I'm making a lot of Christmas gifts this year.  In the past few years, I've had a hard time shopping for a lot of the people on my list at Christmas-time, so I'm going to try to go the handmade route this year.

My in-laws are going to be the proud (I hope) recipients of a quilt this Christmas.  They are quite possibly some of the hardest people to shop for, and I've spotted my mother-in-law admiring the quilt I made for my living room when she's been over at my house recently, so I thought a quilt would be a fantastic gift for them this year.  Choosing the fabrics was a huge challenge.  Their taste is very different from mine, and I worried that if I picked fabrics that were 100% their taste that I would drag my heels on making this quilt, not feeling the love for the fabric and such.  So, I kind of compromised.

I found a collection of fabric that seemed to be their style, would match their house, but bring in a new color to the mix - blue.  I'm truly hoping they won't have some kind of hatred for blue.  Cross your fingers for me.  I know a lot of modern quilters aren't fans of pre-cut fabrics, like layer cakes and such, but I think they work out great as gifts.  Many of the other quilts I've made I've hand selected each fabric, but with this one, I knew it would be easier if I could find a whole collection that would work for my in-laws, rather than hand-selecting each fabric.


I found this pattern on Moda Bake Shop, after getting a stellar deal on a layer cake for this quilt.  The pattern was super easy to follow, and I'm nearly done with the quilt top, I just need to sew the rows together.

I've laid the whole quilt out, so I've got an idea of what it look like all put together, and I'm debating whether or not I will add the borders that the pattern calls for.  I'm not a huge fan of borders in a quilt.  I guess I'll decide when I get the whole thing sewn together and go from there.  I tend to be kind of awful at cutting long strips of sashing.  The mixtape quilt I made for my niece was a perfect example, both the doll quilt version and the twin sized version.  Either I truly suck at folding the fabric correctly to yield a good result, or I am in need of some remedial rotary cutter schooling.

In any case, stay tuned to see how this one turns out...and in a few months, how it's received by the in-laws!  Hopefully, they will adore it!