Thursday, June 09, 2011

playing four square

I made this little quilt for a friend that is expecting her 3rd baby this summer. Having 3 kids myself, I know how fun it is to get something special for the younger ones. These so are "her" colors, and it just happens that I had plenty of them on hand in my stash. Sweet!
Most of the fabrics are from the Birchtree Lane collection from Connecting Threads. These fabrics are so perfect for a boy quilt! To round things out, I threw in a sweet little print from my LQS, a bit of David Walker robots and some Robert Kaufman mingle. My daughter actually cut these out for me using my GO! baby (can you say sweet???) and the 5" circle die. The GO! cutter made such quick work of the circles. I certainly will be making more circle quilts!
The backing is Denyse Schmidt dots from JoAnn's. LOVE this print! I really wanted to continue hoarding it for myself, but I'm glad I used it, because it was THE perfect match.
For construction of the circle blocks, I basically used this tutorial, but I used 6.5" squares rather than 6" for the background blocks. The circles frayed ever so gently after washing. I love the subtle texture that it adds-absolutely perfect for a baby quilt!
I rolled it up and tied a ribbon around for gifting, letting the label peek out. So simple and easy and sweet.
The quilt measures 42" square. I gave it to my friend yesterday and she loved it. Hurray!

This was SUCH a fun (and quick!) quilt to make. I think I need to make a girl version now. :)

66 comments:

Theresa said...

I love the background colour too - works wonderfully well with the blues, greens and browns. What colour is it?

Sandra said...

That's awesome. Did you fuse down the circles and then machine applique them down?

Jennifer said...

I really like that you made a square out of the circles instead of doing just rows of circles. Very creative. That DS print was perfect for the back!

Linda said...

Very cute! Awesome that miss A helped. I bet she really loved being able to help you!

Lydia said...

OMG I love it!! Looks great.

www.dreampatch.com.au

Kim Brackett said...

Adorable! And I love the way you wrapped it with the label showing. What a wonderful gift.

Carmen said...

So cute! I love the squares of circles. :)

Michelle said...

Love the GO! for circles -- and love the colors you used! :-)

Deb said...

You have a lucky friend!! You came up with a beautiful idea. GO cutter--I may have to save my pennies (nickels?) for one!

Deb from
clutteredquilter.blogspot.com

Christine @ Punkin Handmades said...

Love this quilt! I've been drooling over this line since it came out, I can't wait to get some.

Nicole said...

That quilt is adorable!!! I love the colors. They are so un-babyish, yet so perfect for a nursery. Soothing, calm, serene, and not at all fussy. I think I may just have to make one myself!

Melanie said...

I LOVE this quilt! I need one for my boys!

Thimbleanna said...

Do you EVER sleep??? That quilt would be perfect for my little friend at work -- but she's having twins. I LOVE that DS dot you used on the back too!

Deborah said...

I love that new line of fabric from Connecting Threads!! I've been drooling all over the cataloge.
I love your quilt. Very adorable. The circles are fantastic!
Nice job.
Deborah

Suzanne said...

Hello! You made quick work of that quilt but hit on details just perfectly. Were you smiling giddily when you found the perfect ribbon to tie it up in?

When you FMQ the spirals, do you start at the center and radiate out or the reverse? I'm about to do a giant spiral and wasn't sure which direction to go. Thanks!

bethanndodd said...

Adorable!

Unknown said...

I LOVE this quilt!

Dorothy said...

I love how you wrapped that quilt! What a brilliant idea! I am never prepared with wrapping paper and am always finishing up a quilt 5 mins before the party. Your quilt is adorable too. Thanks for sharing.

Shanna of Fiber of All Sorts said...

This is lovely!

Ann Ferguson said...

Yep - bring on the girl quilt! Love this one.

susiloci said...

Es una maravilla, muy bonito!!!

Sarah McGrath said...

That's lovely. The grey background works so well with the colours you chose.

Carme Torras said...

ohhh, I like!! from Spain.

Anonymous said...

love it. could I ask what stitch lenghth you used and was it hard to sew the zig zag in a circle and keep it nice looking?

Textile-tally said...

I love the quilt and also the rolling it up with a ribbon. What a gorgeous gift!

Sadie said...

Oh my goodness I love this! So, so cute. What a beautiful gift :-)

Rene' said...

Love it!!!! Gotta get me that circle die ;-)

Karen said...

Very, very cute! Love all the circles and the fabrics are yummy!

Jessica Christensen said...

This is a great boy quilt! I love the colors. BTW, I wasn't going to do it, but I already cut out all my pieces for the running in circles quilt -- made my own templates, though. I think mine will end up being 64 X 80, b/c I started with 9" squares. Thanks for the inspiration. :) You know I love everything you do.

KendasCrafts said...

How lovely! that's perfect for a baby boy! Love, love, love the quilting!

Chris said...

What a great idea to tie your quilt with a ribbon - I always let the label end up on top when I gift quilts too.

So cute - the colors are so calm and I'm sure the quilt will be well loved!

All the best - Chris

Anonymous said...

This is soooo adorable!! Wish we were friends when I was pregnant with my 3rd! LOL! You do beautiful work!

Annalia said...

Amanda, this is my favorite circle quilt I've ever seen! I think circles are pretty bold already, so your sedate colors kind of balance them out. Nice.

Lauren Phelps said...

It's so cute! Great job!

Emily said...

I LOVE the colors!

Pat said...

What a great baby gift. I love the fabric from Connecting Threads.

momof3 said...

I have been loving this fabric line for my son and seeing it in action makes me love it even more. Your friend will love it.

Michele said...

I love the quilt and the presentation :-)

AlaskanAddison said...

This is adorable! Colors are great. I'm sure it will be well loved. I have three kids too, and my oldest got so many homeade quilts but my younger two didn't get any! This was before I had started quilting and my mom ended up paying someone to make my boys each a special quilt. Can't forget the second and third babies!! :)

Beth said...

I love this quilt, but then I usually love everything you post here. I really want to make a quilt with circles. Maybe I could borrow your daughter? ;)

Beth said...

I love this quilt, but then I usually love everything you post here. I really want to make a quilt with circles. Maybe I could borrow your daughter? ;)

Clair said...

That is a nice quilt!

skrapyram said...

I love everything about it. Someday I will try circles!

April said...

Gorgeous quilt! I can't tell you how many times I've clicked on your blog today just to look at the pictures. I'm almost finished with my first quilt ever, and I'm already thinking about what fabrics I could use to make this one next. Thank you for sharing it with us!

Karen said...

Beautiful fabrics and the end result is really cute!

Katharine said...

I love this quilt - totally my favourite colours. And the background really works well with them. I'd love to know what it is.

Mrs. Sew and Sew - Karen said...

I love the background. Is it a kona solid? What color? It goes so well with those colors. The back fabric is perfect also. My Joann's doesn't have that line....boo hoo!
Very small town and small Joann's.

Cheryl Arkison said...

Love the blank spots you left. Didn't we pick out a similar pile when I was there?

Denice said...

Those are the perfect colors for a baby boy quilt. It turned out fantastic! I've never wanted a go baby until now. Oh those lovely circles. How do you ever find such lovely fabric at Joanns? Whenever I go there everything just looks so ghetto. Maybe the fabric looks better after getting it out of the store? You make everything look awesome. I hope you share sometime how you do that circle quilting.

Unknown said...

It's adorable! Love that you left the center open, just a tad unexpected :) Have a great weekend!

KateKwiltz said...

Very cute! Love how it turned out!

P.S.. At the beach this week. It misses you! :)

quirky granola girl said...

love, love, love.
can i ask what solid you used for the background?

April (Polkadot Sparrow) said...

Love it. And that Denyse Schmidt print on the back is a great use, too. Guess you'll have to order more to hoard. :)

amy smart said...

What a simple, yet stunning, quilt for a new baby! I need to try a few of these myself - I love it! And you are a true friend to use that Denyse dot on the back, because you're right, it's perfect.

Vics said...

Absolutely gorgeous - I love the colours!

Sew Sane Jane said...

So cute! I think that this one is even sorta gender neutral - blue, but some cute flowery prints in some cases. And I LOVE that tan background! Is it a Kona?

Kristyne said...

Funny, as a quilter of 26 years, no one has ever made me a quilt. I guess they think that I can just make my own ... which I can, and do. But there's noting like a quilt that was designed and made with love FOR you. Your friend is very lucky to know you. ;)

deborah said...

Such a fun quilt. I love it!

Becky said...

this is stunning!

sallgood said...

Hi! Such a cute quilt! And thanks for the tutorial shout out- lots of visitors to my blog as a result. (Did you check out the CD weavings we did in my Art Club classes??- guess I never get tired of circles!) :D

audreypawdrey said...

I love the circles! It turned out beautifully, and I know they will love it. I really like the colors you used on this too-perfect for a little boy!

Sarah said...

Do I really need to take my daughter to school today. I mean, it is only 4th grade and to think she could be home with me cutting out pieces!
I LOVE this quilt. I have been wanting to make a circle quilt, and now I am going to have to move it up my list!!!!!

Chara Michele said...

What a fun, cute quilt! Love the circles!

Anonymous said...

What a beautiful and creative quilt. I've been procrastinating on a graduation quilt for my now H.S. sophomore son (from baby-teen clothing swatches) and this pattern is perfect for that task. Got just enough time to finish it for graduation (if I get started now... not as proficient as you with the quilting). Thanks for the inspiration and idea-- I think my son will have a memory quilt to take to college after all! :)

Joyful said...

What a nice friend you are. The quilt is beautiful.

Dayquilt said...

M DD is also getting interested in quilting (she's 7 now) and one of the main reasons I wanted a GO cutter! Now DS (4!) wants to help cut fabric :)

I'm surprised you didn't put a circular label on your awesome quilt.