This baby quilt was a commission. I was surprised by the color choice: purple and gray. She also said that the theme was middle-eastern. I knew immediately that this would not be a "normal" baby quilt.
I always like trying out "new" blocks or patterns on a baby quilt. After digging through several books, I settled on a block called "Lady in the Lake". The pattern, though not strictly middle-eastern, was reminiscent of some middle-eastern designs I have seen.
I began picking fabric by finding the gray/silver/black swirly fabric. With that as a
base, I tried to find fabrics that matched the color while sticking
either to flowers, dots or swirls.
The pattern called for three primary fabrics and several secondary colors. Once I found the lavender and pink batik, I decided to use three purples, three grays and three gray on blacks. I had a hard time picking the third main fabric. Most of the grays in the store were just not a good enough match to the black/silver/gray swirl fabric. I experimented with violet and pink before finding this silver dot on white fabric. It was a nice way to add a little more sparkle in the quilt.
As I worked on the quilt, I started having doubts about how "adult" this quilt was. I went on a search for ribbon and lace to help soften it a bit. I found a black crocheted lace, and I was able to weave a lavender ribbon through the holes. As a final touch, I used more ribbon to place a bow in each corner (sewn down very well to avoid being a choking hazard).
I debated how to quilt it for quite a while. I looked at pictures on the internet, but I didn't see any quilting styles I liked. I finally decided to be bold and used a dark purple thread in the opposite direction from the diagonal block. It truly added another dimension to the quilt.
I truly took my time on this quilt, and it shows. I generally hate triangles because it is very hard to get the points to line up just right. Though I still don't care for doing triangles, I think this quilt was very nice. Nearly all of the triangle turned out perfectly. I have a very small list of quilts that I think were near perfect. I will often regret one of my fabric choices, or I will feel like I could have done a better job assembling or quilting it. This one is one of the rare ones without regrets and may be the best quilt I've made. It certainly makes my top 5 list. I'm eager to hear what both the client and the mom say about this one!
(Lady in the Lake, approx. 45 x 60, Feb. 28, 2013)
