Friday, May 26, 2017

a geometric slide

Last week I shared the first of two gender neutral baby quilts I've made for sisters due within weeks of each other.  I wanted to make each quilt individual and completely different from the other.  Here's the second quilt...

This baby's parents are both engineers and I wanted an organized pattern of form and color so I made a Geometric Slide.  Pattern by Faith Jones and available in her book Vintage Quilt Revival.   I altered the pattern to make this baby sized.

Who doesn't love squared up blocks and a pretty pile of trimmings?  

Since I was using only one print for each color I chose to alter the starting point of the slide as well.  I didn't want the colors all lined up like in Faith's beautiful scrappy version.


How perfect is this backing?  After lots of searching I found this Wooden Blocks print online at Stash Fabrics.  It's by Sarah Jane for Michael Miller Fabrics so I knew it would be super soft.  I had never seen this before and wasn't sure how true my computer monitor was showing the colors but I was running out of time so I crossed my fingers and placed the order.  After a short delay by the USPS my order finally arrived and matched absolutely perfectly.  Yay for happy endings!  
I had originally planned to use one of the prints in the blocks for a binding but was so happy with the backing fabric that I decided to use it for the binding as well.  I like it!

I free-motion quilted this to death with tons of jagged lines and shapes.  Have you seen those labels you can buy that say, "This took me for-ev-er"?  This was worthy of one of those! 😉


You can see the quilting a little better on the white.  For me the challenge is keeping all the quilting similar sized - easier on the white background than the colorful blocks.  It's so hard for me to ignore the shape of a block and keep things random.

I used Quilter's Dream Cotton Select loft batting.  

Doesn't it make a nice backdrop for these adorable hats my daughter knit for the cousins!

So for this second gender neutral quilt I switched up grays and neutrals for bright colors, a timeless block for something modern, and straight line quilting for dense free-motion.  Rest assured, however, that equal amounts of love have been sewn into each. 

And everything has been gifted with lots of prayers for healthy, happy babies!




Linking up with Crazy Mom Quilts and Sew Fresh Quilts

11 comments:

  1. Lovely quilt and wow, isn't that backing perfect! I am glad it fit so great, happy endings. Hope the momma and baby are fine and that the treasure this beautiful gift.

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    1. Thank you Melanie. The babies aren't due till August and September. I can't wait to meet them!

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  2. Both of the quilts are very sweet! You sure found the perfect backing and it looks great as the binding, too. I love the quilting! And those knitted hats are too cute!

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    1. Thank you Lorna. The hats got the loudest "oooo" as the gifts were being opened at the shower!

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  3. That backing could not have been more perfect than if you had started with it and picked your colors from it! It shows you have an excellent eye for color - the professional who designed the backing had a winning combo worthy of a manufacturer reproducing it. Using it as a binding was a wise choice too. The quilt came out great! (I am a retired mechanical engineer so in my opinion your choice of pattern was very fitting.) And isn't funny how babies come in groups? This month of May I made burp cloths for five baby girls. See
    https://dianeloves2quilt.blogspot.com/2017/05/cheaper-by-dozen.html
    Those grey hats look so soft and cuddly. The stockinette stitch is exceedingly smooth, even, and well done.

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    1. Thank you for all these encouraging words. You are right, it's as though I started with the backing when going through my stash to start the top. I'm especially glad to know that your mechanical engineer mind finds the pattern fitting.
      My daughter knit the hats. She is just learning to knit with help from her local yarn shop. They have been very encouraging to her and this out-of-town mom really appreciates it. I agree, her tension is very even throughout both.

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  4. That is a great pattern. I love how you off set the start of each section. You could not have picked a more perfect backing.

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    1. Thanks Jan. That backing was a lucky find for sure!

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  5. I would say you definitely aced the two baby quilts for two sisters! Nice hats, too!

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  6. Beautiful quilts! Love the backing, it was meant for the quilt. The little grey hats are just perfect.

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    1. Thanks so much Ioleen! And thanks for stopping by.

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