Baby quilt – Two Terriers Studio

Meet the Spinning Top Quilt, a pattern I tested in February 2021 for Monika Henry of Penny Spool Quilts (pennyspoolquilts.com). I’ve worked with Monika before this project & always find her patterns to be well-written, which also results in a lovely finish. This one is no different & I might add, I was able to finish piecing it in one, uninterrupted day. Yes, one day. The linear design & mirror image layout speeds up the process without sacrificing interesting design.

I used a couple of collections from Art Gallery Fabrics (artgalleryfabrics.com) for my baby sized version of this quilt. The florals are called Extempore Fancy and Extempore Celebration, designed by Sharon Holland (sharonhollanddesigns.com). I added pieces from both Art Gallery Fabrics “Fusion” Collections, Serenity & Ballerina, and a touch of Pure Solids. While I really like the softness of these colors together against the bleached white background, I think a bold or dark background fabric is equally pretty.

Binding strips ready to go, once the quilting is complete

Add-on pattern features

This pattern features cutting instructions for three sizes, pillow, baby & throw. As a consumer, I like having more than one size option for a specific design, but the add-on of the pillow size is really nice. While I could most likely adapt the pattern & calculate it to suit my needs, having the pillow dimensions already available is a nice touch.

For my pillow, I recreated the front of the quilt and kept the quilting simple with a few straight lines. The back of the pillow is a single panel and I opted to add my zipper to the bottom edge. I like this placement because when I sit it on a bed or chair, I orient the zipper to the bottom and it’s virtually invisible. It also keeps the back panel as one continuous piece.

Longarm Quilting

I sent this quilt to be professionally quilted on a long-arm machine. Some of my projects, I quilt myself, others, I leave to the pros! More specifically, if I have an intricate design in mind, or if the quilt is large, I send it out. This quilt is called Spinning Top. It’s a very linear design & initially I thought concentric circles would bring an illusion of “movement” but also break up the bands of horizontal color. When I shared my ideas with the pattern designer, she was already quilting her personal quilt with concentric circles! We laughed, realizing that we had the same idea. I then saw this edge to edge pattern and it immediately represented the mark a spinning top would leave, as it moved across the floor. Done. This is my choice. When I create, I’ve found the best results come when it all ties together for me into a story. The name, the fabrics, the feeling, the design. Granted, not all projects have that need or nuance, but when they do, I really like it and feel more connected to it from start to finish.

I underestimated how tricky it might be to get good lighting and photos of a quilt with a white background on a snowy, February day. Luckily, my husband is more than willing to drive around with me until we find the right location! I could not do this without his help.

Spinning Top, a quilt in the wild…sewn by Two Terriers Studio

I had someone in mind as the recipient for this, but guess what? That someone is now “my collection”. Maybe there will be a duplicate in the future, but I’m not ready to let it go. Oh man, are we all singing that song, in our minds now?

Monika is offering 15% off the pattern price, in her shop, until February 21, 2021. No code will be needed at checkout, and the pattern will be available for purchase after that date as well.

Happy Quilting….

This post and project are not sponsored; all comments and photos property of Two Terriers Studio; not to be duplicated or shared without permission.

I made this quilt in May 2020 while testing a pattern for designer, Brittany Tunison, of White Plains Quilts. I was able to share some sneak peeks online, but not a full reveal until today, when the pattern was made public. It is her first pattern and I’m honored to have been able to sew it, help with edits and finish with this baby quilt in the weeks before its release. Considering I was in my “no new fabric, use what you have” phase, I opted for the baby size. That phase was driven by being frugal as much as it was being forced by “non-essential” businesses still being closed.

When I first saw the pattern draft, I knew immediately which fabrics I wanted to use. I’d been holding onto this Art Gallery Fabric, Lugu by Jessica Swift, for a few months. Those owls drew me in the first time I saw this collection & I’d been saving it for a project where they could shine & be the focal point. Seriously, how fun & vibrant is this print?

Lugu, by Jessica Swift for Art Gallery Fabrics

Initially, I chose Art Gallery Fabrics Pure Solids for the accents and then decided to add some with small print. It meant setting aside some of my HST and creating more, but I’m glad I did; I think it was just the right amount of contrast, but still having some fine details.

This pattern has the same size blocks for every size quilt; the quantity you make is the difference between the finished sizes. I thought that was great planning. I knew I just wanted to make a baby quilt, but let’s say you’re creating this with scraps and you want a long-term project. You could continue making blocks and then size “up” when you had made enough to suit yourself.

Half-square triangles. Sometimes I love them, sometimes I don’t. I’m learning that to love them more, I need to make them more often, so this was a task in improving my skills! And let’s face it, those “squaring up trimmings” are like happy confetti!

Not only did I love the owl print in this collection, I was also fond of this fuchsia print with feathers, geometric lines and crescent moons. Having enough for a single piece backing was almost celebratory! If you’ve seen the backs of many of my quilts, I often piece them & even use leftover scraps from the front or make an additional block so that there is some coordinating reference on each side, once it’s finished. I actually don’t have many finished quilts that are backed with a single fabric. This worked out perfectly & I was even happier to have this mustard print for the binding. I think it frames the front well and pulls in the tone found in the feather graphic on the back.

I enjoyed making this quilt and intend to make a larger version in another color-way in the future. I think a scrappy version could be interesting or even a holiday theme, or dark background. Possibilities are endless. Being a quick finish, with easy to follow instructions, make it even better.

Many thanks to Brittany for choosing me to test this pattern. Any time I can use my editing background while also sewing/quilting, it sure feels like a good day. Congratulations to her on this first design. If you’re looking for a new pattern, go give Brittany a follow and considering adding this one to your library or pattern collection.

Now, to tuck this little lovey away and save for the future!

All photos and text property of Two Terriers Studio. Not to be duplicated or used without permission. This is a non-sponsored post. All opinions are my own; not paid.

Tag: Baby quilt

Spinning Top Quilt

Add-on pattern features

Longarm Quilting

The Dusk and Dawn Quilt