2016 is THE year of babies. A number of friends are expecting their little ones’ arrivals this year and boy, Christmas gatherings this year will be festive indeed!

One of the first baby quilts for 2016 is pretty special to me. This was a special collaboration between Aimee (Pins and Needles) and I – where she did the long arm quilting and I pieced the quilt top and finished the hand-sewn binding.

We put together this quilt for a mutual friend who has always been a great help when it comes to sourcing fabrics and sewing notions for us locally. Her baby boy arrived in March and we had completed this quilt by then (usually the quilt comes WAY after the baby is born).

I picked the herringbone quilt layout which has been on my to-make list for a very long time. I wanted to try a layout using the half-square triangle method. For more information, you can refer to the tutorial to the beautiful ombre herringbone quilt here. 

The quilt is for a boy and I know some people would insist on Blue-for-Boy and Pink-for-Girl kind of themes. But I prefer to add in hints of pinks for boys and tone it down when it comes to girl quilts. Why? Because a baby’s colour palette should be more inclusive. And actually I love the blacks in this quilt too!,

Aimee quilted this baby quilt on her Handi Quilter Infinity using the computerized stitch pattern. I love the letters and numbers motifs. The quilting balances the more ‘modern’ quilt layout with the nursery charm of a baby quilt. She used King Tut variegated threads here and it shows up beautifully on the Kona Cotton Snow fabric. 

When using the half-square triangle method for chevron or herringbone patterns, I prefer to use non-direction accent fabrics such as dots and I would avoid lines and stripes as I wanted the angled pieces to appear seamless, not pieced. 

A simple label to personalise this special baby quilt.