Monkeying Around - A Baby Quilt

I call this colorful quilt Monkeying Around. I had a stack of coordinating prints in fun colors and Darling Husband requested a baby quilt for a friend that just become a new father for the second time. Babies are stressful. Making quilts for them shouldn't be. I cut a stack of 8.5" by 8.5" squares and set them up in a simple diagonal pattern.

The bad news is that the top was wider than 40" so I had to piece the backing. I like to say that I rarely piece a quilt backing, but it isn't as rare as I would like. I used some of the squares from the front and realized I would be cutting it exceptionally close if I didn't add another piece. I had this strip of fabric that was leftover from another quilt that was perfect. I try to always piece long sections like this with the grain going the same direction. It really makes a difference in the finished piece.

I quilted it with the humble but sturdy meander. The stitch density is loose enough for what should become an amazingly snugly quilt when washed.

The binding is this awesome stripe. I like a stripy binding. I also like polka dot binding, and diagonal binding, and scrappy binding. Maybe I have a binding problem.

I machine finished the binding for durability and a quick finish.