Friday, October 29, 2010

Blogger's Quilt Festival + Castle Peeps quilt


  • I just found out about the Blogger's Quilt Festival and it's pretty awesome! To enter, you have to blog about a quilt you've made. I'd like to talk about the quilt I made for my son.

    Charm Squares Baby Quilt

    The obvious inspiration for this quilt was my handsome boy (I apparently only know how to make this photo gigantic or tiny; I chose tiny):

    Photobucket

    I made this for his first birthday, which was October 9th, but couldn't resist giving it to him as soon as I finished it. Before this quilt, I had really only made 1 other serious quilt (I made 2 awkward baby blankets before that that had my "unique" interpretation of what binding should be, and I doubt they're even still in one piece now). This was the first time I bought fabrics because I truly loved them and not just because they were on sale. I wanted everything about this quilt to be of the highest quality too so I bought Gutermann cotton thread, Kona Ash and Coal for the backing and binding and Warm and Natural batting. These were all the names I heard a lot.

    Charm Squares Baby Quilt

    With this quilt I really learned how much patience pays off. I really took my time making sure everything was cut and pieced perfectly, and I think it definitely showed in the end. Everything went together so much more easily too (no forcing seams together). I also hand-stitched the binding, which I hadn't done before. I discovered that I actually enjoy sitting down and stitching at night. It was nice to be able to bring my work-in-progress with me to bed and work on it while watching TV or a movie. I also really prefer the look of the hand-finished quilt.

    Charm Squares Baby Quilt

    I also pieced the back of this quilt (hadn't done that before) and was proud of the little design I came up with. I bought 6 different prints of the blue Castle Peeps fabric, but the pattern only called for 5. I really wanted to use them all though and this specific print seemed to need it's own space. I don't think it would have been so nice cut into small pieces in the quilt top. So this little broken panel idea worked well. Sometimes I think I like the back of this quilt more than the front (I really fell in love with Kona Ash for a neutral solid)!

    Charm Squares Baby Quilt



18 comments:

  1. I love the blues in the quilt! and you're right, the Kona Ash for the backing is very pleasing.

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  2. I love the way you did the back! That was the one problem I had with that print in using it myself - it really calls for being cut in big blocks otherwise it's tough to get the castle feel from it. Awesome quilt, it's gorgeous!

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  3. So lovely! I have fat quarters of the entire Castle Peeps line that I picked up at Quilt Market in May and still haven't done anything with them - I really need to get on that! I'm sure your son is really enjoying his quilt and will cherish it for years!

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  4. What a cute quilt! You did a great job!!

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  5. Love it! Excellent job, I can't believe it was one of your first quilts! The back is great, too.

    I'm right there with you on hand-stitching the binding. I find it relaxing and I like the look of it better.

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  6. This is a great quilt for your little boy. Congratulations! Love the simple and pretty design, lovely colors and pretty quilting!
    ; )

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  7. Oh I love the quilt you made, I hope my first quilt comes out even half as good. The fabric is gorgeous too, I want :)

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  8. I love castle peeps but I don't know why I was not such a fun of the blue palette... until I saw your quilt! It is sooo beautiful! Great job!

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  9. I like the Castle Peeps in the blue. This is the first time I've seen this color way. You did a great job! I like how you pieced the backing. Thanks for sharing!

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  10. You did a fabulous job ... newbee or not! It's love and I bet he will love it over time!

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  11. Lovely! Its a beautiful quilt and it will "grow" with him...nothing babyish about this beauty!

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  12. What a wonderful road to quilting progress :) Good luck with your next one too.

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  13. Wow, this quilt looks really awesome. Your pride is justified! Great job!

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  14. Love the quilt. Hope your son gets years of use out of it.

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  15. Thank you everyone for all of the nice comments! <3

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  16. This is wonderful!! So is that photo of your son! He'll treasure this beautiful quilt for a lifetime.

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  17. This is a wonderful quilt for your little boy. Gorgeous colours and fabrics. The layout works so well. The white makes it look so fresh.
    It looks great!

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  18. oh i love it....that fabric is amazing

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