A Baby Quilt Start.

Sometimes baby quilt inspiration is easy, and I know exactly what I want to do. But sometimes it's not. In that case, I usually use my go-to baby quilt pattern, Northern Lights by Jaybird Quilts. (I've made three different incarnations.) This time, my ideas kept conspiring against me. I couldn't find a palette that I was happy with. I waffled between colors, finally settling on a blue ombre, but then I couldn't find a blue ombre kona list online. True. Story.

I pulled out my blue stash, but wasn't feeling any inspiration there. I perused fabric stores online but couldn't decide on anything. I pulled out my blue scraps, more out of frustration than anything else, but they were a hot mess, so I started sorting them into itty bitty, larger pieces, and strings. And I had a mountain of strings.

Then, I remembered this idea that I considered a few months ago. Blue Elephant Stitches decided to pick a quilt book and make a version of every quilt in the book. I thought that sounded like a pretty rad idea, but I didn't know of a book where I liked more than three or four things. That changed when I encountered Modern Rainbow by Rebecca Bryan. I LOVE this book. I love almost every single quilt in it. Why not start my own quilt book journey and use this baby quilt as a jumping off point?

I'm working on my version of Bubbles. I used Bryan's hearth size and finished block size as my goal, but my log cabins are improv-y, mostly because my strings were all different sizes. I'm using fewer blocks as I only want a baby size, not a lap size. But this quilt is going to look rad when it's done, and I'm excited about it. I'm also really enjoying the piecing process. Sorting through strings, plucking out the one that works best, trying to keep my lights and darks balanced...ah. This is a happy Audrey.

Or I would be, if I wasn't fighting a cold. It's mild, and I imagine I'll be back to order tomorrow, but can I just whine about it for a minute? And also mention that I've been sucking down this tea, which I was recently gifted for my birthday. It's super tasty.

Can I also just mention that I find it hilarious and ironic that TODAY, Yvonne of Quilting Jetgirl posted the most perfect blue kona ombre list. I'm taking it as a sign that I was supposed to make this quilt instead of the other one. But it's still funny. And I'm totally bookmarking that list in case I need it in the future. And in case you were looking for a blue ombre list...you're welcome.