Fleece vs. Flannel

I was a diehard fleece lover.  It's so squishy and soft and awesome.  It doesn't need to be hemmed, it doesn't unravel, it's really a petroleum based miracle fabric.  Then I made the following quilt for some friends about to bring home their newly adopted son.  It is a very happy ending and I wanted to make a special project for them.

It is the softest snuggliest thing I have ever made.  It is primarily flannel with some quilting cotton all mixed in.  I was smart and pre-washed everything so that it all shrank and bled and did all the nasty things it was going to do, and it's ridiculously soft and delicious.  I am planning to make Isabella a blanket/bedcovering of sorts and I think flannel might be our ticket! 

So now I get the deal with flannel, and realize why there is so much of this stuff at Joann's.  I will still be using fleece because it provides a very different texture that flannel doesn't, but wow.  I love flannel. 

This quilt was my first "log cabin" style blanket.  I tried to keep it modern by using some solids and some modern prints.  It was so fun to make a complete breeze.  I got the pattern from Modern Log Cabin Quilting.   Which has about eight more patterns I intend on making.  Usually I shy away from patterns, I like to do things myself and hate authority so much that the idea of following a pattern is too restrictive.  BUT it is easier, and saves tons of time, and with this one I quilted it my own way so my stamp is on it.

The Big Reveal and an 8 month old baby

Isabella turned eight months old this week.  It is hard to believe that she hasn't been in our family forever; and that she will get bigger and grow up.  We have cats, they start small and stay small and are always our little babies.  Somehow I just can't believe that our tiny little small (who isn't that tiny anymore) is going to become a large person.  This last month she has begun to crawl, and pull herself up on EVERYTHING.  If it's on a low table, it is now within her reach.  Needless to say there is a lot less clutter lying around.

All that aside.  I finished my bed makover!  I think it looks really nice.  I clearly have much to learn about quilting, becuase there are lots and lots of mistakes, but this was relatively inexpensive, and took two weeks to complete.  That kind of instant gratification makes me very happy.

The pattern for the quilt can be found here.  The euro-pillow covers and the small pillow were out of my head, and there is no pattern, but they were relatively simple and I did all straight line quilting because it looks fresh and modern.   (The euro pillows are my favorite part)

All told I used 7 fabrics, 3/4 of a yard each, 2/3 of a yard of lavender fleece and 5.5 yards of powder blue fleece, and one ikea king sized contour bed sheet.  I used every usable piece of that bed sheet. I have nothing usable left.  I can't tell it's a sheet, it looks exactly like quilting cotton to me, but heck, what do I know?