Hi friends!  Today, I have two more really simple baby quilts that I want to share with you!  Last week I shared a simple patchwork quilt.  And this week, I have two Half-Square Triangle quilts that I recently gifted to two new mommas in my neighborhood.  Both had baby girls!  It's such a joy to spread the {quilty} love!

(Sidenote: I finished all 3 of these quilts a few months ago and I'm just now getting around to blogging about them.  Just wanted you to know that I didn't whip all of them up this past week or two. :))

First up is this super simple gingham quilt.  I had some leftover HST's from another project that I didn't end up using, and decided to put them to good use and make a baby quilt with them!  Since it was so simple on the front, I decided to jazz things up a bit with a fun floral on the back.  This quilt was wider than your standard 40" - 42" wide fabric, so I tried to find a wide-back fabric that matched.  Do you know it's really hard to find a cute wide-back!?!  I finally landed on this teal and taupe floral by Lori Holt for Riley Blake Designs.  It was perfect for the look I was going for!

My blocks finished at 6" and I did an 8 x 9 layout, so it finished at about 48" x 54".

Jen Ostler in Highland, Utah, quilted it with the Cartwheel panto, 

which I think added some nice movement to this quilt.

I added one of my usual labels from Ever Emblem that has my name, city, and year on it, plus a fun floral tag that I got from Sarah Hearts.  It looks like she's out of that particular label, but she has so many other cute options, including this one that's pretty similar.  They're all so cute and I think they add a little whimsy to every quilt!

This pattern would be perfect for anyone who loves a simple, cottagey aesthetic!

Or, if you did it in solid fabrics, it would give it a simple, modern aesthetic!

[ I love wrapping gifts with beautiful ribbons that match!]

The second HST quilt I made was this one, which is a bit more colorful!

Again, I used some cutoffs from another project to make these HST's.  They have a more earthy color palette but there's plenty of florals in there to make it somewhat girly.

Do you think the days of girly = pink are gone?  I think moms these days are going

a little more modern and thinking outside the box.  Anything goes!

These blocks finish at 3" and I did a 12 x 15 layout.

Then I added a 3" finished border so it finishes at about 42" x 51".

Jen Ostler quilted this one too (she pretty much does all my quilting unless I need custom quilting).

The panto she used is called Golden Curls and I love it!

I think it has a modern, organic vibe, just like my fabrics.

Again, I used a label from Ever Emblem.  They're so handy!

I finished this quilt at the end of last year but didn't get pictures of it until today.

I can't remember what the backing fabric is called but it has a little texture, which I think is fun.

I washed this one before I gifted it.  I don't usually prewash my fabrics but this was a high-contrast quilt so I wanted to make sure the colors didn't bleed.  I threw about 4 Shout Color Catchers

into the wash and had no bleeding!  Yay!

I dropped it off at my neighbor's today.  The mom couldn't talk long (new baby she had to attend to).  But as I was walking back to my house, she called to me from her porch - so shocked that it was a quilt inside the bag.  She thought it was just diapers or something!  I love surprising people with handmade quilts!  Don't you?!?

I hope you found a little inspiration here today!  Use what you have and keep it simple if you want!

Quilts don't have to be intricate.  Cute fabrics and a simple pattern is all you need!  Oh, and be sure to check out my tutorial on how to square up HST's if you're new to quilting!  This will give you perfect points every time!

Happy quilting!

Simple Blue and White Patchwork Quilt

Who said a quilt has to be intricate or time-consuming to make!?

Not me!  I love simple patchwork!

I had some blues leftover from a few projects recently

so I decided to cut them into 3 1/2" squares for a simple lap-size quilt. 

I did a 17 x 21 block layout, so this quilt finished at 51" x 63".
I think it would be perfect for a little boy.

Jen Ostler in Highland, UT. quilted it for me with this panto called Ripple.  I've used that panto before and think it adds some nice movement to a very "square" quilt.  I like that it's a play off the blues/water, too!  Do you see the little star (below) that Jen quilted into it?  Such a fun, signature move that she does on all of her quilts.  Makes for a fun game of hide and seek.

The label is from Ever Emblem. I've been getting labels from them for years!  I get the 2" cotton, fold-over, sew-in labels.  If you want to get some for yourself, you will just have to pick one of their basic cotton labels and customize it from there.  I machine stitch my binding down around it because it's hard to hand stitch through it (but then I usually hand stitch the rest of my binding down to the back of my quilt).

I had a partial bolt of this cream and navy plaid fabric in my stash.  It felt good to use some of it in the patchwork and for the back of the quilt.  I don't think I've used a plaid for an alternate/background fabric before, but I thought it was kind of fun in this particular project.  Since everything is going the same direction (as in, there aren't any triangles that would cause the plaid to be on-point in some places) it was definitely a good project for that!  I had someone ask me if it was hard to get all of the lines straight and I honestly didn't even pay attention to that.  I just cut it like I normally would.  It's generally pretty straight but I think a little imperfection adds some charm!  Would it bug you if the plaid wasn't perfectly straight?

I hope this inspires you to go simple and not worry about perfection!

Happy quilting friends!

Dawn's Delight Quilt

 Hello!  Today I am sharing a recent quilt finish that I made just for fun!

But first I want to share with you the inspiration behind this project.  This color palette was inspired by someone I follow on Instagram named Jerina (her Instagram handle is @quiet.sanctuary).  She is a beautiful soul who shares her heart in every post!  She shares her love of crochet, quilts, antiques, family and sourdough bread!  Plus, she is an amazing photographer and writer.

[The above photo is shared with permission from Jerina @quiet.sanctuary.]

I think the above photo might be the exact photo that stopped me in my Instagram scroll one day.  I love the crocheted blanket Jerina made.  Oh how I wish I could crochet!!!  I also loved the cozy, moody, yet sweet colors that Jerina used!  The faded and worn look that she captured in that photo was so soothing to my soul!  One morning I woke up and couldn't stop thinking about her blanket so I went to my sewing room and started playing around - trying to achieve that same look with fabric.

Around that same time, I had also been eyeing the classic Rail Fence/Roman Stripes quilt pattern.

So I decided to "kill two birds with one stone" and combine that pattern with those colors.

I cut some 2" x 5" rectangles and got to work.

Each block was made with three 2" x 5" cut rectangles so the blocks finished at 4.5" x 4.5".

I did a 13 x 15 block layout so my quilt finished at 59" x 68".  This pattern is a great way to use up scraps and is beginner-friendly!  

I love to reward myself with these kinds of projects once in a while.  It's good for my creative juices to do some mindless, just-for-fun sewing!  Plus, I just love a good scrappy, classic quilt pattern!

I used my stash and scraps for the quilt top but did end up buying the back and binding fabric.

The longarm quilting was done by my friend Jen Ostler in Highland, UT.  We decided on a pantograph called Moon Phases.  I had never used that one before but I felt like it matched the vibe of this quilt!

I wanted to name this quilt something other than Rail Fence or Roman Stripes because:

 A.) It didn't feel like a typical Rail Fence quilt (because the fabrics weren't making a secondary zig-zag design).  And B.) I just don't like the name Roman Stripes!

So I asked my Instagram followers if they could help me name my quilt!  I got tons of great suggestions but I finally landed on "Dawn's Delight".  It seemed to fit my color scheme, the quilting panto, and the pattern well.  The way the blocks are rotated just seems fun and well, delightful!  So thank you Janet (@janlynnsquilts on Instagram) for the name suggestion!

I took so many pictures...but I will share just one last one.

This was a fun project and I highly recommend making one of these quilts.

I plan to wash this soon so it will crinkle up and get even cozier!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Cherish - Alternate Version

 Hello, hello!  2 posts in 2 days!  What's up with me?!?

Well, you may remember I posted about my new Cherish quilt pattern back in February.

Well, I made another version of that pattern that I want to share with you!

Since I know applique is not for everyone, I wanted to make a version of this pattern that doesn't have the appliqued scalloped border.  When I was making the original and writing the pattern, I knew it could be cute either way.  I always want to encourage you to think "outside of the box" and make each quilt your own!  If you don't love one aspect of a pattern but love the rest - you can change it!

I purchased this quarter-yard bundle of woven fabrics.  They're so dreamy and soft and I love the texture and colors!  I knew I wanted to use the navy blue fabric for the background so I pulled out a few of the other colors that were similar in value and saved those for another project.  I wanted to make sure I had enough contrast between the background fabric and hearts.

Cherish comes with instructions for 3 different size quilts - lap, throw, and full.

This is the throw-size quilt.

I had my longarm quilter, Jen Ostler quilt it with the Domestic Stitches Squared panto by Leisha Kaye.  I LOVE how it turned out!  I think the geometric pattern goes really well with the modern vibe of these fabrics and colors.  Do you see the "hidden object" Jen quilted into the design (see below)?

I bought some leftover fabric from a friend (who was using the same line of fabrics but in plaids) for the binding.  Don't you think the plaids really pull the whole thing together?

For the back, I debated between a pretty, large-scale floral print in similar colors and this solid pink woven fabric.  You know I love prints, especially floral ones, but in the end, I decided to keep the modern vibe going and get the solid pink.  I think it sweetened the whole thing up.  I'm glad I decided to go "outside of my box" but again, to each their own.  There is no right or wrong here.  What would you have done for the back?

I would describe the skill level for this version of Cherish as "confident beginner".

You can use scraps, your stash, 2-1/2" wide precut strips, fat quarters, or 10" squares for the hearts in Cherish.  I love a versatile pattern!

If you want more details about this pattern or would like to see the original version click HERE.

So, I'm curious, are you a solid or a print person?  I don't use a lot of solids but I am interested in using them more often.  I am definitely a texture person though.  I use a lot of wovens in my quilts!  They make for the softest quilts!

Well, that's it for today!  

If you'd like to grab a Cherish pattern for yourself you can visit my shop HERE.  Be sure to tag me on Instagram or shoot me an email if you decide to make this pattern.  I'd love to see your version!

Happy quilting!

Plump Pluses - 4 Versions

 I just realized that I have never blogged about my Plump Pluses pattern!

And considering I have made 4 versions...I thought I would share!

This pattern came about because I wanted to figure out a way to use a lot of my 2-1/2" precut squares.  

So I designed this block and was able to make a whole quilt with fabric I had on hand.  The only thing I bought specifically for this quilt was the background - Boy Blue from the Confetti Cottons collection by Riley Blake.  I've really been trying to use more colorful backgrounds this year!

I decided to make a BIG quilt so I could use up lots of squares.  This is the queen-size quilt and it used up 769 squares.  That hardly put a dent in my precut squares stash LOL.

Jen Ostler quilted it for me with a new-to-me design called Ripple 1 by Melissa Kelley of Sew Shabby Quilting.  I think it's fun on the blue background.  And of course, she added her signature "hidden object" in the quilting - a duck!  I love it!

This is such a great scrap/stash-buster pattern.  Perfect for 2-1/2" precuts!

After I made that quilt, I thought it could be fun in a non-scrappy version so I decided to make another queen-size quilt.  This time, using fat quarters.  This fabric pull was my jumping-off point for a color scheme:

Here's block number 1 for that quilt:

Jen actually quilted all of these quilts for me.  The panto she used on this one is called Loop T Loop by Mike Fountain from Intelligent Quilting.  It was the first time using that panto and I really like it!

I love the teal background and color scheme of this quilt!  Kind of different for me!  I love playing with color - it's one of my favorite parts about quilting.  The possibilities are endless!

  

There are 4 size options in the pattern - Crib, Throw, Twin, and Queen.  I just couldn't get enough of using up squares and making the two different block versions included in this pattern so I made 2 crib quilts, as well.

All of the squares in both of the scrappy quilts were made from precut squares I had once cut from scraps.  When I have time, I try to cut my scraps into squares of specific sizes (2", 2-1/2", 3", 4", and 5") so they'll be ready for a scrap quilt.  Do you do that too?

The panto on this quilt is called Diamond Shaped Flower by Legacy Quilting.

The blue floral fabric that I used for the back was my grandma's.  Many of my quilts have a piece of her fabric in them.  Makes me so happy!

And last, but not least, is this space-themed version of Plump Pluses.

Using, again, fat quarters.

Jen quilted it with the panto, Sedona by Sarah Ann Myers.  I typically go for more geometric pantos as opposed to theme pantos.  Feels a little more modern to me.  I liked the triangles because a few of my prints had triangles in them.  And Jen added a cute little "Saturn" as the hidden object.  Do you see it (above)?

This is a fun, beginner-friendly pattern that is very versatile and cute in any colorway!  But I'd love to hear what YOU think!  Do you have a favorite between the scrappy and non-scrappy quilts?

Thank you for stopping by today!  I hope you found a little inspiration!

To snag the paper Plump Pluses pattern, click HERE.

To snag the PDF version, click HERE.

Happy quilting!