Baby quilts and things

So, two weeks before Christmas I decided I did want to make the girls coordinating Christmas dresses after all.  But first, I needed to finish several other projects that were laying around taking up all my space.  The biggest one was Declan's quilt.  Yes, it was supposed to be finished before he was born, but somehow I just never felt inspired to work on it.  I got as far as a rough idea and a pile of material sometime in early fall (check out my mood board here for my inspiration), and that's where it stayed until two days before he was born when I suddenly felt the need to get it made RIGHT AWAY. 

Nesting?  Or maybe I just had a feeling that if I started a really big project that I didn't want to stop working on, that baby would FINALLY arrive!

So, one day I sketched plans and figured out what size pieces to cut, and the next I got most of the patchwork finished.  I contemplated starting the next step (applique) that night, but decided to go to bed.  And went into labor about 4 the next morning.

So, there it all sat for quite awhile.  As most of you know - I don't have much space in my "sewing room" (aka kitchen, aka school room, aka play room, aka ....) so I really had to do something with it before starting another project.  And once I looked at it again, I didn't want to stop!  I spent 2 days sewing in every spare minute, ignoring housework and laundry, and staying up until 1 or 2 am, and finished it!

Or almost.  I do still need to do something to attach the layers.  Quilt it?  Tie it? Any ideas?

There's those navy and white stripes, and the touch of lime in the heavy piping around the border.  The antique toys and blocks came in in the colored block border around the outside.  And obviously the applique planes are the main interest. 

And that old-fashioned ticking adds just the right touch on the back.

 I love it!  It turned out just like I imagined it. Only better.  Want to see?

Yep, that's my original idea sketch.

  And then fabric scraps all over the patchwork top, to get an idea for the colors and sizes of the planes (the actual templates came from some graphic my mother found for me and enlarged while she was here.  I drew a rough, simplified outline to get the shape, and worked from there)

And several hours of cutting and heat bonding and stitching later --

 Don't you love it when a design turns out perfect?