Life was a bit crazy after I returned from Italy. Not only were there snail mail and emails to go through, but the jet lag was real. On top of that ~ while I was gone Apple deleted everything on my iphone calendar!!! I don’t know how it happened, but I hadn’t looked at it the entire time we were traveling and I was shocked to find it empty when I finally did. Everything was gone ~ past and future. My inability to recover it has a lot to do with my lack of savvy in backing it up. But now I think I have it recreated as it should be, and I hope I don’t end up missing something important – Ugh.
These all add up to the reason why four days before my cousin’s daughter’s baby shower I realized I HADN’T MADE HER A QUILT! A slight panic ensued, as I’d made her sister a quilt for her baby shower last year, and I couldn’t not make one for Carly (plus I really wanted to 😊). Sew ~ I went in the studio and started looking through my stash. The fabric that grabbed me right away was a lovely floral I’d purchased from a designer who had a booth in Paducah last year (I wish I hadn’t cut away the selvedges, because I don’t remember her name). I needed to make this quilt cute but simple. Using the fabric as my inspiration, I drew a fun flower.
The baby girl’s name is Reagan, so I decided I needed to make one block a pretty “R”. All the blocks would be made with my repliqué technique because it doesn’t use fusibles which make the quilt stiff (click here to read about my Snuggle and Learn Quilts for Kids book). Colorful fabrics were chosen for the petals, and the stitching began: straight stitching from behind for the first step ~
And then trimming and satin stitching to cover the edges for the second.
These blocks were alternated with blocks of the feature fabric in a 9-patch set, and borders were added. I layered it with batting and Shannon Cuddle™ in a lovely soft aqua. I quilted around the appliqués and spiraled the backgrounds. Then, in the alternate squares, I cut a flower from freezer paper, ironed it in place, and quilted around it.
The soft back was turned to the front as a binding and it was done at 10pm the night before the shower!
That’s when I looked at the shower invitation and discovered that the theme for the baby’s room is “wild flowers”. God is good 😁!
I can’t wait to share a photo of Reagan with her quilt sometime soon.
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And one more thing…
Penny sent me an email and photo recently, and this seemed like the perfect post in which to include another Repliqué project!
“Hi Chris, I took your class last year with CVQG in Gardnerville, NV. Just wanted to share this with you. Just finished this using your technique instead of applique. I’m very proud of it & think it turned out pretty good. Blessings to you and Your family for 2026. God Bless.”
Don’t you love the little animal appliqués too!?! Well done Penny! Thanks for the photo!
Ruth Grater says
The fabric designer is P Carter Carpin. . She’s been in Paducah in the bubble the last few years. Maybe she’s at other quilts shows too.
clkquilt says
I was hoping someone might know the designer’s name. Thanks so much!
Doris Ast says
Divine inspiration has helped me when needed on a quilt project. That quilt turned out beautiful. Thanks for sharing.
judy raddatz says
Just love your quilt. She’ll know her colors quickly.
Margaret says
And that is the importance of having a good STASH❣️
(Investment in the future)
Eileen Bastin says
Just a charming and ever so creative quilt, as usual!! Love it! How fun the baby’s room turned out to be wildflowers too–
Roxan says
Hi, Chris! Glad to hear you are home all safe and sound from your trip to Italy. Yikes! What a problem with a calendar crash. No thanks.
I love your spring-y bright floral. In the past, and just recently, I’ve been helping a guild friend find a pattern and fabric on-line that you might find helpful, to be able to do, too.
Use your cellphone to take a picture of the fabric, quilt, historical monument, etc., and save it on your phone.
Then open the picture, and when it pops up, select “Google Lens”. You may have to search in your app where “Lens” is tuck away, (mine is by the ellipsis above the photo) but once you find it, click Google Lens, and it will start quickly searching to help you find the source. I think someone like you may find this tool very useful. For instance, I found your bright floral fabric listing it as, “Floral Burst Serious Whimsey” for sale by Flowers2Fabric.com, for $15/yd (or in 1/4 yard increments). Another site said they were sold out, but at least you now have some info to start searching (website/manufacturer/designer/etc. And it took literally 2 seconds. God Bless! Roxan