Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Whirligig Baby Quilt

The first quilt I blogged about was Grant's quilt.   It had a really cute monkey print on the back, so since Grant had a baby sibling coming soon I started his/her quilt thinking that I would use whatever was left of the monkey print on the back.  I found a  Whirligigs tutorial at Turtle Hill Quilter and chose a bunch of brights to use.  (Not surprised, are you.  What can I say?  I love brights!)






The instructions were well written and saved me having to buy another special ruler.






This is what your block ends up looking like if you forget to stack your fabric right sides up.



Don't do that!  


Now who could resist such beautiful brights?  No pastels for me!





I used each of the fabrics once in the border, then hand-quilted it.  























This is the back.  I didn't have much monkey fabric left, after all.
























I had fun with the binding.  I just had a little bit of this frog print left from making pillowcases so I used it for binding, and you can see little frog eyes if you look for them.  Grant might have fun with that. 
                    






















Now, I really want to do some serious bragging.  Being math challenged I have trouble making the right amount of binding.  I can measure the four sides, add them up, figure out exactly how many strips to cut for my binding, check my math, and still have THIS MUCH binding left over when a quilt is finished.








When I made the frog binding, I only measured and figured once, and I only had THIS MUCH binding left.  






I was so excited I almost did a happy dance.  This has never happened to me before.  It probably won't ever happen again, so I had to share.  

I know, right?!?!?

7 comments:

Gloria said...

I really love that pattern. It's so cheerful with the bright colors. And the inner border made of of all the colors is the perfect touch! Thanks for sharing. The new baby is already spoiled! :)

Mimi said...

I have had where I was that much short before!! That quilt is adorable. It is going to be well loved. You did good!!

Dar said...

Sandy, Your baby quilt is so cute. Love those brights too! Regarding the binding, I bet with the first amount left over you were turning and measuring that quilt so quickly that you rotated and counted 5 or 6 sides! lol. Or you knew you needed more for the next quilt you were making and was smart enough to make it all at the same time.

Deb@asimplelifequilts said...

This is such a cute quilt. Love the whirligig blocks and the fun fabrics you are using!

Anonymous said...

looks good Sandy, sorry I'll miss you at retreat. Linda R

Cherie in St Louis said...

Oh Sandy, you are cracking me up, not stacking your fabric right side up is so something I would do! Having your binding length come out just right is a wonderful thing....I'm usually pretty good at it measuring. When I cut the binding on the bias, I go ahead and make more because the triangles that remain aren't good for much other than scraps.

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