Baby quilt

I started this project a few months ago, and finished it when my niece was born. I saw her last week, and of course she is gorgeous at a month and a half.

Her mother received my present with great joy but the weather is so hot at the moment and the baby so small, she will have to wait to use it properly.

I opted for a big quilt, not single bed size but bigger than a cot, and am hoping she will use it for longer.

As I said to my sister in law, it's only now that I have more time because my children are older. Before I couldn't make such presents, even for my own girls. In fact 2 of them are still waiting for a quilt on their beds...

The blocks are made of 8 triangles. Their size will determine the size of your block. And then you add the 4 triangles in the corner.

It is easy to draw, 2 crosses meeting in the middle, and then you draw and extend the side lines to find the corners.

I started sewing my triangles 2 by 2, joined them, then 4 to 4. My seam allowances are all turning in the same direction, so that they match when I assemble my blocks together.

I chose a selection of pale pink and green fabrics as soon as I knew it was going to be a little girl. They seem much paller on the photos than in reality, the light was too strong outside.

For the back, as I didn't have a single piece big enough, I used fat quarters and lengths of fabric that I had left. In fact my sister in law thought it was the quilt !

I quilted in the ditch. You might remember I have some tension problems with my sewing machine when I am free machine quilting. I didn't want to risk having balls of thread at the back on this quilt.

I stitched the label on the back, with the date of birth as I finished the binding after she was born.

The result is a quilt in muted colours, very pretty, to be used everyday I hope.

Enjoy and have a nice summer.