I began with rather large hexies as I figured a larger scale would be easier to work with for a first timer. Plus I loved that these hexies showcased the fabric print so well. Once I had a bunch of hexies prepped I began playing with different layouts.
I had absolutely no intentions of creating a flower pattern with the hexies. I was actually planning on taking a more modern approach of lining them up in rows but once I laid out the flowers I just could not think of a better layout for a baby quilt.
And so I stitched the hexies together into their individual flowers and began hand appliqueing them onto the background fabric.
Once all of the flowers were secured, and the basting and paper backing removed, it was time to personalize the quilt. I began by creating an applique of the baby's name.
It was pure disaster. Not at all what I had pictured in my mind. And too much time and hand work had gone into this top to leave it with such a disappointing touch. Out came the seam ripper and I carefully tore away the letters. It was time to take a different approach.
I basted the quilt and began to quilt hoping that a solution would come to me.
As I sat quilting a ton of echo lines it hit me. I would quilt the name. It would fit well with the soft design of the quilt.
I decided to try one more technique while I worked on this quilt. I decided to try serging all the edges before binding. I absolutely hate binding . . . my binding never seems to turn out quite the way I would like. I was hoping perhaps serging all the bulk down into a neat little seam might help with the binding process.
Thank goodness, my thought process was right. My binding went on smoothly and nearly effortlessly. For once I was more annoyed with making the binding rather than applying it!
So why nearly 3 months to complete this project? Well aside from sickness and a stubborn infant, I had to create another quilt for this baby's twin sister. However, I knew I did not want to go the whole matchy-matchy route. Instead, I created a more modern style quilt with a matching name design and just a hint of hexies!
I am so thrilled that I can finally get these mailed out to the beautiful recipients! It took me far too long to complete them. But I must say, I hope they are well worth the wait!
Until next time . . . happy sewing!
