Catching Up: Oh Baby!

I have been having so much fun lately in baby world. (Don't worry, I'm not having one!) In my circle of friends however, "baby" has definitely been in the air. One project I completed was a baby quilt for a good friend. It is so neat seeing her go through this phase of life. I met mommy to be in high school, and actually knew her husband from grade school. This couple has always held a special place in my heart and it will be so exciting to see their baby when she finally arrives!

Now baby "Addy" has a black and white nursery with all shades of pink in it. I kind of ran with the pink idea when making her quilt. The first step was choosing the fabric. I tried to choose an array of pinks with varying patterns and "visual weight." It was also a little challenging to keep the shades of pink clean. So many pink fabrics have a brownish undertone that makes them look a little dingy when placed next to something bright. Here were my choices:

The next step was cutting 8 circles out of each pattern. (If you ever make this quilt yourself I HIGHLY recommend getting this rotary cutting tool. It is a life saver when cutting circles!). I also cut out 48 white squares from a super soft Kona cotton :)

After cutting and ironing the pieces I stitched each circle to it's own square with a zig zag stitch. It does take some practice sewing in a circle!

Before assembling the blocks I made a pattern and numbered the squares to keep the pattern straight.

As each row was completed, the quilt really started to come together. This is where it got exciting!

I then stitched the rows together to finish the front of the quilt!

The next step was embroidering baby Adella's name on one circle.

After adding the batting and soft flannel backing, I finished it off with a black border. Here are a few pictures of the final product in the adorable nursery!

If you are thinking about making one of these I found the pattern on the blog Bijou Lovely. It is a perfect tutorial for beginners. She really explains things step by step even down to pinning techniques!

I had so much fun making this quilt and cannot wait for the next time I get to make this for another friend. (And ONE day myself!)

~Hannah