Little Apples "Stained" baby quilt

I've very excited to have a new quilt finish to show you. It feels like the longest time since I actually finished a quilt - a proper quilt, not a mini or a mug rug. It feels good :-)

So, here is my "Stained" quilt done. This was completed as part of Sarah's quiltalong, and in some very good company. It's really interesting to see how the different quilts have turned out - that's always my fave bit of a quiltalong. Same pattern, vastly different finishes.

You will know, from reading my earlier ramblings about this quilt, that I have had mixed feelings about it all the way through. Mostly because of that yellow sashing. Now that its all finished and done, I am very happy with it. I still have a little reserve about it, but I think it works, and I think it is lovely and cheerful and happy. Really, the only reserve I  have is that yellow is not my favourite colour and was a bit of a risky choice for me, but that is purely a matter of personal taste.

I love the detail in the various Little Apples prints - the clothes, the little people, the trees, the little hedgehogs - they are super cute and perfect for a little lady. I think that this fits the brief of not being too girlie - and is the furthest thing from pink - but it still will work really nicely for a little girl.

The other thing I learned when making this quilt was not to use lightweight cotton/poplin for sashing! The yellow is much lighter than the Little Apples fabric, and this did cause me some problems piecing the blocks together, and particularly when basting, it stretched like mad in the strangest of places. The result is a little unintentional wonkiness in the seams - they are not perfectly straight but wobble in lots of places. Ah well, I think it adds to the charm.

I quilted it in a free motion stipple. Because of the aforementioned basting difficulties the quilting was a little bit challenging at times, and there is definitely a lot of differing stitch length going on in there, but it is overall ok. I'm hoping the recipient will look at the overall picture and not examine my stitching in detail! I added in some loops and little hearts for a little girl. 

I used a lovely cheerful Ikea cotton on the back, I really like this hearts print. It's colourful and girlie, a little like the front, without being too in your face.

The binding is Kona Coal and I like how it frames the yellow, it seems to balance it a bit.

All in all, I am pretty much pleased with this one :-) The final quilt measured up at 45" x 55", a perfect child size quilt. Thanks Sarah for a great pattern, I really enjoyed piecing this one.