It's been a long, long time since I completed a quilt. I think the last quilt I completed was a gift for a friend who was expecting a baby boy, which was almost a year and a half ago!
How funny that this quilt is also for a baby boy. I found out over the summer (early summer actually) that a really good friend of mine is expecting her first baby. When I found out she was due in October I knew I had plenty of time to sit on it and not do anything until just before her due date. Naturally, that is exactly what happened.
My first baby quilt was actually pretty big. I had no idea what size baby quilts typically are so I just made it to fit a standard package of "crib size" batting, which is 45"x60". I remember finishing it and doing some free-motion quilting over it and thinking it was really big for a baby. Over the past year I have paid more attention to quilt sizes from some quilters I admire. It seems like 36"x44" is a decent size for a baby and definitely much more manageable, especially for gifts. (But, are there any mothers out there with some input on what quilt size is preferred??)
I've seen the 'plus' quilt made numerous times (here, let me google that for you) and have always thought it looked really cool even though it is relatively easy and straightforward to make. While I tend to try and do the most complicated things, I decided that this time I wanted something simpler, but that still had a cool effect and I think the 'plus' quilt design fits that bill. A couple weekends ago I finally decided that I had to get started on it if I wanted my friend to receive it before the baby came. I did a quick sketch to determine the proper sizing of the blocks and finished quilt size and figured out that 4"x4" finished squares would be perfect for what I had in mind. I know that I could have done the horizontal or vertical section in one long piece instead of 3 separate squares, but I wanted to have the effect of using only squares.
Since I'm terrible at calculating the proper amount of fabric I need for a quilt, I actually had a lot of scraps leftover from the first baby boy quilt. I was hoping that I had enough to make a quilt top and although I had to sneak in a few solid white squares I just BARELY had enough! For a couple minutes I didn't think I had enough, but after some rearranging I realized it would work. I was so relieved! Not that I mind shopping for more fabric, but I really wanted to reduce my stash not increase it.
Earlier in the day I made a trip to Jo-Ann Fabrics to get some materials for a project I'm working on and walked by the nursery fabric aisle. A car design caught my eye as I thought it would make a perfect backing for this quilt (what little boy doesn't like cars, right?).
After doing some hasty math in my head I bought one and a half yards thinking it would be enough for a 36"x44" quilt and thank goodness it was! I initially wanted to bind the quilt in a solid red, but unfortunately I didn't have enough in my stash and I only had 3yds of packaged bias binding and I really didn't want to make another trip to get more of either. After I quilted everything together (4 parallel lines offset from the seams in both directions, alternating with white and grey thread) and cut away the sides, I discovered that I had enough scraps in the backing fabric to make the binding (not on the bias, but whatever)....not my ideal situation, but since I had no idea what else I would use the fabric for I decided that it was just meant to be!
Remember that vintage iron I picked up at an estate sale? I finally used it to press the binding and it works like a charm! I didn't use any spray water or steam and it pressed the heck out of the fabric. The iron did give off a slight burning smell when I first plugged it in, but I'm going to attribute that to the age of the iron and the fact that it probably hasn't seen much use in a really long time. The iron gets hot quickly and I didn't notice any lights or anything to notify you that it's on and working. You can only tell it's working properly by touching it! (or briefly pressing it on the ironing board to gauge its temp).
Anyway, here is a full size photo of the baby quilt!
You'll notice the total lack of any color and design coordination. Whoops! But I think each print is absolutely adorable. I got most of the fabric online from Hawthorne Threads, which has incredibly fast shipping. Half of a plus is from the Cloud9 Monsterz collection. There are two prints from the Backyard Baby collection from Patty Sloniger.
I can't remember which collection the whales and aliens are from. I bought the anchors from Sew Modern (I also have it in the grey colorway). That print is part of the Sarah Jane Out to Sea collection, which I love, love, love! The backing and binding is from Jo-Ann Fabrics (the store I visited had the most depressing facade, but the inside was pretty good).
My husband was surprised at how quickly it went together. Well, (a) it's significantly smaller than any quilt I have previously made, (b) the quilt is made entirely with 4" squares, and (c) I only quilted it with lines, no free motion quilting, which saved a ton of time (oh, and I machined sewed the binding....I know, shoot me.....whatever.)
I finally mailed it to my friend and I was so nervous about whether it would actually get to her. I didn't even know how I should mail it....in a box? in an envelope? I ended up buying large Scotch mailers and I put the quilt in that. Then I stuffed it into a padded bubble envelope at the post office. The post office I went to was absolutely terrible and I ended up using the self-kiosk for the first time ever. I'm pretty sure I didn't pay for the correct postage and then I didn't know where to drop off the package; since I was near the counter I just plopped my envelope next to a huge stack of packages without even checking to make sure those were outgoing mail.....I was a nervous wreck until the tracking number finally showed up online and I saw that it at least reached her state....and then finally I got confirmation that my friend received it!
I gotta say, making baby quilts for friends is a lot of fun! More of my friends need to start poppin' out some babies so I have an excuse to go buy more adorable fabric :)
How funny that this quilt is also for a baby boy. I found out over the summer (early summer actually) that a really good friend of mine is expecting her first baby. When I found out she was due in October I knew I had plenty of time to sit on it and not do anything until just before her due date. Naturally, that is exactly what happened.
My first baby quilt was actually pretty big. I had no idea what size baby quilts typically are so I just made it to fit a standard package of "crib size" batting, which is 45"x60". I remember finishing it and doing some free-motion quilting over it and thinking it was really big for a baby. Over the past year I have paid more attention to quilt sizes from some quilters I admire. It seems like 36"x44" is a decent size for a baby and definitely much more manageable, especially for gifts. (But, are there any mothers out there with some input on what quilt size is preferred??)
I've seen the 'plus' quilt made numerous times (here, let me google that for you) and have always thought it looked really cool even though it is relatively easy and straightforward to make. While I tend to try and do the most complicated things, I decided that this time I wanted something simpler, but that still had a cool effect and I think the 'plus' quilt design fits that bill. A couple weekends ago I finally decided that I had to get started on it if I wanted my friend to receive it before the baby came. I did a quick sketch to determine the proper sizing of the blocks and finished quilt size and figured out that 4"x4" finished squares would be perfect for what I had in mind. I know that I could have done the horizontal or vertical section in one long piece instead of 3 separate squares, but I wanted to have the effect of using only squares.
Since I'm terrible at calculating the proper amount of fabric I need for a quilt, I actually had a lot of scraps leftover from the first baby boy quilt. I was hoping that I had enough to make a quilt top and although I had to sneak in a few solid white squares I just BARELY had enough! For a couple minutes I didn't think I had enough, but after some rearranging I realized it would work. I was so relieved! Not that I mind shopping for more fabric, but I really wanted to reduce my stash not increase it.
Earlier in the day I made a trip to Jo-Ann Fabrics to get some materials for a project I'm working on and walked by the nursery fabric aisle. A car design caught my eye as I thought it would make a perfect backing for this quilt (what little boy doesn't like cars, right?).
After doing some hasty math in my head I bought one and a half yards thinking it would be enough for a 36"x44" quilt and thank goodness it was! I initially wanted to bind the quilt in a solid red, but unfortunately I didn't have enough in my stash and I only had 3yds of packaged bias binding and I really didn't want to make another trip to get more of either. After I quilted everything together (4 parallel lines offset from the seams in both directions, alternating with white and grey thread) and cut away the sides, I discovered that I had enough scraps in the backing fabric to make the binding (not on the bias, but whatever)....not my ideal situation, but since I had no idea what else I would use the fabric for I decided that it was just meant to be!
Remember that vintage iron I picked up at an estate sale? I finally used it to press the binding and it works like a charm! I didn't use any spray water or steam and it pressed the heck out of the fabric. The iron did give off a slight burning smell when I first plugged it in, but I'm going to attribute that to the age of the iron and the fact that it probably hasn't seen much use in a really long time. The iron gets hot quickly and I didn't notice any lights or anything to notify you that it's on and working. You can only tell it's working properly by touching it! (or briefly pressing it on the ironing board to gauge its temp).
Anyway, here is a full size photo of the baby quilt!
You'll notice the total lack of any color and design coordination. Whoops! But I think each print is absolutely adorable. I got most of the fabric online from Hawthorne Threads, which has incredibly fast shipping. Half of a plus is from the Cloud9 Monsterz collection. There are two prints from the Backyard Baby collection from Patty Sloniger.
I can't remember which collection the whales and aliens are from. I bought the anchors from Sew Modern (I also have it in the grey colorway). That print is part of the Sarah Jane Out to Sea collection, which I love, love, love! The backing and binding is from Jo-Ann Fabrics (the store I visited had the most depressing facade, but the inside was pretty good).
My husband was surprised at how quickly it went together. Well, (a) it's significantly smaller than any quilt I have previously made, (b) the quilt is made entirely with 4" squares, and (c) I only quilted it with lines, no free motion quilting, which saved a ton of time (oh, and I machined sewed the binding....I know, shoot me.....whatever.)
I finally mailed it to my friend and I was so nervous about whether it would actually get to her. I didn't even know how I should mail it....in a box? in an envelope? I ended up buying large Scotch mailers and I put the quilt in that. Then I stuffed it into a padded bubble envelope at the post office. The post office I went to was absolutely terrible and I ended up using the self-kiosk for the first time ever. I'm pretty sure I didn't pay for the correct postage and then I didn't know where to drop off the package; since I was near the counter I just plopped my envelope next to a huge stack of packages without even checking to make sure those were outgoing mail.....I was a nervous wreck until the tracking number finally showed up online and I saw that it at least reached her state....and then finally I got confirmation that my friend received it!
I gotta say, making baby quilts for friends is a lot of fun! More of my friends need to start poppin' out some babies so I have an excuse to go buy more adorable fabric :)
Comments
Post a Comment