I have a finish to share with you this morning! I began this little quilt a couple of months ago when I had the Sweet Tweets fabric (by Kim Schaefer for Andover) in stock. There was a panel fabric with these fun critters and I made both a quilt top and three stuffed blocks out of it (with a few pieces to spare!) I wanted to wait a bit before finishing the quilt though. I sold out of the rainbow stripe that I wanted to use as a border. I knew Kim Schaefer was coming out with a new line that had a similar rainbow stripe and I had it on order for my shop. (Note: I am sold out of the Sweet Tweets panel now and Andover has told me they will not be reprinting any of this line. It is kind of unfortunate because it is such a cute one.)
The new rainbow fabric is from an Andover line called And Z (from the alphabet song… W, X, Y And Z!) It also has a sweet alphabet panel and lots of fun coordinating fabrics, including a new rainbow stripe, which I used as the border on this project. I greatly appreciate when a designer works to make sure successive lines work with the one prior. It makes it much easier to use your stash. Anyway, this rainbow stripe was perfect for the Sweet Tweets quilt border.
Once I had the borders on, it was time to quilt it. There is a whole lot going on with this quilt, cute focal fabric, stripes and dots, and all sorts of color. I thought it best to keep things simple. I outlined the critters with my walking foot which anchored everything down.
Next I free motion quilted large and small loops between the critters. I was using Glide thread in basic white and it was wonderful. I am really impressed with this thread and I need to get a few more colors to have on hand.
For the small row of sashing between the critters and the rainbow stripe border, I quilted a little wavy pattern. Finally when I got to the border, it was time to switch from curves to a boxy motif. (Side note – look how dry the pasture next door to us is…. We have had such a heat wave and the grasses are really dry now. )
For the backing, I used a red stripe given to me by my sister last fall when she was purging her closets. It is perfectly bright and cheerful. The binding was a bit of a decision for me. I posted a photo on Instagram, asking people for input or suggestions. When someone said solid black to frame it off, I agreed. I think this quilt needed a simple binding for the finish.
The back side actually displays the quilting better than the front (as is often the case.
Look at the combination of the blocks and the quilt. This was such a fun way to use this panel fabric.
This quilt finished at 30″ by 38″ which is a nice size for baby. The quilt makes me happy and I am sure it will look cute in a nursery with a baby playing on it. There are so many colors, patterns, and critters to look at!
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The black binding frames it perfectly! I love all the interesting things to look at in the quilt and how the prints keep it balanced and not overwhelming. Beautiful finish.
Thank you. It was riot of color and print to try to balance, but I am happy with the results. 🙂
Such a happy quilt to look at! I’m sure any child would love it!
I love it!!
I love every single thing about this quilt! The fabric is wonderful. You did a great job Bernie!
Thank you Linda. It is certainly cheerful and bright! 🙂
I love that rainbow stripe border and the black binding. Great finish!
Thank you Rachel. It was worth waiting a while until that stripe arrived. I am very happy with it too.
Beautiful!!
it’s a very sweet quilt Bernie and the baby will have lots to look at and learn about which I always think is fun in a baby quilt. Nice and colourful as well.
Thank you Lisa. There is definitely lots of fun within the quilt. Soon I want to make an I Spy quilt to have at the house for grand children. Have you made one yet? I am inspired by the one Mari made recently. That would be a fun project!
Hi Bernie,
Shoot – stamping my foot. I just love Kim Schaefer stuff – even panels. I’m sharing a dinosaur quilt tomorrow from her pattern. Anyway, this is SO cute. I love the colors and just all of it. Those blocks with the quilt top is precious. I am expecting a great-niece or -nephew in September so I need to be busy with all things baby. I will have to look for this panel. ~smile~
Roseanne,
I totally agree! She is very talented and her work is always bright and cheerful. I don’t really have the Sweet Tweets line anymore – it sold so fast. I do have her latest though and it is wonderful. The panel is of the alphabet and the coordinates are adorable. Click here to take a look:
https://www.etsy.com/shop/NeedleandFoot?ref=seller-platform-mcnav&search_query=And+z
This is really sweet! I also appreciate it when designer’s lines work together, and I really like the border on this. I also like the binding. And the blocks are wonderful as well! This would make a lovely gift!
I think it will be a great gift too. But for now, it sits in my sewing room, making me smile. 🙂
Such a joyful quilt! A baby will LOVE it with those strong black/white patterns and bright colors. It’s too bad that some of the popular fabrics don’t get reissued. I think this panel would have had the potential to be popular quite a long time.
It must be a hard call for them to know if they should reprint or not. They don’t want to have it sitting around forever as people move on to the next thing. But yes, I think at least one reprinting of this one would be been nice.
Just so adorable in every way! And perfect to hide all those stains that always seem to occur when babies are around 😉
Well, yes, I hadn’t even thought of that. No stain would ever show up on this one. 🙂
Another Love! It looks soooooo Fun!
Thank you Tammy! Nice to hear from you. Enjoy the long weekend!
That’s such a sweet quilt, and the blocks are adorable! I think the solid black binding was the perfect choice 🙂
Thank you Leanne. Black for the win! It would have been just too crazy to add more print or color to the binding. Happy Weekend!!