Little Sheep Quilt

I got word that baby Nolan received his quilt (and that he loves it!), so I can finally show off the finished project:


The design is Elizabeth Hartman's Simple Modern Baby Quilt (available through her etsy shop, Oh, Fransson!). It is a simple and very effective pattern. The instructions call for some non-traditional techniques, and I enjoyed trying out her methodology. All the seams were pressed open, all the blocks were made a little larger and then cut down to size (which did really ensure uniform-sized blocks), the quilting is through just the top two layers allowing a stitch-free back (so as not to affect the super softness of the minkee), and I used a very different (for me) binding technique (which I doubt I'll be using again, but it was cool to try it out).


The pattern includes directions and templates for an applique bird, kitty, puppy, and giraffe. They are super cute, but didn't really fit my farm theme. So I went ahead and drew my own little sheep. This would be a great pattern for beginners as the blocks are simple and the instructions are incredibly detailed (and include lots of pictures!). I really recommend it for a simple and fun baby quilt project.


I really wasn't sure about how well the quilting technique would work, but it turned out well. The key is to make sure it is taut (but not stretched) before laying the quilted top layers on it, and then basting really well around the edges so it doesn't shift (which is actually kind of challenging). I washed it up and it seems to hold together flat pretty well... I didn't end up with a funky tent when it came out of my dryer, so I count that as a success. I wouldn't try this with anything larger than a baby quilt though. I don't think it would work as well.


I was a little surprised at how easily I was able to stitch the label on by hand, even on the minkee. If I had thought ahead better, I would have made the label and stitched it onto the back by machine before layering the quilt together. Ah, well. Next time I'll be smarter about it.


This quilt was a lot of fun to make. I hope it offers lots of snuggly goodness to little Nolan!