A Quilt for Snapdragon

I started this quilt in the fall and finished it in January. I don't have a sewing machine, so it goes pretty slow. In retrospect, a white background is not such a great idea for a baby quilt — maybe I'll use it as a crib liner or something. Not that I care much if it gets dirty — it's all cotton (washable) and I can repair it if it gets damaged.

I am a novice quilter. Really, I just like to buy pretty fabric and it sometimes (rarely) makes its way into a project.

My least favorite part of quilting is the planning. I'm terrible at the math/measuring/cutting part and can never get the geometric shapes to line up the way they should. In short, I am not a precision quilter.

That's why the Cathedral Windows pattern is perfect for me. The quilt grows under your fingers and you can stop whenever you feel like it. It's also pretty forgiving of my inability to get blocks to line up exactly. Even though I use the same template to cut out all the pieces, they never seem to be exactly the same size. This pattern allows me to fudge it a bit. One final perk: I can use all the scraps I've been saving for years.

If you are interested in making your own Cathedral Window Quilt, follow this excellent tutorial via Hyena in Petticoats. It has good step-by-step pictures for all you visual learners out there.

You can choose your own colors — I made up this pattern and it worked pretty well. I'm a little disappointed that the orange and yellow sort of run together, but I like the blues, purples, and reds. Next time, I think I'll try single-color inserts — that way, you get an interesting visual effect where you can't tell if it's the inserts or the background that you're supposed to focus on.