Quilts for Haden & Natalie

Mostly I knit and crochet but I also sew - it's really about "making stuff"! This past fall I was out on the West Coast visiting family and went to two local fabric shops (think local yarn shop, in other words, not a Joanne or Hancock Fabrics) In each shop I came away with fabric to make quilts for grandchildren.

Shop #1
Maisonette in Oceanside, CA is a wonderful little shop which doubles as a photography/art studio. It was here that I got the idea for the quilts (not hard, they had a sample prominently displayed!) The quilts take only a yard of material each for the front and the back. Rockets and moons for 4½ year old grandson Haden, encouragement from my daughter Rebecca that he would love it for Christmas and the project was just too perfect to pass up. Double bonus: I also found heart buttons to add to my stash for possible Valentine projects.






Shop #2
Fabric Crush in Seattle, WA is a bright and well organized local fabric shop located in an historical building in the Wallingford area. Double bonus: They are right next door to the yarn shop Bad Woman Yarn!! It was here that I found the fabric for another quilt, this time for 9 month old granddaughter Natalie. Big thanks to Sarah who prevented a potential disaster by pointing out that I needed to buy a little more than a yard of this fabric because the print was not multi-directional.




Notes:

I cut a cross grain binding of 2½" to give a 1/2" border.

On Natalie's blanket (the green one) the backing fabric is a flannel and it is a little thicker and "snugglier".

I tried a iron-on batting and I shouldn't have. I don't use iron-on interfacing when sewing garments because it can make the fabric stiff and leave glue traces -- the same principle applies here. Luckily, I didn't have have major issues washing out the adhesive but I was lucky and it did mean I washed the fabric twice (I had prewashed the fabric before sewing)

I quilted all the layers together by tying knots 5" apart with a coordinating color of Pearl Cotton #5. On a baby/toddler quilt 4" apart might be better so I'll keep any eye on how they wear.

These quilts were my first attempts at mitered corners and it went very well. I viewed a couple of websites and videos for the gist of how to do mitered corners but it was this video and it's proclaimed "no snouts allowed" that put the professional touch on them! What's a snout on a mitered corner? I have no idea how to explain it but watch the first minute of the video and she'll show you (she has lots of cool toys too!)