Focus on Baby Quilts

Progress on my goal of making a baby quilt each month in 2016. When the two boxes of quilt fabric with baby themes were unboxed and sorted out, I just started sewing and couldn't quit.  Number one was shown in last post (Here)

Two:  This one was a kit, so a no-brainer, that went together so easily, and is now a quilt top.  Both of the border fabrics were missing, as I had used them on something else, but substitutes were easily found, and used.  No backing fabric yet - I may buy a flannel fabric, find something in the plaids boxes.  Aren't the fussy cut squares of little children cute?

Details:  Squares are cut 5" to finish at 4.5"x4.5".  Unfinished top now measures 32" by 41".  Inner striped border is 1 inch finished width.

Three:  A baby blue star in a striped background.  The nursery rhyme fabric scraps were given to me by my friend Dee, and the white background with blue ducklings fabric is coarser woven - it may be a feed sack.  The best thing about this baby quilt is that I can use this lovely satin binding from my Mom's stash.  She had lots of rick-rack, binding packs, and trim packs that I now have, and it feels so great when I use one of them on a project.  My kids loved their satin bound blankets when they were babies.

Details:  Squares are 4.5 inches finished (cut 5 inches) and top measures 40.5 X 36.5 inches.  I may add another narrow border to be underneath the satin binding, and then the binding wouldn't cover part of the outer squares.

Four:  Lots of Blue squares were cut, and I pulled a plaid from the plaid stash box and added it to the mix.  The blue plaid was once a pair of pants of mine.  Plaid pants must have been in style back in the day, or at least I hope they were!

Details:  Squares finish at 5 inches, so top is now 30" x 35". 

I realized when this quilt was laid out that the design is super easy - just cut 14 squares of three different fabrics and sew them together.  Use 14 of any size square you want, and find 3 fabrics that you want to use together.  I put the squares on the floor by the sewing machine on a piece of flannel, and picked up and replaced squares as they were sewn, to keep the pattern straight.  The back of this one is a piece that I've had for a long time, and I love it.  It has cars, planes, boats, on it.  It feels so good to cut it and use it as a quilt back!  And there is more of it to use on another baby quilt.  Why haven't I used it before?

I am still going strong, Number Five is being cut out,  and Number Six is waiting impatiently to be cut out.  I am continuing with the baby quilt mojo until it runs out, so stay tuned.  What are you working on this week?

Linking up:

Design Wall Mondays
Monday Making
Oh, Scrap!

2016 Focus: Using Up the Stash

The 2016 word goal I selected is "Focus", meaning focus on using up my stash and completing some of the projects I have planned.  One part of the goal is to use my collection of fabrics in the two boxes marked "baby quilts".  I am trying to make a baby quilt each month.  Here's January's:

Happy Valentine's Day!  It's a bright cheerful baby quilt, and measures 42" by 54" before quilting and binding.  

I started cutting squares of polka dots fabrics at 6.5 inches, with no plan in mind.  Then I decided to make stars, using two blocks, a "snowball" block and a plain block.  I used my design wall to lay out what I needed to make stars, and was not sure if there would be enough contrast between the reds and the multicolored fabric.  I took a black and white photo and, yes, there is plenty of contrast.  It's an easy trick:

First, I mixed up the star points fabrics with the star middles, but it seemed a little "too much" going on, so I rearranged things to make the star points match the middles.....all except one of them.  It's just how the scraps worked out that I didn't have enough of that one to match it up.  And it looks fine.  Here's a closeup of the one different fabrics star:

It is an easy quilt to make, and I will be making it again, for sure.  Easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy. Here's a picture of the quilt top,  flat on the floor:

This was such a welcome change of pace from my usual tiny pieces quilts, and went together so quickly.  I have February's quilt squares cut out and on the design wall.  It feels so good to accomplish some of my new goals.  January....Check!

I'm linking up with Design Wall Mondays, as usual, at Judy Laquidara's blog, to see what others are working on.  (Here)