KISS – Keep It Simple Stupid!
Now, please don’t be offended – I am not calling any of you stupid!
Nor am I suggesting that everything you do should be simple.
However, there are times when we either want a simple project that we can complete relatively quickly, or we need the dreaded present that is required in far less time than it takes to make an elaborate quilt. There’s no time to make a difficult quilt in this situation. So what do we do?
How about using a panel?
Don’t dismiss them. Panels come in many shapes and sizes. They are often associated with children’s themes, but panels come in all sorts of designs, suitable for adults as well as children.
The advantage of a panel is that your treatment can be quite simple. After all, you want the panel to shine.
Late in 2020 I wanted to make a couple of playmats / throws for my soon to be born grandchild. I had decided not to make a quilt yet, because I wanted to get to know my grandchild first.
Requirements for a playmat:
– Unisex – as my daughter had decided not to find out the baby’s sex!
– Reasonably priced – this is meant to be used on a floor, so I am not spending on top quality / top priced fabrics. However, I always use good quality batting / wadding.
– Washable – because the house has dogs!
– Quick – I wanted this to be used without being too “precious” about it.
I already had some baby themed fat quarters in yellows and white, so I managed to find a yellow and white baby themed panel with some nice messages on – a Windham panel “You are My Sunshine”, which was 63×110 cm (24×44 in).
To put some effort and skill into it, I used the fat quarters to make a ‘friendship braid’ to go all of the way around the panel. This has the advantage of enlarging the panel too.
I used the remainder of the fat quarters to make a pieced back – I was lucky because I had only just enough fabric ! I sandwiched it with 80/20 cotton / polyester wadding. Then I just did some simple wavy line walking foot quilting and bound it et voila! There was a playmat!
While I was making this playmat, I got distracted. What a surprise!
The thing is, my grandchild was known as Baby Yoda before they were born, because Dad is a Star Wars / Mandalorian fan. Then, while idly flicking through an online fabric shop, I saw this panel:
It is from Camelot Fabrics and, given the bump’s nickname, I just had to have it! It was 36×44 in (91×110 cm), so I bought enough associated Baby Yoda fabric and gave it the simplest treatment – added a little plain navy blue strip in the middle and a strip of Baby Yoda fabric at each side. I sandwiched it with quality polyester wadding (because it is intended to be regularly washed) and gave it the simplest wavy line walking foot quilting.
As a result of using the panels, I very quickly had 2 playmats / lap quilts for my grandchild. Simple – proving a quilt doesn’t always have to be complex to be effective and useful.
My beautiful granddaughter, Iona, was born on 26 January 2021. So now I can get to know her and plan her proper heirloom quilt. I could not do it before I knew her, after all. In the mean time, she has some useful and fun playmats from her grandmother.
[ **Please note that the fabrics and the Star Wars / Mandalorian / Baby Yoda names are all subject to copyright. Fabrics of this sort can be used for personal use (as these were), but it is illegal to used them for items made for sale. ]
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