Tree of Life 2013 finish

Somehow I skipped posting these photos of my completed Tree of Life quilt last year. It's obvious from all the photos that it was actually completed in late summer/early fall - when the grass was still green and the breezes still warm. These photos are a great cheer to me today in these early days of February when it is snowing (again!) and I'm seriously contemplating running away from home until May!

sweet dreams, baby girl

This weekend I put together a quick and pretty baby quilt top in about four hours using Moda's Dream On collection by Urban Chicks. I wanted to test out something easy for the shop to use as a free pattern that could be easily kitted.

These fabrics are so sweet and breezy... perfect for a summer baby girl :)

Supplies needed for this 45" finished quilt:

• one FQ of a focus fabric for the center cut to 16.5" square
• 5/8 yard first border fabric cut into (3) 6" strips (sometimes 1/2 yard just isn't enough after squaring up)
• 32 charm (5") squares divided as follows:

               6 charms each for the 2nd side borders
               8 charms each for the 2nd top and bottom borders
               4 charms for the cornerstones in the final border

• 2/3 yard final border fabric cut into (4) 5" strips*
• 1/8 yard flange fabric cut into (4) 1" strips (optional)
• 3/8 yard binding
• pieced backing to make 50" square

*I purchased slightly more fabric for this version so I could fussy cut and center the roses.

Things I like about this pattern:

1. So easy!  Not a lot of cutting necessary if you use pre-cut charm squares.
2. It would be a great go-to pattern for when you need a quick gift.
3. Wide variety of readily available charm packs suitable for baby quilts. 
4. I love a flange, but it is completely optional, making it even quicker.

Things I'd do differently next time:

1.  Choose a softer yellow for the first border.  It's very sunny and happy, but it feels a tad overpowering against the other softer tones.
2.  Change the pattern so that the end result only needs one width of backing fabric - maximum width of 40" finished is just so easy for backing. I'm thinking it could be more rectangular...

I'm planning some simple straight-line quilting on the diagonal to keep with the quick and easy theme. Binding will be the same Moda green dot as the flange.

Stay tuned this week to see the finished product.