Herringbone Quilt for Emerson

It's only been over a year since I worked on this project... sheesh! Last year towards the end of tax season I got the major nesting bug. Like whoa. I hadn't done anything for the nursery yet besides gather my overall inspiration. I really wanted to make a quilt for Emerson and I loved the quilt from my inspiration nursery (see it here). I also wanted to do something really easy - those are my favorite kind of quilts. I like having something creative to do that isn't overly complicated. That I can still work on while I watch my "stories." 

I used this tutorial, which was super easy to follow. I made this crib-sized (or close to it), so about 42" x 52". 

Fabric:

1/4 yard each of the patterned fabrics (I did not use the gray pictured above)

1 yard of white fabric

1/2 yard of solid aqua fabric

1 1/2 yards for orange/coral polka dot fabric (used for back)

(I think overall I spent about $50 on fabric at a local quilting store)

Fabric Cuts: 

15 squares each of the patterned fabrics (ish)

60 squares of white (ish)

The method used for cutting the triangles was so easy it is a major "DOH!" moment once you realize how awesome it is. Instead of cutting and then matching up a zillion triangles, you just keep the squares intact, place them right sides together and pin. Then, from one corner to the other draw a diagonal line with a pencil and ruler. From there you can just sew a 1/4 inch seam on each side of the line. Once you sew on each side, you just cut down the line and now you have two new squares, but made up of two different patterned triangles! Genius! 

As far as layout goes, I used the "organized chaos" method. No official pattern, I just started laying down the triangle/squares making sure that no two patterns were right next to each other and were somewhat evenly spaced.

Helpful hint for keeping the layout preserved while you are sewing... we (and by we, I mean my Mom and Me - she is the quilting queen!) set out the squares on top of the backing, then rolled up the backing with the squares (another genius idea from mi madre!). It keeps everything compact and in order so you don't have to keep it set out on the floor while you sew. Also very helpful if you need to move it, but don't want to take apart your layout! 

I sewed the squares together horizontally first and then sewed the long rows together vertically, if that makes sense. Then came the ironing. Lots and lots of ironing...

My mom had the top and bottom quilted together by another lady that specializes in quilting. I had her keep it simple and quilt "in the ditch." My mom did the aqua binding to finish it off!

I absolutely love how it turned out and it works so well in Em's nursery! I hope Em loves it for years to come!

Quick and Easy Cross Baby Quilt

I recently got bitten by the bug. The quilting bug. I actually made a quilt back in April for Emerson (I'll post that one later) that was so easy and fun to make that I wanted to make another one for a friend for her baby shower (more on that one later too). But today I'll share another baby quilt that I just made for Em. 

I have wanted to make a Cross/Plus Quilt for a while (a la this or this and this) and since I'm addicted to these super easy baby quilts, thought I'd give it a try. I found some cute patterned flannel of jungle animals in aqua, coral, orange and brown and decided to get some solid flannel to use for the crosses. 

I didn't really use a pattern (I'm not too into patterns - I like the quick and easy!) but just cut out 3.5 x 3.5 squares and laid them out in the pattern I wanted, alternating colors so no crosses of the same color were next to each other. Then I just sewed together each row of squares across using a 1/4 inch seam, then sewed together all the rows using the same. Easy peasy. Next I did the "quilting" myself. I put it in quotes because I use that term loosely. I basically just top stitched around each cross to keep all the layers in place. It definitely isn't perfect, but it gets the job done!

I used the patterned fabric for the back which is the binding as well (using this easy tutorial). I was intimidated about the binding at first, but using the tutorial was surprisingly easy.

I love how it turned out - perfect for tummy time and super warm and snugly. Em likes it too!