Pink Baby Quilt

The fun thing about starting a new craft is that you don't know what is easy & what is hard. You're too ignorant to be intimidated, so you just jump in & do something. I did this when I started crocheting too. Within a month of picking up a hook, I was making complicated doilies and doing them well enough that I still have them today.

Such was the case with this beauty:

I didn't know I was supposed to be scared of half-square triangles, so I planned a whole quilt around them. After the triangles in this quilt, and my husband's monster quilt, I can appreciate the fear people have of them. Luckily, I also have the experience now to not be. Well, not so much anyway.

It isn't perfect

Not Red Pepper Quilts perfect

But I'm extremely happy with it.

The solid pink is Kona baby pink and the patterned pink, which is actually quite hard to photograph it's so subtle, is from my friend's stash, the name of which is long ago forgotten. (But it's good - she's a bit of a fabric snob - shhh.)

I pieced the back

And quilted echo lines around the squares the design created. The binding is attached by machine, but finished by hand. The batting, and of course all fabrics, is 100% cotton.The size is 44" x 51", which would be great for a crib blanket, a toddler bed, a playmat, a nap blanket - anything.

And it's for sale in my shop.

What I learned:

The biggest thing about triangles, I think, is to always plan on trimming them to size. I tried repeatedly to just make trianges ready to go, but they're finicky little things, stretching when ironed and just not cooperating at all. If you're wanting to save time and frustration, just realize this and make them at least 1/4" larger than you need & cut them back down to size. I have a ruler by June Taylor, Perfect Half-Square & Quarter Square Triangles, that makes this so much easier.

After I finished this quilt, I discovered this method and decided I liked it best. I will make more quilts out of HSTs, and I will use this method for making them.