My First Quilts

I mentioned in my intro post, I started quilting by checking out Quilting for Dummies and heading to the fabric store. I made two quilts from patterns in the book, both easy and both by hand.

The first was this wall hanging quilt. It’s small and lightly quilted “in the ditch.” It’s more out of the ditch, actually, because I followed the pattern in the book and quilted a good half-inch away from the seam. I think that gives a good effect. Sadly, I’ve never had a place where it looks right. Someday I may give it away to someone who’s got a color scheme that it fits.

This second quilt is something I might like to revisit in the future. It turned out nicely, but it’s not really quilted. Following the instructions in the book (I think), I only used dark blue thread to tie off the centers of the diamonds. Instead of actually tying off, though, I made some sort of eight- or ten-pointed star.

Every time I see it, it begs me for more quilting. But with so many other projects on my plate, I’ve neglected it. Perhaps someday I’ll borrow the quilting frame my mom is using (since it lives at her house) and go at it whenever I’m up there.

Stay tuned on Thursday for my projects this week!

Pink Baby Quilt – Completed!

Just completed a pink quilt for my cousin’s daughter’s first birthday. Based on pictures I’ve seen of her clothes, animals, and bed, I decided to make it pink-on-pink. The background is a light, solid color and the accented squares are pink with pink and red flowers and just a bit of green for the leaves.

I wish the fabric colors showed up better in the photographs below. If my cousin takes some pictures where the colors come out better, I’ll add them too. I think I need to start taking pictures in the sunlight and brush up my photography skills.

The pattern I used was very simple, based on 9-patch squares. I liked the effect that the star 9-patch (diagonals on the corners) had when placed next to a standard 9-patch.

It’s 6 x 6 blocks, I forgot to measure the final product but it’s bigger than your average baby quilt. I figured that since I put it off until she was 1, it should be a bit larger.

I cannot read the gallery's xml file: /home/blogc5/public_html/quilt/wp-content/photos/sophie/gallery.xml
Please check that the gallery's files have been created on the admin pages!

Now I have to start planning for when my cousin’s sister has a baby this fall. Boy baby, parents are Nascar fans. I’m thinking a Nascar quilt, even if they don’t go with that for a nursery theme. I’m an enabler.