A Baby Quilt to Begin the New Year

In 2022, I made and gifted 7 baby quilts - Emery, Boone, Henry, Benjamin, and 3 for Cate. I made 2 more - pink ones - that are still in the flimsy stage. Now, here as we have barely begun 2023, I find that I missed a baby! A new wee lad was born on the 15th (my birthday!) and I hadn't remembered to make him a quilt. His older brother Ben got one, shown below, back in 2020. How I missed making a plan for this baby's quilt, I cannot explain.

New baby Henry (another Henry!) has indeed arrived, and it just so happens that I have a juvenile print layer cake by Emily Winfield Martin for Riley Blake Designs. The line is called The Littlest Family's Big Day and it will make a lovely alternate project for Florida, should my time allow for it.

I had an idea for using 10" blocks, and a couple nights ago I made two test blocks. The fabrics for these samples are from that giant pile I had for all the diamond cutting I did on Tuesday. I am sure this block has been featured in many a layer cake pattern book, but honestly, it doesn't need much explaining. 

Two fabrics for sample blocks.

The thing I love most about this block is that just about all the fabric is used. Only about an inch of waste results. It absolutely kills me to waste fabric from precuts, and this one comes about as close as any I've ever made to using every single bit of the square.

 

The block measures 9 inches (8.5" finished), so if I make 42 blocks, and create a quilt that is 6 blocks wide x 7 blocks long, then I should end up with a quilt approximately 51"x59". Nice size! We shall see as things develop.

If time permits, I will cut this layer cake and have it ready for sewing once we reach our rental in Florida. I am almost more eager to make this baby quilt than I am to make the diamond quilt.

Happy Quilting, Friends!