Woodland Critters Baby Quilt

Finally! After all of my indecision last week, I settled on a design for this baby quilt using this fabric:

                             

I cut more squares:

Whipped up some HSTs:

Turned them into QSTs:

and pieced the top center:

I was in town for our Quilt Squad meeting and I took it to Jackie. I had called her on Friday and asked if I could drop of a quilt on Saturday. She said , "Of course!"

I replied, "Well then I had better go make it!" She laughed. She is such a dear lady. I rarely ask for a quilt to be rushed out, but I asked if I could have it 9 days later. She said she'd have it for me in 2 days.

I told her I didn't need it THAT fast and I went to my meeting. I heard from her 2 hours later. My quilt was ready. This time I was the one who laughed. More laughter ensued when I shared my story and how I had 2 more tops sitting at home.

I love this brown gingham:

The sun was out in full force when I went to take pictures, but I love the texture and movement the quilting  gave it

After a trip through the wash, it finished at 40" x 40"

I'm telling you - she's a gem. She and her daughter make a crack-shot team.They quilted it with these rambling leaves in a green thread that are once again, perfect:

                             

I backed it with the same focus fabric because my mom just loved it and asked me to use it on the back and I bound it in the brown gingham:

                                            

It took me longer to bind it than it did for her to quilt it, but I finished it on Wednesday and sent it off to my Mom on Thursday.

It arrived on Saturday and I received a phone call as soon as she opened it. She was SO tickled with it.

                              

Now I've got to finish off the other 2 I pieced during my indecisive phase. I generally don't work this way, but I think I was feeling the need to get this just right since my mom was the one giving it as a gift. I hope it will be well received and loved. Thankfully, babies are not that picky. 😉

Under the Needle - August

 July and August are supposed to be our rainy season. We're still waiting...and praying. I've only had the mower out once and that was just to cut one little part of the yard where I've been watering the trees like mad in an attempt to keep them alive.. but hope springs eternal and today I am happily stitching as the rain puddles outside my window:

We've had a lot going on around here, but a girl that loves to make quilts will always squeeze in dabs of time to work on them. After I finished our Girl's Sequoia Quilt for her Birthday, I stitched up a couple of puppy-inspired drawstring bags to send flea and tick meds for her hound puppies. It's less expensive at our vet clinic than anywhere else:

I also finished piecing all the blocks for my Scrap Dance Waltz quilt and it is now a top waiting to be pressed:

It's hard for me to wrap my mind around the fact that it's already August, but August it is. I was craving some mindless sewing so I have been sewing HSTs for a pattern using a layer cake:

It took me 4 days to draw my lines and get the squares trimmed and starched, and and then my mom called and asked if I could make a baby quilt for a friend of hers. Of course! I was tickled that she asked. The theme is woodland critters. She told me that the invitation was cute so I asked her to have the neighbor, who is also a friend of ours, send me a photo of it:

Yep, cute! And I remembered this fabric a friend has used for a baby quilt a few months ago:

Perfect. And then the dilemma began. Settling on a pattern is often the most time consuming part of the quilt making process for me. This fabric is sweet, but it does not play well with others. Plan A looked promising:

Until I laid it all out:

No. Plan B:

No. On to plan C:

Better, but not quite and I did a lot of ripping to add that brown. Then I thought of another tweek, but I just did not have the heart to rip it all out again and remake those QSTs. So I thought about using 9-patches and commenced to making those.

Still not loving it. That was plan D. Sigh. I'll be back with plan E. Sheesh.