A New Quilt

Mark was throwing out one of his old  button-up shirts because the elbows were getting worn, so I decided that I'd like to use it for something crafty.  I got an urge to do some sewing, so I set off for Joann's to make a baby blanket for a baby shower I'm going to this Saturday.  They just had a baby boy, so this is what I picked out.

You can't go wrong with puppies for a boy's blanket!

These stripes are a "sister fabric" of the puppies.

Just a little something that would make it "pop"!

Put them all together and I think it will be a cute combination!

 So then I had to design the quilt.  Afterall, I only had a week and a half until the baby shower.  I had a few ideas floating around in my head, so I thought I'd better get them down on paper before making a decision.

First was the simple blocks to incorporate all the fabrics evenly.

Then a more complicated, yet cuter design.

This is what I finally decided on though.

I got all my pieces cut out and ready to go.

This is the layout to give you an idea of how it will turn out.

Once I had sewn 6 of the 12 blocks, I found that I was running out of blue strips.  What?  I counted them and had the right amount cut.  I looked a little harder at my design and realized that I was sewing all the blocks the same, but that's not how it was actually designed per se.  Since the bottom and right edges of the blanket were lined with blue, I had to cut more blue and red to line the left and top too.  I think it turned out even cuter than I designed it originally, and I'm quite pleased with it.

I now only have to layer the blanket with the batting and the back, tie it with yarn, and then edge it with the red bias tape I got.  Hopefully this won't be very difficult or time consuming (which I don't really expect, but who knows what might come up?)  I was originally thinking of using some denim that I have left-over as the backing, but then I realized that it was just too heavy for this cotton blanket.  I have enough of the red fabric, so I'm going to use that as the back, but I was really hoping to use that for another quilt.  Oh well, I guess I'll have to go find something else for that one.  Finishing this quilt takes precedence. Wish me luck in getting it done before Saturday.  So far, I've made great progress, but it's not done yet... and I still have a baby and a house to take care of.  :-)