Thread Tales From A Scrappy Quilter

A couple of baby quilts.    One for an infant, the other for a toddler boy.  Minkee backings and oh so soft!  I usually trim quilts for this client and I am thinking I will not cut minkee in my studio again.   Gosh that stuff makes a mess!  My cutting table is in front of a window and that fluffy stuff stuck all over my red draperies and all over the glass as well as my container holding my cutting tools, etc.   The cutting table has to be moved to be able to reach the window to clean.  Definitely too messy, I'm going to have to let you have all that fun in your studio!  The infant one a panto I use frequently for sweet baby quilts "popcorn".  It adds just the right amount of movement and dimension.   The little boy one with the chain pattern, I just quilted a loopy thing that I thought maybe he could use as a road while playing with little cars.     ...

These are client quilts for her newest granddaughter born last week.    They are so cute!    Bunny is to be a wall hanging in the nursery.  The Dresden plate style pinwheel quilt is to be used as a soft, cuddly quilt.    I knew of a fantastic feathered version by another quilter for this bunny but my client felt that style was a little too heavy in the quilting area.   She seemed very pleased with my version and wants to keep it for herself  (it's sometimes so hard to part with these things isn't it?!).   This one is the one she wanted custom quilted, but yet still snuggly.   I used Quilter's Dream Puff and love that batting for a softer, more puffy look and feel in a quilt.   This one presented some frustration to me because as with many baby quilts, these are  8" blocks with little background, lots of sashings and then an outer border....

This sweet little quilt for a clients' new granddaughter was custom quilted  and turned out so cute!  Cuddly, puffy, poly batting was used. Glide thread in celery. 

This is such a cute little quilt!    The pattern layers 3 fabrics and you cut out "wonky" strips centered around a focal point.  The donkeys are so cute in their rain boots.   The neighbor's cat that thinks he lives at my house... Checking it out.   "Drip" hand guided pantograph     "grown up" fabric for the backing.  2 layers of batting, Hobbs 80/20 and Hobbs Wool.  Glide thread.   Pattern for wonky-donkey-2 My quilt blocks turned out OK, I would have preferred to have more fabric and been a little more selective with my cuts.   With a random cut square of fabric to begin with, it was difficult to get a fussy cut center.   Or if you did get a nice cut for the center area it left the outer strips (8 of them) not so precise.   I loved the pattern though and knowing what I know now... I want to play with this technique more....

Washed and dried, ready for use.  Watch Suzanne McNeill's video on how you can create this block in 10 minutes too.   This was my test project.  I've got stash that needs to be used up to make space for new collections.   I see a few of these in my future. Quilting shows on the backside!