WIP Wednesday #13: Baby Frenzy

My life these days mostly consists of birthing classes, nursery prep, and going to bed by 9:30, but a newfound nesting instinct for getting my projects done has led to me getting some sewing time in! Here's what I've been up to as of late:

Pieced - Alien Invasion
Inspired by the Turning Corners pattern from the Moda Bake Shop (Have I mentioned how yummy their new book looks?) this quilt converts a single Jelly Roll of Amy Bradley prints into an ~40x50 baby quilt. I liked the idea of using contrast to create a secondary pattern in a quilt, and thought this would be great "little boy" fabric for my upcoming nephew.

I knew pretty early on my favorite secondary pattern was easily the diamonds,  so that's what I set out to make: unfortunately, what I didn't count on was needing the same "handedness" for all of my blocks, counter to the instructions. Fortunately, I caught my mistake early on (thank goodness for the "proof of concept" stage I always go through once a couple of my blocks are made) and was able to churn out enough similar blocks to complete the quilt - the extras will probably go into a charity quilt some day. Anyways, here is a preview of the top, which took about 2 weeks to make:

Next step is basting and quilting, but first I've got to get my NEXT project out of the way.

FMQ - Trick or Treat
Trick or Treat is chugging along, about 1/3 of the way quilted. I'm quite pleased with the results of the stencils, and am starting to think about the rest of the quilt. I really want to capture the fun Damask pattern the line uses somewhere, but I am not yet sure how to go about it.

Also, I think there might finally be some performance anxiety creeping in, since this is the first (and possibly only pre-birth) quilt I will make for my own daughter.

Finished! - Eclectic Garden
Finally, a mere 8 months after it came home from my Pro Quilter of Extreme Awesomeness, I have finished this: my first ever quilt that was made by me, specifically for me. And it's a good summer weight!

I see now how those WIP piles grow for other quilters, though: it's hard to juggle "fun stuff for me" with "fun stuff for others who have a gift-giving deadline." And I do have to say, the fabric from this collection (Eclectic Garden by Jason Yenter, for In the Beginning Fabrics) was really, REALLY great to bind with. The hand feel was excellent and I spent a lot of time just petting it. if you want to see the final product look here, and for the history of this quilt, look here.

No Progress:

Piecing
-Christmas Traditions (but the good news is, Applique is already starting to not sound so bad again)

Repair/Troubleshooting
-Ready, Set, Snow

And, for proper linkage: