Rainbow Love

What a labor of love this quilt was. I finished it (or at least this version) in just two marathon all-day sessions. Exhausting, but so fun.

I started out trying to do a rainbow pattern of my own creation, and after I literally finished piecing every row, I realized it was terrible. I tried inserting different colors, changing the order, but nothing made it sing. So I disassembled it.

I made a very quick pivot to my favorite quilting book, Growing Up Modern by Allison Harris. I’ve made several quilts out of this book (and Breezy several times), and I remembered seeing a rainbow quilt. I checked out the fabric requirements for The Color Block Quilt (the pattern I had remembered) and took myself back to the fabric store. I had previously only purchased solids for the quilt, and I thought this quilt needed some pattern to really make it pop. And I found just the right fabric for the middle square and binding. The backing I had already purchased was still perfect, and I already had some white yardage at home. Finally, I was ready to start again.

I cut out the middle piece and did a pink square around it. My rainbows always start with pink - a holdover from years ago when my daughter always substituted pink for red because it was her favorite color. I did another round of pink. It was fun to watch it come together, but it was also bed time.

So the next morning, I got up and just went until the quilt top was finished. This pattern was SO addicting! Never have I had this much fun piecing a quilt. I cut each color as I went and then added it to the square. I couldn’t wait to get to the next color to see how the new additions looked. It was almost as fun as when I knit colorwork hats (my absolute favorite!).

I finished it off in another marathon session, doing all of the quilting and binding, not to mention using my amazing new sewing machine to embroider a beautiful quilt label. I have never labeled one of my quilts, so this was a fun new thing for me! The excitement of using the embroidery attachment hasn’t worn off for me yet (be sure to check out the custom embroidered gift bags I’m making on my Etsy store!).

I loved The Hungry Caterpillar backing fabric I found for this quilt. As a big book nerd with fond memories of this book as a child, I couldn’t resist. Of course, I also had to buy the board book to go along with it!

I chose this binding fabric without realizing what a great match it actually was for the book’s title page!

But still, I couldn't stop. Wouldn’t it be great to gift the quilt and book in a coordinating gift bag? Yes, it would! So I went through my scraps and came up with a couple of versions of the rainbow, framed it with the caterpillar fabric and some bold purple and green, and voila! A lovely, happy bag that can be reused to carry cherished toys, spare clothes, or even the quilt for years to come. Using the dot fabric I had used for the binding for the top of the lining makes the bag really sing when it’s closed. Those happy little rainbow dots just peeking out really make me smile!

The real icing on the cake for this gift was that I (totally by chance) found this amazing Hungry Caterpillar toy when I walked into a local toy store. The sweet fabric basket comes with a removable caterpillar and a selection of his treats!

I was so thrilled to gift to my new niece. I hope her parents love it, and that it also becomes something she appreciates and uses a lot as she grows.