Two Day Quilt

It is soooo me to think up these things at the last minute. My brain starts cranking & spinning....I actually think I thrive under the pressure. Hence, my two-day quilt.

Some friends have a new baby in the family. They will be coming over this weekend. I knew I needed a gift for the baby and I really wanted to give it to them when they came over. I figured I'd buy something adorable, but then I thought, no, I'll make something! I've been honing my quilting skills lately making some blankets to donate to Project Linus. One of them was my first attempt at free motion quilting. And I have to say that I LOVED making it! Here it is in progress, it has since been bound & completed-

The quilting was easier than I expected and I especially love the end result. It just looks more 'quilty,' more bumpy and cozy. For this gift quilt I knew I didn't want to attempt anything complicated since I had a time crunch. I decided to just make a simple squared patch quilt with 6 inch squares in a smaller baby quilt size. I received a couple small hand-made quilts like this for baby gifts. They are so perfect for spreading out on the floor and letting the baby lay down on or play have tummy time. Also great for changing clothes or diapers on when you don't want to set the baby right on the floor. And they make nice keepsakes too.

The baby is a boy so I did a bright primary color quilt with a few bug themed squares. I also did a little extra personalization, adding appliques of the baby's initial and a heart. They are done in fleece, which I've never appliqued with but it worked great. No fraying and it adds a little fuzzy tactile element to the quilt.

So, here it is all done-


(that bottom left corner isn't wonky, the wind was blowing and it wouldn't hang straight!)

Close-up of appliques-





And the back-



I still can't believe I made this thing in (less than!) 2 days. I thunk it up Sunday night, bought the fabric Monday morning at Joann's and finished it up early Tuesday evening. I'd like to thank my cooperative daughter for taking nice long naps these two days and I'd also like to thank my husband for taking the kids to the park the last two evenings. Everything came together quickly but I don't feel like I rushed it or cut corners. I'm very proud of the way it turned out. I can't wait to give it to them and I hope baby and his mama like it lots.

Now I've got a friend with a baby due in July. I have a little more time to plan this next gift quilt, but I've already decided what to make. I'm going to use this pattern and do a woodland/critter theme to match the nursery. I can't wait to make it! But, I've got a couple other birthdays in the family that I must complete gifts for first. I love having people to sew for!