PamelaQuilts: Monkey Around Baby Quilt

Yay, it's time for the Blogger's Quilt Festival again! I've enjoyed participating in this in the past (so many neat quilts!) and even won a prize once - one of these days I'll actually get my quilt made from the fabric I purchased with that gift certificate. I get it out and pet it from time to time, but haven't found the perfect pattern yet. The quilt I am sharing today would be best for the Baby Quilt category - or maybe Lap Quilt, after all it's not just for babies!

I've finished quite a few quilts this year, some for me and some for other people. My favorite of them all so far is my Monkey Around Baby Quilt. This was a project that was on the back burner for quite a while and started out as a custom quilt I made for a customer at Threads That Bind (the quilt shop I work at one day a week). She came in, wanting a baby quilt made, we picked out a block pattern she liked and fabrics, then I made a quilt for her. I had in mind to write up a pattern for this quilt, but every time I came back to it I just wasn't inspired.

Part of what I do at the shop is come up with new shop samples using current fabrics. We got in some super cute little monkey fabric, so I knew I had to make this quilt with it since the blocks were Monkey Wrench blocks. I threw the old idea out the window and started fresh, just the blocks set in a more modern way for a more original, fun look. Then, inspiration hit and I thought, why not add blocks that are half size? So I ended up redrafting the block a bit so I could add the half size one in the center of one of the block, and ended up with a quilt idea that I really loved! (I used EQ7 to design the quilt - I love being able to import the fabrics I have available and see the quilt come to life before I even take one stitch.)

The finished quilt measures 47 x 47 and features 12 inch and 6 inch blocks. I think the 6 inch ones are so cute!

I really enjoyed making the actual quilt and was very pleased with the way it looked, and the process of putting it together. I quilted it in a swirly design, though I think it would be neat to do a more custom quilting on it as well. Maybe next time!