Archive for December, 2008

Yeesh, it’s been a long time since I’ve posted anything! I got myself caught up in some fairly hardcore raiding in WoW, but I took a break fairly recently and now I have time to sew again.

I finished this project about two months ago for a co-worker who gave birth to her first kid. I took the new mom shopping for fabric, and she found three reproduction prints in both pink and blue that she really liked. While I had one design in mind at the quilt store, I ended up doing something *completely* different… funny how that happens sometimes!

The quilt was fairly straightforward to make, especially considering that I made it up as I went along!

Abby’s Baby Blocks

Finished size: approx. 35″ x 43″

Fabric:

1.5 yards background (white)
.25 yard each of six colors (three blue and three pink)
1.5 yards backing
.5 yard binding

* I used quarter-yard cuts for the blue and pink fabrics, since this was done with strip piecing, but it could be easily done using fat quarters!

Cut:

White:
2 X 2.5″ strips
~16 x 1.5″ strips
Colors (each):
1 x 2.5″ strips
3 x 1.5″ strips (2 for blocks, 1 for border)

1. For center/sides, sew two outer and one inner strip together. Press seams to center and cut 2.5″ pieces. You’ll have 42 pieces with white borders (7 per color) and 7 blocks with white centers and each color on the outside.

2. Chain-piece these against a strip of the outer color. Clip and repeat on the other side. Press seams towards the middle.

3. Lay out blocks and stitch top together one column at a time, leaving connecting threads between rows.

4. For the border, alternate remaining 1.5″ strips of colored fabric with 1.5″ background strips. Press to one side and cut into 1.5″ strips.

5. Stitch this piece to another 1.5″ strip on each side. Press seams outward.

6. Attach border to quilt, trimming border and adding corner squares as necessary.

7. Sandwich the quilt and finish (tie, quilt) as desired. I used a non-pre-shrunk cotton batting and stitched a medium-sized meander in white thread. Not only did the quilting go quickly, but the batting’s shrinkage after washing gave a neat effect.