Claire's quilted blanket

Claire's birthday came and went back in July.  I did warn her that my light bulb moment had come a bit late (after her birthday) and that it would take a little while to sort out.  She had seen O's 'all boy' quilt and Martha's play mat and liked them both.  So why it took my brain so long to put one and two together I don't know!  Eventually realising she'd love something that combined Cath Kidston fabrics with a cottagey feel I started looking for the right things.  So I had to confess it might be a while before she got her birthday present.

It was such fun looking for fabrics, putting it all together and thinking of steering away from 'just' squares and coming up with something I hadn't tried before.  I love some of the designs on this blog and often have a little admiring look around.  One day I want to be able to make such gorgeous designs! Anyway, there's absolutely nothing wrong with squares, but I fancied making something a bit different.  Nothing too complicated yet as this is only my third quilt.  I settled on big and half sized rectangles.

A lot of effort was made to stick to just reds, blues and some greens.  There could have been pretty yellows or some darker fabrics - but I resisted.  I'm happy with the balance and how it has turned out.  It's the first time I've added some white in a quilt to help the colours stand out and I'm liking the effect and the fresh look it gives.

Throwing all the bits in the air and sew everything together as it comes is so liberating.  The only 'selective random' bit is that there are no two of the same fabric right underneath (or above) each other in the columns.  But as you can see on some of the pictures a few repeats have sneaked in to the rows (but I don't mind).

The wadding inside is 80% cotton.  The back is brushed cotton (flannel).  This quilt was destined to be that snugly blanket that keeps you warm on the sofa when you're watching a film or to go on the end of the bed to keep your toes cosy in the winter.  I love flannel; it's warm, touchable and it just makes everything better at the end of a long day.  The print is perfect: little birds, sleeping on tree branches.

The quilt is (roughly) 1m x 1.5m.  There are 40 rectangles in each column, that's 200 in total.  Now don't look at the calculations on my little post-it!  After all the working out and drawing mini-quilts I hadn't allowed enough for the seams.  And so that's exactly what I got: a mini-quilt.  Luckily not a major issue and after adding to the width and length it's now a decent, useful size.

So, it's all done, washed and dried - ready to go to its new owner and the cottage.  Happy belated birthday my dear :), may you enjoy many hot chocolates under your new blanket!