Sunday, April 29, 2012

granny.

Granny Squares baby quilt

I think I'm in love.  Granny and I spent some quality time together this weekend quilting away, and I am so so pleased with how she has come together.

Granny Squares baby quilt

This quilt is based on Jolene's granny squares block tutorial, and of course I had to doctor it just a little, deciding to omit the sashing between the blocks and instead strip piece the quilt with just one white square to separate the blocks.

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I was really unsure of how I wanted to quilt this, and kept on coming back to my original idea of clean and simple straight lines on each side of the seams.  I thought about some sort of intricate curvy free motion quilting, but the more I looked at it, the more I thought that there was so much going on with all the bright colorful fabrics, that simple quilting was the way to go and let the fabrics speak for themselves.  I'm really happy with my decision, and it has come together just as I had envisioned in my head.

Granny Squares baby quilt

When I started this quilt, I had all intentions of giving it as a gift for one of the many friends and family of ours who are expecting a baby in the near future, but I'm not sure I can give this one away.  I just love the sort of retro vibe the Granny squares block has, and paired with the bright vibrant modern fabrics just seems to be a perfect match.  Not that I think I am some master quilter or anything, but I'm not sure anyone I would give this to would appreciate it as much as I do.  I hope that doesn't sound terrible, most of the quilts I make are for gifts, and I understand that anything handmade is all a matter of taste, but for some reason, this is just screaming at me to keep it.  We don't have any children yet, but are hoping to start a family soon, so I think I'll tuck this quilt away for our hopefully one day baby.

Granny Squares baby quilt

I backed this with this super cute grey and white houndstooth print I picked up at Joann's a little while back, and I just love it.  That coupled with the aqua Timeless Treasures crosshatch sketch (another fav) for the binding, and the quilt rounds out to a solid 78 different stash fabrics used in this quilt.  I find it a little frightening that I hardly found it challenging to come up with this many different prints all from stash... addicted to fabric much?  I think so.

Granny Squares baby quilt

Granny and I will be linking up to Kati's Slash the Stash April linky party, be sure you head over to From the Blue Chair and add your April stash project!

Granny Squares baby quilt

Quilt Stats

Quilt Name:  Granny Squares baby quilt
Pattern:  Based on the Granny Square block tutorial by Jolene of Blue Elephant Stitches
Quilt Size:  45" square
Fabrics used:  78 different fabrics from my personal fabric stash, with Kona White solid
Quilting:  Straight line quilting 1/4" on both sides of each seam done by me on my home machine


41 comments:

  1. Of course you should keep it, and not feel any guilt about it! It is so beautiful, Jessica! No one could blame you for wanting to hold onto this one!

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  2. This is absolutely wonderful!! Love how you quilted it too

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  3. Wow, Jess! This is absolutely beautiful!!

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  4. Jessica, this is so gorgeous!!! I'm in love too!

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  5. Very very nice. Love the backing too.

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  6. It is utterly lovely! That is why it is chanting KEEP IT KEEPI! I am too. I really love the one square seperation!!

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  7. Love this! You did such a nice job of making all those itty bitty squares line up! No shame at all in keeping a quilt for yourself that you love. We all deserve to surround ourselves with things that make us happy ;)

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  8. So amazing, Jess! It's so fresh, crisp, and modern!
    And I'm so glad you're going to keep it!
    Your choice for quilting straight lines was just perfect!
    I love it!!!!

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  9. I think it looks fabulous - your quilting choice was perfect!

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  10. So beautiful! I don't blame you for wanting to keep this one!

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  11. I have not been crazy about the granny square blocks, but I absolutely love this one! Gorgeous!

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  12. SO beautiful! Very nicely done!!

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  13. LOVE!!! And love how you chose to quilt it.

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  14. Jessica that is beautiful! I love the straight line quilting, it is perfect. The backing is great too. What a lovely idea to save it - I'm doing the same with my Pezzy quilt :)

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  15. Jess, it's gorgeous. I wanna make one now! Of course you can keep it. If you have the feeling you wanna keep it for your own children, it's one of your most special quilts that you will always love. Well done! sarahleigh@internode.on.net

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  16. It is so beautiful, of course you would want to keep this for your future child! As much as I like making quilts for others, nothing makes me happier than tucking my kids in with the quilts I've made for them. This quilt will be something you and your family will always cherish. Good for you!

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  17. It's gorgeous! I love it.

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  18. Love your granny, great colours, and it will be perfect for your one day baby

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  19. love that. i am saching mine for my daughter

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  20. it is beautiful! I love how you omitted the sashing and just pieced them one granny to the next - smashing. Your baby will love, good for you for tucking it away!

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  21. I love this. It looks much better without the sashing!

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  22. It's really beautiful, Jess! Can't quite figure out why it's called Granny Squares though. It sure doesn't look like any granny I've ever known!

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  23. Ok, now I need to make this. I liked the pattern when it came out, but yours really made me fall in love with it. Totally awesome. Totally.

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  24. Lovely! I like the quilting you chose.

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  25. Jess, this is just awesome. You are consistently making quilts that wow me! I seriously always know there is always something good waiting on your blog...! (No pressure...lol)
    I love that you are keeping it for your someday child. :)

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  26. This. Is. Fantastic. So glad you are keeping it, it is a true treasure :)

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  27. Love it! The bright colors, no sashing and straight line quilting... I really need to make some of these blocks! Great job!

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  28. I love how you made the granny squares without the extra white space. It totally eliminates those touchy HSTs. The aqua binding is really beautiful too. Well done!

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  29. LOVE this one!!! It's not your granny's granny. I agree that the omission of the sashing makes it look really great. And that backing houndstooth print is soooooo cool!!! Bravo!

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  30. Perfect finish... Wow... I love your version of the Granny without sashing.

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  31. Yes, go on, keep it! I certainly would. You can always make another gift quilt!

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  32. I like it very much, too. So wonderful. Makes me want to have one of my own, too.

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  33. Great quilt! Trying to figure out how you did it without the sashing. Only way I can think of is that you laid it all out and then sewed it in diagonal strips.

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  34. I love granny square quilts and yours is stunning. The colors are amazing. It is most definitely a keeper!

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  35. So beautiful! I've been inspired to make a lap size for my granddaughter's 12th birthday. Did you lay it all out and then sew the squares together in rows and then sew the rows together?

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  36. So beautiful! I've been inspired to make a lap size for my granddaughter's 12th birthday. Did you lay it all out and then sew the squares together in rows and then sew the rows together?

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