Chimney Sweep Quilt

Last week I decided to have my sewing student start on her first quilt – a small doll quilt made up of 20 pieced squares.  As she was working on it, I realized that it had been a long time since I’d made a real quilt and I missed it. Then, further spurred on by Sew, Mama, Sew!’s Quilt Month features, I decided to make a baby quilt.   

While I love all the quilts I’ve been seeing, for some reason the ones that I tear out of magazines for inspiration are always pieced squares.  I looked through my inspiration folder and pulled out this picture that I had saved from a catalog.  I went through all my scraps and pulled out any and all fabrics that looked like anything resembling pink and started cutting 3-inch squares.  365 squares.  The oldest pieces of fabrics are 7 years old.  Then newest just a couple of months.  I don’t think the fabrics look like they go together up close

or even far off,

but the quilting lines seem to pull everything together.  I backed it with large panels of pink from my stash:

And for the first time in years my stash is amazingly pink-free.  I have a couple of friends that are expecting.  I’m really hoping one of them has a baby girl that can enjoy and spit up on this quilt!  :o)

My method of wrinkling (that I’ve mentioned before) is below.

1. Pre-wash your cotton fabric first.

2. Use Warm&Natural batting. 

3. Piece, quilt, and bind

4. Throw it in the washer on warm.

5. Dry on low.