Baby Star Quilt (a.k.a. “Happy Birth Day, Baby” Mystery Quilt)

When I started making quilts I was really into making baby quilts, for the obvious reason of its size as it is easier for me to sew. As my son grow older, he gets a newer and larger quilts every couple of years. It became my little mission to make and sew baby/children's quilt as I think every child should have their own little unique quilt to cuddle with, and to celebrate their lives. This quilt is just that, my surprise birthday present to my son's classmates's little brother who is about to turn 1. He is absolutely adorable!! When we pick up our kids from school I would often chat to him and he would smile and tries to talk back to me by making different sounds. His gorgeous smile is just enough to make you melt!

So I saw this quilt from Rachel's blog which lead me to the pattern. Coincidentally this pattern is called “Happy Birth Day, Baby Quilt" and without hesitation I went ahead and made it with a slight variation.

I add additional borders to frame the stars as I think it looks better for my quilt, braking up the solid dark teal with a 3/4 inch yellow border. 

I also had fun trying out free motion quilting on this quilt. I used Angela Walter's swirls and flower technique in the white negative space; and Lori Kennedy's "sand dollar" motif for the yellow border. Angela Walters' Craftsy class is really useful (my go-to lesson for FMQ), and there are so many techniques and patterns that are great for negative space quilting.

On the back you can get a clear look of the patterns where the solid strip is. It works like a treat adding another interest to the back of the quilt. I really like this and next time I might use only solid fabric for the backing so the FMQ patterns could stand out further.    

This is my last photo shot for the day, as the sun is about to go down. This is a simple and easy quilt to piece with many options to try out free motion quilt in the negative spaces.

I hope my receiver will enjoy this quilt! 

Now I am going to wash it before I wrap it up!

Cheers,
Erica

    

I am back!! and with Charm Pack Cherry Quilt.

6 months ago I have decided to go back to school to study early childhood education. I really wasn't sure what to expect as the last time I actually studied was back in my early twenties. There were lots of assignments and many late night but to my surprise I was actually enjoying learning and making new friends young and old. But in order to concentrate on my studies I also decided to stop quilting until I finish my course and leave my blog for the past months.

To get back into my 'quilting mood' I thought of starting a new but small project --- and this is where Charm Pack Cherry Quilt came about. The pattern is free and it can be found at Fat Quarter Shop. As suggested by the name of this quilt it is charm pack friendly, where you require 2 of each print and solid charm packs. 

As for the quilting I was inspired by Jacquie Gering's Craftsy class, "Creative quilting with your walking foot". Instinctively I knew I wanted to quilt it with continuous circle design. I think it worked well and I love how the circles create a second textural movement to the quilt.

I started with a quarter inch spacing and slowing extend the spacing to 1/2 inch; 1 inch and about 1 and 1/2 inches as it gets closer to the edge of the quilt, giving it a rippling effect. I had fun quilting it and I love the texture when I ran my hands across the quilt!

Now it is ready to meet its new own, a little angel who is expected to arrive in April!

Cheers,
Erica