Baby quilts

Last night, Sydney asked how many baby quilts I make a year for friends.  It seems like a lot more than it really is.  It's just that this year, it's seemed back to back. 

This was the original plan.  Rob and I both love it.  But, it does not remind either of us of a baby quilt.  2/3 of it sat in my sewing room floor for a week and I still couldn't teach it to say baby. 

But, isn't it going to make a nice wall hanging?

Anyway, I saw that pattern in a magazine and thought it was perfect for the parents, but it was all in browns and I knew I didn't want to do that.  I had some points that I picked up at a guild boutique that are batik and I thought were cut in the narrow half of the tri-recs ruler.  But, when I pulled one out to use, that's not the shape those triangles are cut in at all.  I don't know what I'll ever be able to do with those except sew a light one and a dark one together to make a rectangle.  Then find something that needs that shape.  Does that seem like the wrong way to design a quilt to anybody else?  Although, I wonder if they'd make a border for this quilt??? 

And, there I go after something else shiny.

Anyway, in my search for baby quilt patterns the other day, I found this one.  It's a simple disappearing nine-patch, but you don't put the blocks back together after cutting them.  They go back together at random.  Except I'm no good at random.  I can never seem to get random to come out quite random enough, unless I have a plan, and that defeats the point of random.

Anyway, I laid my squares out in the floor and moved them around to get sufficient randomness to the blocks, then I took a photo of each one and stacked the squares and numbered them to go with the pictures and yesterday morning, I put them together. 

I laid them in the floor for a picture before I cut them and Syd walked by and said "it's nice.  Kind of random...but not nearly random enough."  And, I told her "just you wait." 

I cut them and laid them out again on my portable design wall, otherwise known as a flannel backed vinyl tablecloth and a pool noodle, and I called her in for another viewing.  Still not random enough.

And, again...still not random enough.

Again...and again.

Then, I laid them out, alternating the cool green and aqua large squares in a pattern with the warmer large squares...and finally it was random enough.  Even Sydney said so, so it must be true.

You gotta go with what works, right?

So, now I just need to sew those 36 squares together into a top and I'll be on my way.  Until Rob asked what I was going to bind it in, which led to what am I going to back it with.  And, a whole 'nother set of questions was born. 

On a les fulfilling note, a co-worker asked me to take a big piece of something fleecey and turn it into a baby blanket...just fold it in half and sew around it.  Right.  NOT!  I sewed around it.  And, I got something that was not the right shape.  So, I cut my serging off and will try again.  Biggest problem is that what she bought isn't meant to be used this way, and she didn't buy enough of it to make what she wants, either.  And, besides all that, quilters work with cotton, not this slinky slidey fuzzy artificial stuff.  Last night, at 1a.m. when it was worrying me, I think I figured out how to make it work, so I'll give it one my try.  But, that's all the time I've got for that project.  I could offer to make her a quilt for her grandbaby and it would probably be less work than folding this in half and sewing around it.

That's it for me today.  All about them babies.  But now it's back to work.  Rob and I both had a good time overdoing it in the back yard this weekend.  One of his projects is nearly done and my garden is looking very fresh and spring like.  Now, when my muscles stop being sore, I should be fine.  Until I overdo it again.

Everybody have a great Monday!  Lane