And I will use this opportunity to post some pictures.
Portrait view of the quilt:
I designed the quilt myself, but as you can see, it wasn't complicated piecing. Simple strips of contemporary fabrics - piecing was a flash. It's approximately 42" x 50," the size chosen for flexibility to go in a crib, on the floor as a soft mat for crawling, or lap quilt for a little boy. It could also be a wall hanging, I suppose.
Landscape view
The quilting design is where I exercised my creativity. Each strip is quilted with a different pattern. Sometimes I follow the design of the fabric, other times, I superimpose a regular pattern. I used a combination of free motion quilting and regular stitching.
Too bad the photos don't show the quilting! I am proud of my improved skill on the free motion sections.
Back View
The backing fabric is a Beatrix Potter print. Those beloved characters! Although, I wonder if kids even know who Peter Rabbit or Squirrel Nutkin are, in this generation. Back View Detail
Look at the binding. I tried something new - an embellishment with rickrack! I sewed on the rickrack around the edge on the back using a small zig-zag stitch, lining up the edge of the rickrack with the clean quilt edge. Then I sewed on the border in the usual fashion. When I tacked it down on the back, I deliberately covered half of the rick rack to get the "bumpy" effect. It's a bias, double fold binding, which is my favorite technique. It should be very strong for baby to chew on, or drag along the floor. The rickrack has a story: I found this olive-green rickrack in a pile of sewing notions at an estate sale. I bought the whole lot, not knowing how I would use the trims, bindings and laces. Here, I got to use one! The packages were ancient - wrapped in crinkly cellophane, marked 15 cents per pack. I love the idea of using "scraps" for quilts.
I hope they love it. I hope baby uses it as his blankie. Even if not, I have made it in love, given freely. It is my humble attempt at grace.
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