I did it! 17 days after Finn’s birth, I finally turned on the sewing machine and did some machine stitching. That sure beats the six weeks I waited after Max was born before realizing that I could make progress in tiny baby steps. Beginning is the hardest part, so hopefully now that I’ve begun, I will be able to sew for 10-20 minutes per day (or more likely, night). Of course I began a new project while I was at it.
After seeing my kiddos curled up under Maddie’s Rainbow Jellyroll Quilt, I decided that my boys really need quilts of their own. I knew I wanted to keep it simple and use a rainbow of color (why not? I love rainbows; kids love rainbows; my stash is a rainbow… perfect!), and inspiration struck in the form of a sneak peek Instagram post of a mini quilt made by Kim at _glass_half_full.
I sketched out some ideas for enlarging the quilt, decided on a 7×7 grid of 9″ blocks for a 63″ square finished quilt size, and then came the fun part: fabric pull! I pulled out all of my low volumes for the background, and decided to put the gorgeous rainbow fat eighths bundle I won from Pile O’ Fabric back in April to good use.
Typically when there’s a bundle or collection of fabrics, I’ll like most of them, but not all. This bundle is an exception, as are many of Alyssa’s bundles at Pile O’ Fabric. I honestly love every. single. print. in this bundle. It’s a collection of 35 fat eighths, five (5) each of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, and pink. They are mostly the color-heavy “basics” that read as one color in particular. It’s ideal for a rainbow quilt, and I’m excited to add these fabrics to my stash.
The blocks sew up very quickly; I’ve already made 6 of the necessary 49 blocks. It doesn’t look like much yet, but I am hoping that as more blocks are added and you can see the design better, it will start to be a bit more exciting. A quilt like this might be best seen either super close so that the fabric details are there, or complete and in full so that the overall aesthetic is there.
I haven’t yet squared up the bottom left red block, since I haven’t decided if the diagonal path of the low volume print will drive me nuts or not, and whether I should re-stitch it with the print parallel to the red strip. What would you do? I’m trying really hard not to micromanage the piecing of this quilt, and to let the somewhat scrappy randomness evolve on its own.
Baby steps. Even they will result, one day, in a baby quilt. 🙂
I’m linking up with Molli’s Sunday Stash, since I’m finally sharing this gorgeous rainbow fat eighths bundle, as well as Monday Makers & Design Wall.
Night Quilter 
Alyssa has a wonderful eye, and the rainbow bundle you won is so perfect for you and this quilt! Personally, I would probably redo that block if I could… but I’m a bit OCD, too. 🙂
LikeLike
you are amazing. I have no newborn (nor any other children!) and I still can’t get in 10-20 minutes of sewing a day!!!! good for you and I like this project idea!
LikeLike
Oh, I remember those baby steps days where I just ached to get to the sewing machine. Often, by the time I got there I was too tired to sew anything. One of the biggest frustrations was when a two hour project was drawn out and ended up being a two week project instead! You’ll be back at your sewing machine in no time and humming away. I think it gets easier once you get your rhythm down with the latest addition.
Great rainbow start!
LikeLike
I think I did the same as you when I had my second…but I knew a lot better by that time how precious the sewing time was when they slept! Your blocks and the fabrics look great!
LikeLike
So, ummm. Why not leave that block out? No stress, no worries! Just sayin’. And that Finn person? Well done!!
LikeLike
I love rainbow quilts! And that fabric bundle is absolutely gorgeous! As for the block, I didn’t even notice it wasn’t completely straight/parallel until you pointed it out. Lol. That’s just not something my eye catches, I’m too busy ooohing and aahhing over colors most likely. Hahaha
LikeLike
I love where this is going. You’ve certainly got a wonderful stash. I’m not going to be any help on whether or not you should redo that block. I try to get rid of all my perfectionist tendencies when I quilt, and I imagine that when you have everything put together you won’t even notice it.
LikeLike
I lift my hat off to you my dear Kitty, cause I’m still not able to carve out time everyday to sew and my kids are 2 and almost 5! It’s beautiful…
LikeLike
that is a beautiful bundle, I’m a bit jealous! It’s great that you’ve found time for a little bit of quilting, don’t forget to look after yourself too.
LikeLike
I don’t think that you can go wrong with a rainbow quilt, it looks like a great start to a quilt.
LikeLike
Such a great photo of the kids cuddling under Maddie’s rainbow quilt!
What a fun quilt you are starting! And hooray for fitting in some time to sew! The slight diagonal of the LV fabric will probably escape notice when you start putting all the blocks together.
LikeLike
I think you are making more than just baby steps. Having 2 other kiddos, plus a newborn in the house – I don’t know how you’re getting anything done! Yet, somehow you’re managing to do a bit of sewing and continue posting on your blog. You are super-mom in my book right now.
LikeLike
nice fabric pull! Usually I am all of ripping up and starting again, especially when faced with something you fear will irritate you. However, in this case I think it is charming that the ribbon pattern appears to disappear and reappear behind the red stripe, almost like it is playing hide and seek, which is something the child who snuggles underneath might do with the entire quilt!
LikeLike
I can hardly wait to see how these blocks come together. But I know that patience is in order on that score. I’m crushing on that fabric bundle from Pile o Fabrics. She does a fab curated bundle (I’m enjoying her selections for the Technicolor Galaxy quilt). I only wish her shipping to Canada was a little more reasonable. Oh well… just gives me a chance to use up more of what’s in my stash!
LikeLike
That is a great bundle. The boys’ quilts will be beautiful.
LikeLike