purple patchwork | a quilt for Tabitha

 Finn is always the first one (actually the only one) to volunteer to hold quilts for me. Luckily for him, my quilt photography standards have declined significantly and I don't mind if he holds them crooked or even if the pictures are blurry. I just want to be able to remember what I've made. I made this quilt for the third daughter of a friend from church who I've known since I was a little girl. My mom made the little pink and purple panel a long time ago and gave it to me recently, suggesting I might use it in a quilt for a baby girl. Since Brenda was having a girl I knew just who to use it for. I pulled some coordinating fabrics from my stash (the seersucker is always so nice in baby quilts - it's so soft and crinkly) and made a simple improvisational design as I was working with a tight schedule - Brenda was past due to have the baby and I had only just decided to make the quilt!

I chose some nature and vintage inspired prints for the back. Brenda and her husband and three girls live in (what I think is...) an old farmhouse with a big yard and she's always posting pictures of them exploring outside, so the birds and florals felt just right for a little girl growing up in such a setting. 

I did some free motion quilting in the patchwork panel and along the top edge where the birds are on the back, and the rest I quilted with straight lines, echoing the shapes and angles of the fabrics. I made scrappy binding which is always one of my favorites, and already gave it to mom & baby. Hopefully it brings them warmth while they snuggle up on these cold New England days!