. Quilt mania!
