Sunday Sewing Spree

Sometime between posting yesterday and waking up this morning, it occurred to me that a new mother with a new baby doesn't need something big. She needs lots of smaller, nearly identical things, so when an epic case of projectile spit-up occurs, Thing 1 can be tossed into the wash and Thing 2 brought in to replace it.

With that jog to my memory, instead of a 40"x60" toddler-sized quilt, I decided to make 2 baby quilts: a 30"x40" using a 3x4 setting with the ten 9" segments (trimmed to 8.5" squares),

and a 30"x50" using a 3x5 setting with the fourteen 6" segments constructed yesterday. If you're any good on your fingers, you've figured out that I need to make some more squares!

With all the scraps still lurking about, constructing two more 8.5" squares was no problem. Once I had them up on the design wall, I started cutting those framing strips and playing with color placement.

After that it was sew and trim, sew and trim, create rows, join rows, iron rows.

For the construction of the blocks, I used generous (up to 3/8") seams because of the fraying character of flannel. But once the blocks were trimmed to 10.5", I wanted to use the standard 1/4" to join them all.

That seam sure looks skimpy, when it comes right down to it!

For the blocks themselves, I ironed all the seams open. But when it came time to join the rows, the best ironing scheme was to iron the seams to one side. To secure the extra bulk and prevent further fraying, I top-stitched those seams with matching thread.

The view from the back:

NOW I have no fears of seams disappearing and pulling apart.

Et voila!

I was positive this would be the backing for this little quilt:

Cute, isn't it? But at slightly less than 2 yards, there wouldn't be enough for this and a 30"x50" quilt. With that in mind (because I might as well plan for the next one too) it was back to the yardage drawers to see what else I could scare up. Lo and behold, the perfect piece was waiting to be summoned:

It's a yard of the standard 42/43" WOF, which is just what I need for a 30"x40" flimsy! I'm glad I looked for a second backing today--had I used the crayons on this top, the above Sunnyside fabric wouldn't have been enough for the second, 30"x50" quilt I'll be making.

A gratuitous shot of QI Wraith luxuriating under a full foot massage. He's such a weird cat!