Six days before Christmas I decided I wanted an extra gift and started a new mini baby quilt. And I think it’s safe to say that this is in the top 3 of my most crazy quilty things :)
I choose the pattern stars by Lydia Nelson which I had pinned recently on pinterest. The colors were to be yellow and orange with a vanilla background as gender is not yet determined and those are the nursery colors. I also added some grey.
As it was a really ambitious timeframe, I bought the pattern hoping to save the time to figure out how to make the blocks. In this case it was not a helpful idea. Don’t get me wrong. If you did want to make the blocks the original size, the pattern is ok. I had planned to use the pattern size and just less stars. But… of course I liked the layout of the original design more. So that meant smaller blocks as the quilt was supposed to be only 32 inches square.
The scaling down part did turn out to take a whole evening and later I realized I had to recut some pieces and do some paperpieced sections as that was faster with the odd angles I created in my downsized version. I think I would have been way faster with just drawing a similar looking star and doing the whole thing paperpieced. Lesson learned. If you do something really last minute. At least stick to something “simple” or prewritten :)
So please do not use the graphic above for construction, it’s just to show my crazyness. The measurements are off! Go, buy the pattern to get a working concept and to have fun in the process.
And of course the sewing did take a lot longer than estimated. Thankfully my colleagues agreed to me having some time off so I could finish the quilt. I finished the binding the morning of Christmas Eve – which here in Germany is the day to give the gifts. Last minute was my middle name, right?
By the way, did I tell you that of course I did not have enough of the background fabric and that I only had two really similar ones that were each just a tad too small? I came up with the plan to use them not in a scattered but coordinated fashion – one in the center and the other one just on the outmost pieces. Unfortunately they were so similar I had problems distinguishing them in artificial light. I think and still hope it turned out correct #lol
Anyway, the quilt was liked. So the baby now just has to grow more to cuddle in it in summer.
What is the most crazy or last minute thing you ever did?
Linking up at
Let’s Bee Social #159 @ Sew Fresh Quilts
Finished or Not Friday @ Busy Hands Quilts
adorable quilt…great job. micki@2dogsstudio.us
I LOVE THIS BABY QUILT ! ! ! ! !
The color, the wonky stars, the quilting……..it is so fantastic and one of a kind looking !
I can hardly believe that you just whipped this together, last minute. And I can’t tell where the background colors change……..not that I would care,…I am just amazed that I can’t tell !
Great job !
This quilt is so cute! It turned out beautifully despite the hardship.
Your stars remind me of star-people “walking” across the quilt. I love their uneven dimensions. The wavy horizontal lines of the quilting make me think they are walking in outer space. Great job. Love it and the baby will too. Good color selection. I am going to check out that pattern…
What’s that saying, “If it wasn’t for the last minute nothing would ever get done.” It turned out to be very charming. I made an entire queen sized quilt this last December for a niece’s birthday. I kept procrastinating because I couldn’t decide how to create what she wanted. Once I started cutting it went pretty well, but I’d like to not be working up to the last minute again any time soon.
Wow, der Quilt ist aber hübsch geworden. Wie immer eine schöne Farbwahl und die Sterne in ihrer Unregelmäßigkeit sehen so lustig aus. Ich hoffe die Beschenkten haben sich ordentlich gefreut.
Why do a quilt the easy way when there is a much more complicated way to do it, right? Ah hem… I’ve never been guilty of such a thing ; ) I’m starting to think that middle name is no longer appropriate, but perhpas a first name? ; )
I any case, I really like the color combo, and that pop of grey was just what this quilt needed.
You’re a little crazy alright! :0)
Love the quilt though! And I love that you took off work in order to finish it, that goes to prove there are more important things than work! Great job on the quilting, and loooove the bonding fabric!!!
This is awesome! I love the colors you choose. So glad I found your blog through the quarter finish along.