Garden for Birds Quilt - finished!

My garden for birds quilt is finally finished!  The baby shower was this weekend so it is gifted and safely in hands of the mother-to-be.

 

The making of this quilt has been quite a process. I designed the quilt right after my friend found out she was having a baby girl.  I was really quite excited because all the other babies this year have been boys, and I was more than ready to make something girly.

 

This is the design I came up with - I wanted to make something fresh and colourful and a little bit crazy.  I started the quilt at a retreat, and it was a great opportunity to get a decent start.  It was also helpful having the encouragement and assistance of the other attendees - my friend Helen even did the appliqué on the birds and the leaves.

 

As I progressed, the quilt diverged a bit more from the original design. I enjoy that part of the process - tweaking and changing things.

 

Now the quilt is finished I think it will be just right for my friend and her baby - it's light and bright and has a touch of nature about it.

 

I'm rather pleased with the backing fabric I found - I wanted to use something with a white background to pick up on the white parts on the front, but I also wanted plenty of colour and pattern so that it's not totally impractical for a baby quilt.  It's an older Michael Miller print and so lovely with all the flower pots.

I'm linking this quilt up to the Blogger's Quilt Festival at Amy's Creative Side, in the baby quilt category.  Make sure you head over and check out all the other quilts that have been linked up - there's a wealth of inspiration there.

Quilt Stats
Pattern: my Garden for Birds Quilt

Finished Size: 36" by 42"

Fabric: various 

Backing: Michael Miller Flower Shop print

Binding: blue flower print from Spotlight

Pieced and quilted by: me, appliqué by my friend Helen.

Linking up with finish it up friday at crazy mom quilts.  I'm also linking up to Sew Cute Tuesday which I'm delighted to see is being continued over at my friend Alyce's blog, Blossom Heart Quilts.

This quilt is the first of my fourth quarter finishes. I'll be linking up with Leanne at she can quilt as part of the 2013 Finish Along in due course.