Two Sweet Baby Boy Quilts for Julie

Good morning, my lovelies!  I am taking some vacation time away from my studio, but I've scheduled a few blog posts to publish while I'm gone since I have quite a few fabulous clients' quilts to share with you.  Today I want to show you two adorable baby quilts, both made by my client Julie and quilted by Yours Truly.  

Julie's 47 x 49 Blue Diamonds Quilt

Julie is one of my favorite clients to quilt for and she blesses the new moms in her life with the sweetest baby quilts that are beautiful, practical, and so very on-trend.  I'll bet the recipients of these baby quilts get asked all the time, "Where did you get that awesome quilt?"  

Her 47" x 49" diamond quilt is made up of simple strip pieced triangles alternated with plain white triangles, so the top came together fairly quickly (while the baby was still a baby!).  This is one of those "why-didn't-I-think-of-that" shower gift projects.  All you really need is a jelly roll (an assortment of 2 1/2" wide x width of fabric strips in coordinating prints) and some solid white.  And it's fabulous!  I love these bold Kaffe Fassett fabrics she used, and the high contrast, graphic prints are perfect for captivating the attention of a newborn whose vision is still developing.  If you want to make your own version of this quilt, there are plenty of Etsy sellers offering jelly roll precut strips in Kaffe Fassett prints like the ones Julie used here (this post contains affiliate links).  However, I personally have a TON of leftover strips from my pineapple log cabin project that would work well for this.  It would make a nice RSC (Rainbow Scrap Challenge) project too, don't you think?  I believe Julie used a 60 degree triangle ruler like these.

Modern Mix Quilting Detail, Stitched in Omni Thread, Color Natural White

We chose Anita Shackelford's Modern Mix quilting design because it repeats many of the shapes in those Kaffe Fassett prints, and because the soft curves and spirals are such a nice counterpoint to the straight lines of the diamonds.  

Don't you just love how the quilting pops in the white background?  I used Superior's Omni thread in Natural White in the needle, paired with So Fine in Snow for the bobbin thread.  The batting is Quilters' Dream Cotton.  Here's the "before" picture of the quilt top prior to quilting:

Julie's 47 x 49 Quilt Top Prior to Quilting

This next baby quilt was also made by Julie - can't remember if this one is for the new baby and the diamond quilt is for his big brother or if it's the other way around, but isn't that thoughtful of her to bring a gift for the sibling who is having to adjust to no longer being the sole center of his parents' attention?  Again, Julie's design for the quilt is clean and simple, with bright and cheerful fabrics that are super adorable.  

Julie's 36 x 42 Goldfish Baby Quilt with Waves and Pearls E2E

Julie uses a spray-on, wash-out liquid stabilizer product called Terial Magic to stiffen the background of her fused machine applique projects so that no other stabilizer is necessary.  It makes her quilt tops feel stiff and crisp, like a cross between taffeta and canvas, but it doesn't gum up my needle or cause me any issues when I'm quilting.  After Julie binds and launders the quilt for the first time, the Terial Magic product washes out completely for a soft and snuggly finished quilt.  I am totally hooked on this product now and have been using it for my own embroidered quilt labels.  No more picking tiny bits of stabilizer off the back between the lettering!  Ask for this product at your local quilt shop or sewing machine dealership, but if they don't have it you can get it from Amazon here.  

For this second baby quilt we chose the Waves and Pearls quilting design to give our little goldfish some water to swim in.  I like the way that the appliqué and quilted bubbles create a sense of depth.  Because Julie mentioned wishing her background fabric had been a little more green than blue, we chose Glide thread in color Mint to subtly alter the color of the background fabric.  Yes, quilting thread can do that, if there's dense enough quilting!  This quilt has Quilters Dream Bamboo/Silk/Cotton blend batting (formerly known as Quilter's Dream Orient -- same product, new name).  

Here's what Julie's goldfish baby quilt top looked like before quilting:

Julie's Goldfish Baby Quilt Top Before Quilting

Last but not least -- I'm making S-L-O-W progress on one of my other long and drawn out projects, my FrankenWhiggish Rose needleturn appliqué.  I have two tulips pinned in place on each of my eight remaining quilt blocks, ready to be stitched down.  I had experimented with using freezer paper and starch to preturn the edges of these tulips, but it really didn't make them any better or speed up the process for me at all, so I'm back to needle turning them.  The trickiest parts are those deep Vs and the acute rounded points, but they do get easier as I go along.  I use YLI 100 weight silk thread for hand stitched appliqué in a color that matches my appliqué fabric.  

Tulip Stitching In Progress

And that's all you get from me for today!  If I remember, I'll be linking this post with some of my favorite linky parties found on my blog sidebar.  Please be patient with me if it takes me longer than usual to respond to comments and questions while I'm away since I will be checking email infrequently.  However, if you have a quilt top that you'd like to get on my schedule, go ahead and email a photo of your quilt top along with its dimensions to Rebecca@RebeccaGraceQuilting.com.  When I return to my studio on April 25th, those emailed requests will get scheduling priority in the order they were received.

Happy stitching, everyone, and happy Spring!