Quilt in a Weekend: Pinwheel Crib Quilt, or Wall Hanging

    As my siblings, cousins, and I all get a little older there has been a lull in the births in the family, so we were very excited to learn of a new little bundle of joy on the way. One of the things I just love to make is a baby quilt. It's a quick project and when else can you use those cutesy fabrics?

  Since cousin A. is expecting a little lad, I delved into my blues and greens and decided to put together a pinwheel quilt.

Pinwheel blocks are a good way to use up scraps, and they can be whimsical or even kind of posh. I've used this pattern to make a previous baby quilt, as well as a pillow and a couch throw.

   Here is the fabric pallet I chose:

1.) What makes this an easy block is a simple trick to making Half Square Triangles. So to start, cut your squares 7/8 of an inch larger than you want your finished square to be. I am cutting mine 4 7/8 inches, 12 squares each of 4 fabrics.

3.) Lay one square on top of the other (right sides together) and mark the center from corner to corner.

3.) Use this mark as a guideline to sew 1/4 inch away on either side.

By the way, this is a great time to use chain piecing.

4.) When all the pieces are sewn on both sides of the center line, cut on that center line, press open, and you will have two half Square Triangles.

5.) Arrange your pieces in the pinwheel pattern.

(Tun the pieces a little and you could also make the Broken Dishes pattern.)

6.) Sew your pieces together in sets (top, and bottom two) and press.

7.) Then sew these two sets together, press, and trim up the sides. As we learned with the Valentine's Heart Pillow: sloppy sides make for sloppy projects.

8.) Arrange in the order you desire.

9.) Cut the short sashing, 3 inches wide by the length of your blocks (3in.X8in. for mine), and sew to the bottom of the blocks **except for the bottom row**.

10.) Cut long sashing strips to go between the rows, 3in. wide by the length of the row. I like to cut the strips a couple of inches longer than the row just to make sure I have enough.

11.) Using the same method, cut and sew 3in.-wide strips to frame in the blocks:

First the top and bottom

Then the long sides

12.) Then layer with your batting and backing, and baste or pin together (more on the layers and basting).

13.) Quilt or Tie

14.) Then finish off with the binding.

View of the back

I can't tell you how much I love this one. I'm not bragging, I just get a kick out of seeing it all come together and imagining the joy and warmth it will bring.

Friday Inspiration

   I love looking around in the blogosphere for the happy-haps on crafts.

Check out this gorgeous Round Robin Quilt from Suzy's Artsy Craftsy Sitcom:

There is nowhere better to get your funk on than with Aunt Peaches...

and there's her less Funky still Fab Wax Doily Valentines too...

Along those Valentine lines is the cute Heart Necklaces from Tatertots & Jello

Of course it doesn't have to be a craft to be inspiring. I love Alisa Burke's Peeks Into Her Sketchbook
I love how she fills in the background or borders with descriptions and thoughts.

And if you love vintage fashion you MUST check out Casey's Elegant Musings. Her photography is great, too.


So how about you? What did you find inspirational this week?

Quilted Valentine's Day Card

Everyone hunkering down for the blizzard? We've got plenty of snow so far in Michigan...my front steps are somewhere under the drifts. Bright side? Snowy Day = Perfect time for a quick craft!

When I wanted to do something special for my kids on Valentine's Day, I stumbled upon the idea for Quilted Postcards online. I thought this was one of those projects a little like coloring... quick, easy, and really let you relax in some creativity. (I was right.)

To make your own Quilted Valentines, you will need a few scraps of fabric and batting (you could use some stabilizer or extra fabric if you don't have batting).


1.) Cut 2 pieces of fabric and one piece of batting into 4in. x 6in. pieces, plus a heart. If you're making one for Grandma, why not print a picture of the Grandkids onto one of the fabric pieces?

2.) Now you must decide on your design.

*Option 1*If you want the back fabric (where you will write) without stitching, you will need to do your quilting and attach the heart with just the top fabric and batting together. This was how I did the Valentines in the first picture.

For this tutorial, I want the quilting to be an accent on the back. So I...

*Option 2* ...sandwiched the batting between the top and backing fabric, and sewed them together around the edge. If you have a serger this would be a great time to use it. Myself, I just zigzag. (This would be the last step if you're going with the first option.)

3.) Sew your quilting lines on the sewing machine.

4.) Attach your heart and stitch the edges down with a zigzag.

5.) Add your message.

I'd like to add a page just for pictures of your own versions of my tutorials. So please feel free to email those pics!

Quilt in a Weekend Part 3: Binding

Thank you far all the comments. I just love seeing other people getting excited about their own quilt!


Now that our quilt is tied or stitched together, lets finish it off with the binding. Binding is just the fabric you sew on to cover the raw edge of your quilt, and if you've ever sewn bias tape on a project you will find this somewhat familiar.

You will need coordinating fabric, if I buy it, I usually get 2 yards. I had enough fabric leftover from my backing that I will just be using that up.

1.) Cut your fabric into 6 inch wide strips (enough strips to go around your quilt plus 6 inches).

2.) Sew your strips together, making one long strip...sounds familiar, eh? To make a strong joint, you will need to stitch a diagonal seam. To do this, place your strips (right-sides together) in a 90 degree angle. Stitch from corner to corner as indicated by the black thread.

3.) Cut the outside corner off, 1/4 inch away from the stitching.

4.)Take your strip to the ironing board, and press the it in half (wrong-sides together).

Now, you're ready to sew it onto the quilt. Here you must decide if you will finish the binding with hand stitching or machine stitching. With either method, you will use your machine to sew the binding onto the quilt first, in step 5. If you will be hand stitching, sew the binding to the front of the quilt. If you are machine stitching all of it, sew the binding to the back of the quilt.

5.)  Starting a few inches from the end of your binding strip, sew the binding onto your quilt (raw edges toward raw edges) with a one inch seam allowance.

6.) When you get to a corner, stop about an inch away from the edge...

...leave the needle down, turn your quilt, turn the binding strip to the 90 degree angle, and continue stitching. It will be a little wrinkly at the edge but you should be able to smooth it out where you're sewing.

7.) When you come near the end of your binding:
A-Trim it to a couple inches past the edge of your start.

 B-Fold the edges of your start, inward.

C-Then tuck the end into the start.

8.) Continue stitching until you've come back to your first stitches.

9.) Turn the quilt over, fold the binding over the raw edges, and stitch down.
**If you are hand stitching, just use a slip stitch.

If you are machine stitching, place the edge of the binding at the stitching from the back.

Stitch down 1/4 inch from the edge.

10.) At the corner, make a miter by:
A-Cutting across the corner to reduce bulk...

B- Folding the middle/corner point in...

C- Fold the lower edge in...

D- Fold the upper edge in, and adjust to make them, meet.

E- Sew, and turn the corner.

Just keep going until you've reached your starting point again.





Here's the finished product: