Baby Linens In Your Nursery

Have you ever needed to throw together a quick quilt? Many quilting pros laugh at the notion, but sometimes we need a quick gift to give and want to make it personal. Lap quilts and baby quilts are very easy to create on an embroidery machine.

Blanket Quilt After the foundation piece has been completely filled with fabric strips, trim the block to the desired size. Press the block on both the front and back. Don't leave any loose pieces.

For making perfectly straight cuts, choose a thick, clear acrylic ruler. A good size to start with is a 6x24" rectangular ruler marked in 1/4" increments.

Now it is time to start the actual quilting process. You need a small set of scissors, quilt needles (these have a larger eye but are very sharp in order to go through all the layers), quilting thread, thimble and a very comfortable chair.

First decide on the finished foundation (muslin) size for each block and cut the muslin one half inch larger than the desired finished block size. This allows for any puckering or tight tension variations that could draw up the size. You can always cut the finished piece down to the proper size later. Also remember that the finished block size in this case is the unfinished block size for your quilt. You will have to have a seam allowance to sew your blocks together into a quilt. A half inch should provide this necessary allowance.

First, you need to find two boards, ideally of a hardwood such as oak. It is crucial that they are longer than the width of your quilt. Next, you need to staple or stitch a piece of durable material around the boards, such as heavy cotton or denim. Form the fabric into a slack tube, loose enough to leave a flap of fabric to which the quilt ends can be attached, while ensuring that the material is firmly fixed to the boards.

I decided on using 35 pictures for Peggy's memory quilt. I chose pictures that showed her children at different stages of their lives. As well as pictures showing her and her husbands age regression. Her favorite color is blue, so I chose a dark blue with a light blue design, and a light blue with a dark blue design for the blocks. One thing to keep in mind when doing one for a person with Alzheimer's' is to try and keep the material fairly plain or quiet. When using a material that is very busy or loud, it just adds to their overall confusion. Something you definitely do not want.