Island Baby Quilt

I finished a baby quilt for my very good friend, Nia.  She is having a baby boy and they are going to name him Toa.  She is Samoan and I just love the meaning behind the name they have chosen for their son.  Toa means strong/warrior. 

I finished this quilt up at a quilting retreat I was lucky enough to attend.  I wasn’t signed up for this one but a friend, Irene, offered me her spot when she realized that she wouldn’t be able to go.  I was so excited.  I love retreats for not only the hours and hours of uninterrupted sewing time I get but also that I get to know the other women in my guild so much better.  I just couldn’t resist the gorgeous grounds to take pictures of the finished quilt.

Years ago I won these island prints from a giveaway that Jodi over at Pleasant Home was hosting.  I have saved them and when I found out Nia was pregnant I knew I wanted to use these fabrics for a quilt for her baby.  The blue is Kona Candy Blue and I used a wonderfully soft flannel for the back.

I wasn’t sure how the quilting would go with flannel since I haven’t every quilted with a flannel backing before.  It went well, although I was going to just keep it really simple with some straight line sewing.  But my friend, Barb, suggested free motion quilting a motif along the columns of island fabrics.  She drew a few ideas for me and I settled on these half hearts.  I love how it turned out.

I’ll post more retreat pictures soon!