Birthday Bonanza Part 2: No Clue Keepsake Quilt

As previously mentioned, my daughter's 1st birthday is at the end of the month & I set the crazy craft lady bar at I'm going to craft her entire party level.  And no, I do not have a housecleaner, babysitter or plan to pull crafting all nighters to achieve this.  I just figured I'd start early & pace myself one project at a time.  I've also got a very tight budget, so it's full on thrifty crafting too.  Yeah, I know, I'm a bit ridiculous.  Most of you already know this, maybe it's part of my charm.....So then I got the bright idea to make her a little quilt as a gift.  Have I mentioned I've never made a quilt before and didn't even try to look up how?   Yeah, full-on crazy lady here.

Since I started sewing 2 years ago I've discovered that it's sometimes easier for me to just figure out my own way to make stuff than to follow directions.  This was one of those times.  I decided to make a keepsake quilt by using scraps leftover from all the projects I've made for her over this first year (the outfit she wore home from the hospital, moses basket bedding, bonnets, countless dresses, etc.):

I cut them all into 4 inch squares and laid them out 6 squares wide by 7 squares long and moved them around until the colors & prints looked good to me.  That part probably took the longest!  Then I stitched the squares together across, pressed open the seams and then stitched those strips together and pressed open those seams.  

I'd bought 1 yard of the pink polka dot fabric for $2.50, so I cut some strips from it to "frame" my patchwork and used the rest of it for the backing.  I sandwiched in some leftover batting I had and then drew diagonal lines across it every two inches & then stitched on them.  The back fabric was a few inches larger on each side, so I just folded it forward to make a built-in binding.  I couldn't even tell you my process for mitering the corners - I just folded it until it looked good & then stitched the whole way around.  I used this lovely doll quilt my fabulously crafty aunt had made for me when I was little as inspiration (and my only real quilting reference tool):

Hers had a lot of gorgeous, color coordinating & was hand-stitched!! 

And I still love the back fabric of it as much as I did as a kid:

So now my baby will have a little quilt to love like I loved mine.  All in all, I'm pretty happy my first quilt turned out pretty nice, used up a lot of scraps & will be a special present for my little girl.  Not bad for not having a clue what to do!

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