For once, I'm not the only person excited about a finished quilt in my family.  In fact, I think the whole family is excited about this one, especially my munchkin, Ryan.  I have been sneaking around with this quilt for the last day or so, stealthily sticking it in the washer and dryer, hurrying it outside for photos while he was sleeping, so it was a full-on surprise when he got to see it all finished and ready to use.


This quilt started out by happenstance when a friend of mine shared some scraps for an I-Spy quilt she was working on.  We also stumbled on a boatload of Toy Story and Spiderman charm squares at a semi-local quilt shop, and then I started formulating an idea for a quilt for Ryan, using some of the squares from the Gen X Quilters Japanese Imports Fabric Swap as well as some superheroes and other characters he would enjoy, along with some rainbow solids to give the eye a place to rest.



Then, at Jo-Ann's one night, I stumbled upon a bolt of Captain America comic book fabric, and the deal was dealed.  I bought all that they had of the comic book fabric, which then became the centerpiece of the quilt backing.  There wasn't quite enough for the whole back, so I let Ryan pick out a Kona solid from my color card for the rest, Kona Bahama Blue.


When I finished piecing the quilt top, Ryan was ecstatic.  He spent an hour or more looking at all the different squares and squealing when he found characters that he knew.  I decided to keep the rest of the quilt under wraps until it was finished, which was relatively easy with the big-time mess I was rocking in my sewing room.



Quilt Stats
Name: Ryan's Guy Quilt
Size: 70" x 86"
Fabrics: So many!!  Dinosaur Train, Marvel superheroes, Spiderman, Monsters Inc, Superman, Batman, Cat in the Hat, Little Golden Books, various Japanese prints, various Kona and Free Spirit solids, and more!
Quilting: Overall meandering stipple in white Gutermann thread by me
Binding: Timeless Treasures Shipyard Textural in Sky

The whole room, all done

Once upon a time...there was a little boy who was unusually tall for his age.  And his parents talked in passing about moving him into a twin bed, with him quickly outgrowing his toddler bed, and suddenly, lists were being made.  Shopping trips planned.  My husband and I are pretty project oriented, so when we decided to move our son Ryan into a big boy bed, it was full steam ahead for both of us.

Ryan's really big on rockets and astronauts, so I thought outer space would make a great theme for the new room.  And then, I remembered the box of clearance fabric in my closet. Oh, Fabric.com, your blowout sales are so killer sometimes!  I snapped up the whole Robots collection by David Walker for $3/yd earlier this year, not really knowing what I would do with it, just that it was adorable, and I that it would make my munchkin smile.  I knew it was the perfect place to start for a twin-sized quilt to go with this new big boy bed.

Rockets and Robots Oh My! quilt front

At first, I wanted to make another mixtape quilt, but then, I decided for the sake of continuity for my son, I would use the same pattern I used for his baby quilt, the Zoology quilt.  I adapted Elizabeth Hartman's Simple Modern Baby Quilt pattern to fit a twin size bed, causing a big headache for me, thanks to all the math, but leading to a really adorable quilt finish.

The fully randomly pieced back

An attempt at being arty...

He even snuggles on the couch to watch TV with the quilt sometimes.   So sweet!