A Coins Quilt Named Twister

I decided to try something a little different.  Okay, not all that different, it is still a quilt.

I found this pattern over on the Moda Bake Shop site.  Seemed easy enough to do and I wouldn't even have to buy anything.  (Yes, my stash is big enough to survive such a thing.)  I found my stack of 10" x 10" squares and picked 30 different squares for the top.  I found a yard of fun polka dots and decided it would be just the thing for the sashing and border.  I chopped up the squares and just started sewing them together into strips.  These aren't planned at all.  I did play with the placement a little once I had the 12 blocks sewn together, but that was about all the layout planning it got.

Originally, I had done the math to make this quilt smaller.  The pattern says it is a baby quilt, but I just can't get behind 58" x 58" being a baby quilt.  I'm all for making a quilt that will stay with them through the toddler years, but I think a crib-size quilt (info on quilt size at bottom of post) will last them just as long and it will fit into the crib when they come home.  

I know there is no rush, but I wanted to get it loaded into the long arm.  I had to find a suitable backing and didn't want to have to do too much piecing.  I got all kinds of lucky and found the leftovers from two other quilts that could be sewn up into a backing that was a perfect fit.  (Yes, that means there was piecing, but it was just one seam.)  The batting was the end of the roll.  I was surprised to find it was just a little bigger than needed for this.  Thank goodness I have a new roll of batting in the closet.

I decided to do some rather tight squiggly lines for each row.  I started with diagonals, which was okay, but I was almost bored before I got to the end.  I ended up using the squiggles in all five rows and just changed it up each time I moved onto the next row.  Diagonal, horizontal, vertical and repeat.  Nothing fancy, but effective.  The sashing and borders got a fun butterfly trail.  I love this simple design.   

All that remains is to find the right fabric for binding and get it sewn on.  I had fun with this project but I still say 58" x 58" does not make a baby quilt.

The internet is full of information.  I did a quick search on quilt sizes for this post so I could share a little with you.  Feel free to do your own search, or, do what I do and just make the quilt the size you want it to be.  I make a crib quilt anywhere from 36" to 40" wide by 40" to 50" long.  You can make them square, or rectangular, your call.  I've done both but I often let the quilt blocks tell me if they want to be in a square or rectangular formation.  The sizes are kind of squishy for a couple reasons, you can add or subtract borders to bring the numbers up or down a hair.  Or, you can make sure it fits into your backing fabric without having to piece the backing.  Not having to piece the back can save money and time.  No matter what you choose to do have fun with it.

This quilt has joined the Anything Goes Linky Party.  Check out more great projects at Stitch by Stitch.  It has also joined the Linky Tuesday at Freemotion by the River.