Making boutique clothing is SEW much fun and I enjoy it tremendously. But sometimes I get a little ‘jealous’ so to speak that I’m making all these adorable things and NOTHING fits me! ;) Joy and I have been finding more and more designers that are making PDF patterns in adult styles and sizes and there’s a few things we’d like to make ourselves, but this selfish sew was something I knew I could whip up in no time flat and since I’ve been sick as a dog I wanted a little ‘instant gratification’. I’d been saving these fabrics to make a quilt for our own bed, but I was on pinterest yesterday and happened to get a little sidetracked. Imagine that. (FYI: Pinterest is evil. That is all.) I starting seeing baby quilts. And I started drooling. And then decided to make one, weather I had someone to use it on or gift it to, or not. So what the hey. I’ll finish it up and stick it in the etsy shop. Who knows maybe someone will love it as much as I do and snatch it up. More money for the mission fund and rice and beans. :) Oh, and by the way….baby quilts make great lap quilts for nesting on the couch or your favorite comfy chair while watching a movie. And I secretly have to confess that I still sleep with a lap quilt (that I made myself). For whatever reason I love to have something to snuggle in my face and cover my head with when I go to sleep. True story. I even took it to the hospital once upon a time when I had to have surgery. I packed it all the way to Haiti with me, and even take it on trips or vacations when I get to see my sister. Something about sleeping with a little piece of home and the smell of my blankies and bed that makes life so much better.
Please excuse the poor cell phone pic, but I was so excited to snap a pic when I got it pieced together that I couldn’t wait for the finished product. I laid it out on the ping pong table (after I interrupted the kids’ game) and took a quick snapshot. There is something about turquoise and orange that just melts my heart. Seriously. Not to mention I’m such a huge fan of all things retro and it seems more and more fabrics are going back to traditional designs of old. The retro floral prints are beautiful but those big geometric shapes and damask details are what makes my heart go pitter patter. Someday I’ll have grandchildren. Hopefully. (According to my children I’m out of luck in that regard, we shall see.) So until then, I’ll just craft up something sweet and share it with the world. I’ll get a better picture when it’s all finished. In the mean time, I better get back to the sewing room. I have a dress to finish for a designer by Friday! I should probably be past the ‘cutting-of-the-pattern’ stage by now. 
Yeah. That’d be good.
Yeah. That’d be good.
If you like this design and are looking for a pattern, good luck. Let me know if you find any free tutorials. I wanted a strip quilt and found a gazillion finished pics and products, but didn’t want to pay for a pattern so I made my own. (I’ve mentioned before how much I hate math.) I googled the dimensions for a standard baby quilt and went to work with some scratch paper and a calculator. Who knows, maybe I’ll design and make a PDF Pattern for it and sell it online as well. I hear there’s a market for that. Until then I’ll share it with you all for FREE.
Until then I’ll share it with you all for FREE.
Number of Pieces Needed & Dimensions in Inches:
- 2 – 4 x 20
- 2 – 4 x 11
- 2 – 6 x 20
- 2 – 6 x 11
- 2 – 10 x 20
- 2 – 10 x 11
- 1 – 15 x 20
- 1 – 15 x 11
- 1 – 6 x 55
Be sure to lay out all your pieces before you go sewing them together so you have them in the right order and laying in the right direction. Pretty easy to do from scrap yardage. All the cuts I used in my quilt were less than 1 yard pieces. I did have to piece the 6×55 inch strip together with two pieces, and I matched up the seam with the side seams of two of the horizontal strips. I’ve yet to make the binding and want to find just the right piece for a backing (which you should be able to figure out what size to get for that after you piece your top together), but I’m excited and can envision just what it will look like all done and wrapped around someone’s little chunker in a snuggle fest. I plan on just quilting it with straight stitches to match the blocks. I’m anxious for my girlfriend to buy her new quilting machine with her income tax refund! Then I’ll just pay her a nominal fee for thread and electricity and we’ll have sew much fun stitchin the days away! Can’t wait.
Then I’ll just pay her a nominal fee for thread and electricity and we’ll have sew much fun stitchin the days away! Can’t wait.
If you make a strip quilt using this little ‘tutorial’ of sorts, please link it up in the comments and post pics! I’d LOVE to see them!
*update* So I thought I’d share with you how this little jewel turned out! I’m totally in love with the colors. And, sadly, since I have no grandbabies yet or friends to share it with, it went up for sale in the etsy shop. You can purchase it HERE. Or click on the shopping link in the menu to see it and other items. :) And just in case you noticed (or didn’t and I’m pointing it out now….) I ended up cutting off one of my end strips and cut into the opposite one as well. I found the perfect piece of chevron fabric in my stash to back this little quilt with and needless to say it was just a few inches short of what I needed. Sew I chopped off the ends a bit. I think it’s still beautiful and melts my heart every time I look at it. How ’bout you?
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