Quilting Backwards

I love to make baby quilts.
They are small, which means I usually can finish them
and fun to make for friends.

The first one I made, for a friend at work, was with Beatrix Potter fabrics. I rounded up some cute fabrics and made the top. (no photos, this was done in 1999). After I finished assembling the top, I searched everywhere for a coordinating Beatrix Potter print for the backing. I had decided not to use a plain white in order to offer more choices for the baby and less chance to show dirt for the Mom. Lesson learned - plan differently for quilts.

When I made the next quilt, I decided to start with the back print. I found some very sweet flannel prints and matched fabrics for the front. (again, no photos) I bought all of the fabrics together and planned the quilt based on the colors in the printed flannel. I scaled the quilt design to the scale of the print on the flannel.

Using this technique, I made this quilt for a friend who had a boy. I fell in love with the frogs and thought she would enjoy the vibrant orange, green & blues of the fabrics.

The inspiration fabric: printed flannel Hip Hop Frogs

The quilt front:

Front & back together... pretty sweet!

I thought the quilt top need a little extra, so when I finished machine quilting it to look as though a bumble was flying around, I embroidered a few bees.

I am starting another quilt project for a friend with a baby girl...
I'll blog about the fabrics next.

copyright salmonalley 2010