Wednesday, June 12, 2013

A Finish and Fun!

Finally!  Have you ever had one of those "holy moly" moments when you realized that a gift quilt is going to be needed sooner than you expected?
Meet the quilt top for Baby C who is coming in August.  I'm not sure why I hadn't focused on the fact that August is around the corner and I will need a gift in July.  Seriously....it comes at the same time every year.  I had my "holy moly" moment two weeks ago and started looking for fabric that would work with this pattern.
Luckily, I remembered I had been hoarding this Moda Three Sisters  fabric for a baby quilt and had more than enough to make a quilt for Baby C.  And, there was diversity in patterns -- different scaled florals, fabrics that read as solids, stripes, polka dots, paisley.  All in all, I decided it should work.  These fabrics were those that I bought in an absolute panic to make a quilt for a young woman who was diagnosed with bone cancer while in medical school.  She was in the same high school class as my son, we were in Chicago and feeling very far away, and I knew I had to do something.  So -- I wanted to make a quilt that was peaceful.  This fabric fit the bill!  I was very busy at work and impulsively ordered a 50 fat quarter pack so that I didn't have to spend time searching!  I have also used this fabric for my Oak Park Beauty.  And I had some left over which was sequestered for another project.
So, Baby C will have a lovely feminine baby quilt and I'll continue to look for the right nursery fabrics for a later quilt.

This pattern is from Cozy Modern Quilts by Kim Schaeffer and is not the first baby quilt I've made from her book.  As you can see from this post, I made two at once by resizing the block and improving (I think) the construction process.  The Mahalo quilt was also made from this pattern. So, it's tried and true and fast!
Making this quilt top should have taken less than a week but it ended up taking a bit more than two weeks.  But I have a very good excuse!  One of the kind and generous quilters from our little church group loaned me her Accu-Cut Studio cutter.  Oh, how fun!  And efficient! This shelf of men's shirts was attacked in full force.  The smaller cuts that you see here are sleeves and they are awkward to cut with a rotary cutter.  With the 2.5" die in place, they all were cut and scraps thrown in the scrap bag!  Great improvement in the shelf.
And for good measure, I cut a bunch of fabric that I had bought for baby charity quilts and finally had to force myself to stop cutting.  Otherwise, I was going to start pulling fabric "willy nilly" from the shelves to cut with no idea what the final purpose was.  I managed to cut 10.5" stack of 2.5" strips and came to be a believer in the Studio!  For those of you who have them, kudos to you!
I have to say, I'm feeling pretty productive and I have a lot of blocks leftover and believe I can make a quilt for a friend's daughter that will "fit the bill" as well.

I hope you have had a creative week -- productive or not.  

Jan


28 comments:

Debra at HOMESPUN: http://www.thehomespun.com said...

So pretty and congrats on the finish! It's a big undertaking; that I know :)

Laura said...

And you finished a month ahead! It's very pretty!

Izzy said...

Very pretty little quilt.

M-R Charbonneau said...

Lovely colors and fabrics! Now I've got to find me a studio cutter to borrow - what a great idea! Thanks for linking up to TGIFF!

Kelly @ My Quilt Infatuation said...

really adorable baby quilt with such soft colors! it's so pretty, and will not be outgrown either! love it! by the way, I just started a new link party for quilters today- Needle and Thread Thursday. it will be open through Friday, so you should hop over and link up this fantastic quilt if you get a chance!

-Kelly @ My Quilt Infatuation

Vera said...

lovely and sweet!

Joanne said...

Gorgeous baby quilt, I love those colours!

Kelly @ My Quilt Infatuation said...

so glad you stopped by and linked up to Needle and Thread Thursday!

:) Kelly @ My Quilt Infatuation

Amanda @ BedTime Quilting said...

The colors are beautiful! I love that line.

PugMom said...

Your quilt is just lovely. I was interested in hearing about your Acu-quilt experience. Sounds like you enjoyed using it. I know that they're pretty heavy and expensive.

Julie said...

Oh I really like that baby quilt! Such a fun and simple pattern that looks harder than it is, I love those!

Stella Nemeth said...

I love the way Baby C's quilt looks. Perfect for a little girl. Great colors and great fabric choices.

a maidenhair fern said...

How cute is this. I remember seeing this pattern recently. I'll have to try it. Does "C" stand for "3"? congratulations and good luck.

Paula@TheSassyQuilter said...

I am often quilting in panic mode:) You work great under pressure because this is adorable. This is a good reason why we need a lot of emergency fabric:)

Anonymous said...

Holy moly, I'm often trying to finish something up the night before. But, you finished early. Way to go! And it's beautiful to boot.

Emma said...

Such a pretty quilt :)

Katy @ Lolly Linens said...

Love, love, love this!

Susan@Organized31 said...

Lucky, lucky baby and mommy getting such a beautiful quilt! Thanks for sharing at Inspire Us Thursday at Organized 31.

Sarah said...

What a perfect choice of fabrics for a baby quilt. Lucky child that gets to snuggle up with this colorful work of art.

Ana Love Craft said...

Really gorgeous quilt! Love it!The fabrics are fabulous.Thanks for sharing.
Hope you have a good week!
Hugs from Portugal,

Ana Love Craft
www.lovecraft2012.blogspot.com

Jill said...

My you have been busy! Another beautiful quilt!
Thanks for linking to a Round Tuit!
Hope you have a fabulous week!
Jill @ Creating my way to Success
http://www.jembellish.blogspot.com/

ChristaQuilts said...

This is a fabulous quilt! I love the fabrics. :-)

Jessica White said...

I have that issue on occasion too. Glad you got it finished in time!

Here via WIP Wednesday!

Joanie's Trendy Quilts said...

Your baby quilt pattern looks like it is woven ribbon. It is just sooo sweet!

Glenda said...

My goodness Kay I will have to look up about the cutter you are talking ablaut, it sure has given you a lot more space!!!!!! Has your hubby any shirts left in his side of the wardrobe??????? CHeers Glenda

Natalie said...

That quilt is stunning! I'm pinning it for inspiration (since I've had a box of fabric saved for a quilt for about 2 years now and haven't started it). Thanks for sharing.

jjthor said...

Looks like you had fun!!

Kate said...

Very pretty. Love the soft look you got with those fabrics. I've made this pattern from Kim's book for a retirement gift that I needed ASAP. It does make up quickly. Congrats on the finish.