More snuggly flannel baby quiltness

After six years of quilting, I experienced a first this weekend: tying a quilt! And I LOVE the result.

A few months ago I finished up an almost identical quilt (same pattern, same fabric collection, different colorway) and learned a few things that helped me with this one:

I learned that flannel doesn’t like to be densely quilted (unless you want its “flowiness” stolen). I learned that it’s hard to straight-line quilt flannel without making it wonky, which in turn necessitates lots of trimming to square it up. And I learned that in order to counteract some of these issues without having to trim off half your quilt, you should quit your whining and block your quilt for a nice result (you can tell in the photos of my other quilt that the edges were unfortunately wavy–blocking would’ve eliminated that problem).

So this time around, I decided tying was the best route–and I was right! (As always…) It turned out SO soft and snuggly.

The Stats:

• Fabric: Forest Friends organic flannel by Cloud 9 Fabrics
• Pattern: Wonky Canasta by Elizabeth Hartman
• Batting: Warm & White
• Piecing thread: White Aurifil 50wt
• Tie thread: Anna Maria Horner embroidery floss

P.S. How great are those polka dots?? They make me happy. I’m gifting this snuggler to my best friend from high school, Jade, whose little man turns one just after Christmas. I hope they love it!

P.P.S. If I don’t see ya before then, have a happy Christmas!