Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Blueberry's Butterfly Quilt

As soon as I found out I was pregnant, I knew I wanted to make my little one a quilt. One that was bright and cuddly, perfect for a little person to play on and sleep under. Then we found out we were having a girl :) I would have been completely thrilled with a boy -- seriously! -- but there's just something fun about sewing for a little girl. I spent far longer than I should have at Joanne's Fabrics searching for the *perfect* fabric to make the *perfect* baby quilt for my little girl. And alas! Here is is:

Double Irish Chain is one of my all-time favorite blocks (I like the triple even more, but that was too many seams to match this time). I've always wanted to make it. So I did! God bless the women who came up with the rotary cutter and the strip-piecing method of quilting... without you, this would never have happened. I don't have the patience to match that many little squares. Goodness! Every time I make a quilt (and I ONLY strip piece), I get more and more respect for those ladies who pieced each individual little piece of the horribly complex quilts I've seen from the past. They're amazing.

I couldn't resist this butterfly print. It's lovely. The back is daisies and I'm going to applique a butterfly out of scraps along with the quilt label. The binding will be the royal blue like the inner border (and the tiniest butterflies! Can you see them?). And I have *just enough* of the butterfly print left over to make a little dress to bring Blueberry home in.

Here's where I'm struggling: As much as I LOOOOOVE to piece quilt tops (strip piece!), I actually dread the quilting part. I don't know why. I've only actually finished quilting one quilt. I've started a couple others and lost interest. I'm hoping that this time I have enough motivation -- and a deadline! -- to keep me going. I've decided to hand quilt since I've been having to spend a lot of time with my feet up. I hate being idle. This'll keep my hands busy.

I need your ideas. How should I go about quilting this? I was just going to straight stitch down the center of the pink chain and "in the ditch" along the borders, but I need SOMETHING for in the big butterfly squares. I'm at a total loss. And, I should probably do SOMETHING inside the big green border, too. Any thoughts? I'd appreciate it -- I'm clueless!

4 comments:

Sarah said...

It is BEAUTIFUL! What a sweet, darling quilt.

I have trouble deciding on quilting too. Actually, for most of mine, I have just tied them. I would quilt an X in every block for the chain, and some sort of motif (maybe a butterfly?) in the big printed areas. And maybe some curvy lines with a butterfly in the center at top, bottom and sides, with another curvy line after it, kind of like a visual hint of a butterflies dancing flight. :) Whatever you decide will be perfect. It is a precious quilt!

Anonymous said...

ohhhh, that's GORGEOUS! I love it!!!!

Joanna said...

Oh, it's lovely! So cute. I don't know about quilting, (haven't done much myself :-) but I like Sarah Jane's idea.

Gillian said...

The only quilting pattern I've ever done is diagonal lines - ending with an "x" in each square, but I agree that Sarah's idea sounds lovely! And your quilt top is so pretty. I love it! Your little one is so blessed :-)