this summer sure felt like a wave of baby quilts passed through. or maybe i just got vary spur of the moment ideas to make great things happen in a short period of time once baby shower invitations arrived in my mailbox. because if you know me, you know i cannot show up to a baby shower uncrafty in one way or another. this first quilt was for an extra special someone who dates back to the early 90s, as lacy was one of my very first friends from kindergarten!
she announced she was pregnant, and i instantly knew i had to make her something animal themed. then, to all of our surprises, she kept the baby gender a secret until they arrived in to the world! how to make an appropriately gender neutral quilt was the big question on my mind, and then i remembered this pattern i saw time and time again on instagram, and knew it was time to make it happen.
the atomic kitty pattern by paula steel quilts was just as adorable as it was easy to piece. everything is either a square, a half square triangle or a flying geese block, and the trickiest part was keeping them in order! i pulled fabric from my stash to make these colorful kittens, and it ended up being perfectly gender neutral as i hoped. keeping these rainbow colored kitties bright and cheery, with a hint of sparkly black did just the trick. originally i was planning to just use prints, but these kitties just needed some grunge and dimples fabric mixed in to the bunch!
this was another experience with machine binding, which i am getting more and more confident with each time i do it. the red helped frame the quilt nicely, plus it was a print that i had enough of that wasn't used in the kitty faces at all! i finished a day or two before the shower, so i didn't long arm it. instead, i used my trusty chalk liner and walking foot to grid these kitties out. having a more structured straight quilting also helped the kitties remain the main focus.
the backing was a perfect rainbow kitty mix, which tied in perfectly with the front. i don't think joann's could have done a more perfect print for me to stumble upon to go with this random quilt idea.
and the verdit?
a sweet baby BOY was born just weeks after the baby shower, but a month before his due date. he came in happy, healthy and ready to venture out in to the world! it has been so fun to watch my dear friend become a momma (to a furless child, that is!) and cannot wait to meet him :)
pattern information:
atomic kitty quilt block - paula steel quiltsquilt count: 121
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