That is what I've taken to calling this quilt. I really wanted to make a second quilt using my scraps from my big log cabin quilt, and I had been seeing these beautiful baby blankets (like here and here) with voile on one side and flannel on the other --a seemingly perfect soft combination that I just had to try. Since the middle of my log cabins were 4.5 x 4.5 squares, I had a bunch of strips that width and decided just to go with that and make it patchwork and quilt it instead of just single pieces on each side. I used 100 squares for a 40 x 40 finished size (pre-washing) which seemed the perfect baby size. I rounded the corners, something I have been dying to do, and I just love it. Not that my little girl is a baby any more, nor is she going to be calmly laying on a blanket any time soon, but I am thinking of letting her sleep with it a night. If I can get past the SIDS fear so strongly instilled. Anyway, voile. flannel. awesome.
The quilting is a grid that is on both sides of every other seam. I really like it a lot. It compliments the basic patchwork really well and it is possibly my best quilting yet. There are a few puckery spots on the front which I think is partly working the the voile, but the back is so nice and perfect. Oh it makes my heart happy. I used navy flannel for the back and white thread so it's pretty obvious too, so good thing it came out well. The back was its own issue. I was unsure of the flannel, especially since I didn't pre-wash it, if I had I would have needed 2 pieces for the back instead of 1, and that sounded like a bad idea since we all know a single piece looks better when possible. I don't usually do a plain back either, without any sort of piecing detail, but I really love this. It was also really hard to decide on a color for the back, but I think navy works.
The binding is a white flannel. That may or may not have been a mistake, I haven't decided yet. I like that it is all soft and such, but it was a beast to hand sew it down since it is much thicker. I even had to readjust my seam allowance so that I could wrap it to the back far enough. Oh, plus it's white and we all know white=gray very quickly. But it worked and I am very happy with the result.
The back did shrink quite a bit, more than the front even, but that just gives the front a nice puff between the quilting. The only problem I've had (there's always at least one, right?) is that when I washed it (with a shout color catcher in case the navy ran), it developed a little hole in the front along a seam. It just ripped. I don't know why, and it was only in one spot. I hand stitched it up but it makes me a little afraid to use it. I just have to keep reminding myself, it is better to have it loved and used and fall apart than sitting somewhere alone and unused. I can always make another. And I have lovely pictures of this one. We'll see. The little one really seems to like it so she will probably get in for her bed; I'd rather have the joy of her loving it.
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