Thursday, April 29, 2021

How Am I Supposed To Make A Cute Baby Quilt With Neutrals?

My youngest sister who lives in a land far far away (California) called me at the end of March,

"Katrina is expecting a baby boy in July. They are going to call him Ryder. When she goes back to work I'm going to watch him 3 days a week. Oh, and the nursery is done in neutrals." 

I'm not on Facebook so I usually get news of a new family addition after the baby's arrival from siblings or in-laws - the proud grandparents.  I don't think I have ever known the colors or theme of a new baby's nursery so when I gift a baby quilt it is a Cathy's Choice quilt. And most of the time I send a quilt to the proud grandparents to pass on to baby's parents or to keep for when baby visits.  

I'm sure my sister gabbed on about more things on that phone call because she is a gabber and sometimes a repeater. Usually I am a listener but after she told me the new baby news all I could think of was --how the heck am I supposed to make a cute baby quilt with neutrals?

In those days after the phone call I issued myself a challenge - try to make a cute baby quilt with neutrals. I like to challenge myself because it helps me to get things done and sometimes I even get to experience the feeling- of -accomplishment high.

 I pulled all the neutrals in my stash that seemed like they might be okay in a quilt for a baby. I piled them all at the end of the ironing board and looked at them for days. The pile was not really a pile but more like a mole hill. When I used to buy fabric I usually bought a half yard at the most so I could have a lot of variety. Most of the neutral pieces in my mole hill were less than half yards and they kind of said "blah" to me. Blah, blah, blah. 

I like Sawtooth Stars so I decided I'd make a few with my neutrals -- 3.5 inch and 2 inch width pieces were cut. Then I cut my Flying Geese parts with the Easy Angle and Easy Angle Companion rulers from the 2 inch width fabrics. 
Ok. So I thought the little six inch (finished) Sawtooth Stars were kind of cute and before I knew it there were 49 of them and then a quilt top 42 inches square. 

Well then I had a bunch of 3.5 inch width scraps left over. This year when that happens I usually make Four Patches. But there were a lot of leftovers and so I first decided to make HSTs and then Pinwheels but then changed my mind and made Broken Dishes which are really more like broken Pinwheels to me because if you put the bottom two HSTs of a Broken Dishes block on top of the top two HSTs of a Broken Dishes block you actually have a Pinwheel. (And that is why you can see Pinwheels in a Broken Dishes quilt. Well, at least I can.)

After I made 49 Broken Dishes I had used most of the leftover 3.5 inch scraps and then some and I had another little quilt top that is also 42 inches square. 

So maybe baby Ryder gets two quilts - one for his house and one for Grandma's house since in the future he will be there three days a week. 

But did I meet the challenge? Are those cute baby quilts?? Well, kind of but there is not a novelty fabric in sight. How can a kid love a quilt with no bright colors or novelties? 

Then I remembered a baggie of four inch dog themed squares a friend sent me. And I pulled out the neutral dogs counting to see if I had enough for 36 Four Patches. I was shy squares for about four blocks but I had some dog fabrics to supplement. 



And since my neutral mole hill was still at the end of my ironing board I cut some 4 inch squares and made some Four Patches. 


 And then a third quilt 42 inches square was made. It has some novelties so it has to be cute. Right?

Maybe cute is in the eye of the beholder. 

Now to get these finished and mailed off for some California dreaming with Ryder. But first I need to find some cute backings. 

My OMG (One Monthly Goal) for May is to finish all 3 of these quilts. 

22 comments:

Linda said...

You’ve made 3 lovely quilts, definitely contain neutrals and some blue for contrast. I’ve been given colour schemes for a baby quilt a few times and I’ve always found them difficult. The worst was for a baby girl, they didn’t want any pink at all, main colour grey, to have cat fabrics involved and Dr Who in there too! I managed it but didn’t enjoy either the process or the resulting quilt but the parents did! Thankfully!
I discovered that baby’s grandma could embroider so I got her to make an embroidered Dalek for the label on the back.

JCH said...

I like these ones. They will be good for relaxing baby for sleeping. Don't need him/her stimulated at night. Lol

Quilting Babcia said...

Well you have a trio of great baby quilts with lots of interest for baby to look at. Modern parents seem to forget or ignore that babies are drawn to bright color and patterns. I had to make a quilt a couple years ago for a baby whose room was going to be dark gray and black - whether boy or girl! The mom indicated a little dark blue might be all right too. I found some cute fabrics with black and a little blue and some accents of yellow but have never seen that quilt being used. Bummer.

LIttle Penguin Quilts said...

That was a great challenge you gave yourself, and you ended up with not just one but three fun quilts! I always see pinwheels in quilts made with broken dishes blocks, too. That's something I love about that design!

Alycia~Quiltygirl said...

I believe that you knocked this one out of the park!!! these are all awesome and oh my gosh - there will be a done of ohhing and awwwing and happy dancing when they see these!

Quiltdivajulie said...

Wow - give you a challenge and get out of the way! Three terrific quilt tops for Ryder. And all from the stash. These will be used and loved (after you find the backings, that is - don't stress too much, you've done the heavy lifting part already). LOVE these.

Pat at Bell Creek Quilts said...

Congrats on your success! All are cute and will be well loved!

Exuberantcolor/Wanda S Hanson said...

Since baby quilts are used throughout the house I think they only need to be loosely connected to the color schemes. All three of those quilts would be exciting for the baby to lay on and really fun for tummy time.

Angela said...

A neutral nursery should go with any color of quilt. Isn't that why neutrals are a great background for more exciting things? I think what you came up with is lovely. I'm sure the baby will too.

mangozz said...

I like all three quilts, especially the sawtooth stars. But I wonder if they meant that all colors in the quilt needed to be different shades of neutral? Some people are like that. I promised my sister a king sized quilt (cringe) several years ago, but she still hasn't decided on a color scheme or design. (maybe I'm off the hook?) She definitely doesn't want scraps and is horrified whenever I consider a scrappy back incorporating some extra blocks from the front. She wouldn't let me do that on either of her son's quilts. It is what it is. Good luck!

Ann said...

They are all cute and Ryder will need them all. How fun to have some for his two homes and the third can work in the car. At least that's what my grandkids do.

Melisa- pinkernpunkinquilting said...

Oh boy did meet the challenge .These are the sweetest quilts and will be well loved. Fabulous job.

MissPat said...

You've outdone yourself in terms of quantity. I quite dislike being expected to cater to someone's color palette, especially when modern parents think gray is appropriate for babies. Being an old lady with a mind of her own, I would have made a brightly colored I Spy type quilt with something to grab the baby's attention. And this is one reason I don't make quilts to order. Good luck with the backings.
Pat

The Joyful Quilter said...

All 3 are fabulous baby quilts, Cathy!! I have to say, I feel your pain at having to make a neutral baby quilt. My oldest niece requested the same.

Cathy said...

Wow, you’re 3 for 3, in baseball terms! Batting 1000! All three quilts are clever and cute. I hope your neutral molehill is now either just a neutral ant hill or a fond memory!

Julie in GA said...

I think all three quilts are cute. Your wide variety of fabrics keeps them looking interesting.

---"Love" said...

I bet if all three quilts were put in front of little Ryder to let him choose the one he likes best, his little eyes would go first to the one with the dogs. I can just see him staring at the dog's eyes for a long time. The other two quilts are great too, but even little babies like to look into eyes that are looking back, just like adults do. I think he would choose that one if given the opportunity. ---"Love"

Pamela Arbour said...

You did a great job. They will be well loved

QuiltGranma said...

I love them all!

gayle said...

You did a great job with a really hard challenge! (I'd still be quaking in my boots standing next to a pile of neutral fabric...)
And you've reminded me how much I want to make a sawtooth stars quilt. In BRIGHT colors, mind you.

Nann said...

LOL -- of course we make baby quilts to please the parents, not the baby. Only Great-aunt Cathy would make THREE.

Maggie said...

Fantastic, you made three tops. One for baby, one for when he is with Grandma and a spare one one of the other ones is in the wash? Babies go through clothing at a pace, so one could be a playmat quilt? Funny how much we can do with the leftovers?