First project ... BABY QUILT!

I decided to try my hand at quilting again. When I was really into it, I used to dye fabric and create original landscapes. Luckily I have the best motivation in the world - my college buddy is having a baby in October. I want to make her a quilt, and I have my eye on a simple pattern that I saw on a blog (sorry, don't remember which one). Over the years, I've made baby quilts, but if there is one thing I've learned from my nieces and nephew and how they dragged their blankets around, it's important to make the quilt comfy and simple.

For this baby quilt, I'm using an anti-pill fleece as the backing.  I considered using the quilt-as-you-go method, but I want to make this quilt quickly since she is having the baby in October!  The fleece will act both as a batting and the backing. 

I am still conflicted about the design.  I want to use my collection of black and white fabrics for the background, but I can't decide if I want to do a funky log cabin with bright colors or squares of bright colors.  The fleece is turquoise blue since my friend is having a boy, so the squares will probably be in shades of bright blue and green. 

I know how I want to quilt the baby quilt.  This is always the worst part for me and I usually try to get my sister to do this for me.  It generally involves a lot of grovelling and pleading and bribing, but since she just had eye surgery, she can't help me.  Boo hoo!

Hopefully, since the quilt will be just be the top and fleece, I'll be able to do this.  You're probably thinking, "why is she concerned with the quilting when she didn't even do the top yet?"  Well, once I get going on the top, I can complete it very quickly.  It's always the quilting that trips me up, and I have a number of quilt tops in a large plastic container that can attest to this sad fact.  Since I am motivated to get this quilt done, I have to plan for all the logistics.  Anyway, I'm a planner and having a clear goal always motivates me to finish a project.

I'm starting the quilt tomorrow, so I'll start posting pictures.  Enjoy!