Another Scrappy Braid Quilt

Our guild challenge for this year is a baby quilt. The only requirements are that it measures 40"x40", no cheater cloths and it must be quilted and bound. After being displayed at our June quilt guild meeting, the quilts will be exhibited and sold at the West Chester Growers Market to benefit a local women's organization that helps needy mothers. Check their website at the end of May for the date.

I have returned to my favorite scrap buster quilt of the moment - the braid quilt. I cut up a bunch of 3"x8" rectangles and sewed them into braid strips, separating the pink and the brown to make a cute little girl quilt. A thin strip of brown fabric on the top and the bottom was used to separate this section from the top and bottom borders. My only question at this point is why when you cut up a bunch of scraps, it never seems to diminish your piles of fabric?

For the top and the bottom border, I pulled the softest fabric, called minkee, from my stash. I had bought it a while ago and was waiting for the perfect opportunity to use it. This challenge was it. I couldn't think of anything softer next to a baby's cheek. On the minkee borders, I appliqued the letters using fusible applique and a machine blanket stitch. I chose not to border the sides. I like the vertical look that you get with only borders on the top and bottom.

Getting ready for machine quilting, I basted the layers using a spray temporary adhesive product on my design wall. I have found this method to be quick and easy for small quilts. First I pinned a bed sheet to my design wall, making sure that the sheet covered part of the floor. (The spray adhesive can be a nasty product if it is not contained. )

Then I pinned the backing fabric, wrong side out to the sheet. This was done with lots of pins and pretty taught so that it didn't shift. I sprayed the backing mainly focusing on the 4 edges. The batted was smoothed onto the backing starting at the top and working downward and outward. This was then repeated for the quilt top.

Free motion machine quilting was used with an all over daisy chain pattern and pink cotton thread. In the minkee borders, I just quilted around the letters.. I didn't want to make the minkee stiff.

A little baby girl will be so lucky to get this adorable quilt. And the women's organization will benefit as well. Winners all around.