baby quilt number three

Even though I'm just beginning the third trimester, it hit me recently that I'm less than ten weeks away from when I historically have welcomed my babies into the world. That's not much time (especially when you move as slowly as I do these days), so I decided to get cracking on my preparations for his arrival -- beginning with his baby quilt.


Like I mentioned in a previous post, I wanted to make a strip quilt. I had nothing but a few pictures of other strip quilts and some basic instructions to go on -- no detail-providing pattern for my detail-craving self, and certainly no measurements. But it was enough to go on.

I started by cutting strips of varying lengths. After arranging them, I realized I needed to scale everything down, so I put my limited sewing math skills to work and did a lot of trimming so that I'd ultimately end up with a blanket that was approximately 35" x 45".

Putting together the quilt top was simple enough -- just sew the strips together. For the back I opted for a solid gray with a leftover strip trimmed from the top incorporated in.

The hardest part -- and the part where I was winging it the most -- was the quilting. Since I only wanted to quilt straight lines (approximately 1/4" on either side of every strip seam), I thought I could do it myself on my little sewing machine. I did a little research on how to go about this, including a conversation with my quilt-making sister, Katie, before I dove in. But even with that guidance, and the more-than-usual care I took, it still turned out far, far from flawless. It's puckered in a few places, and my lines are wobbly, but so long as I keep reminding myself that the baby boy who will be using it will likely not care, I'm okay chalking up the imperfections to character. And what quilt doesn't have a bit of character, right? (Just don't look too closely at the back -- that's where it looks the worst.)


On the bright side, though, the binding turned out great. Not only are the corners mitered, but I didn't have to unstitch and re-do any of it.

Anyway, I'm overall happy with how it turned out, and I am particularly pleased with how far my sewing and quilt-making skills have come. I still have much to learn (obviously), but I've come a long way, largely thanks to the more talented friends and family who have been willing to teach me a little bit here and a little bit there. But that I've been able to put those bits and pieces together enough to create a quilt, from start to finish, is an accomplishment I'm proud of.