Squared Straight – A Modern Baby Quilt

Angela Pingel Squared Straight quilt

This quilt has been a long time in the making. I believe that I started the blocks over 3 years ago. I had just discovered modern quilting and this was my very first attempt at not using a pattern for the blocks. Improvising was a completely new concept for me! I had a bit of extra Amy Butler fabric that is the orange and blue stripe and that inspired the color scheme.

Angela Pingel Squared Straight quilt

Each block is completely unique with the only thing they all have in common is the small orange center block. I wanted to do a modern interpretation of a traditional log cabin. Traditional log cabin quilts were often made with a small red center block. And though red would have been a great color to use too, I wanted to do something different. Orange and Turquoise are complimentary colors and as such create very high contrast with each other. Different shades of blue create some depth to the quilt while the orange maintains consistency.

Angela Pingel Squared Straight quilt

All the blocks were originally different sizes and the color scheme had me puzzled for a while. I think that I originally planned on using white as the main background color, but I ended up using an off white floral print that just would not work against a bright white. So I put these blocks in a bag and would pull them out every few months…look at them…lay them out and try to find the right arrangement…and ultimately put them back away still confused. I’m not quite sure why the pattern alluded me for so long. Because I look at it now and it just makes sense to me.

Angela Pingel Squared Straight quilt

And then one day, out of the blue (so to speak LOL), I just knew what I needed to do. I needed a beautiful light shade of yellow that was pale enough to act as a background color but had enough color to not come off as cream. Thankfully I was able to find such a color…though don’t ask me what it is called! I can’t remember now. So I put a small white border around each block and then used the yellow background fabric to square up the blocks to the same size. The large amount of a peaceful background color really lets each block stand out on its own.

Angela Pingel Squared Straight quilt

So the top was created and I was pretty quick to get it basted with a sweet white and turquoise decorator fabric for the back. I even made the binding out of a matching polka dot orange fabric and had it in a roll all ready to go. And then I rolled it up and thought “I’ll get to that soon”. Yeah…hmmm… that didn’t happen. Eventually it made its way under the guest bed where I didn’t have to feel guilty that I hadn’t finished it yet. Once again I was stumped.

Angela Pingel Squared Straight quilt

And then, once again, inspiration struck and I knew exactly how I wanted to quilt this. So this week, I pulled it out, dusted it off, and unrolled it. Then I used my longest ruler and some tailor’s chalk to create a layout of overlapping and interlocking squares. I wanted the quilting to stand out, so I chose to quilt in quite a bright shade of turquoise. The thread looks like the brightest blue in the quilt! It was a little scary to start, but I reminded myself that I’m not afraid of color and set about quilting.

Angela Pingel Squared Straight quilt

The sweetest thing about making this was the very last part. I was hand sewing the binding (as I always do), relaxing in front of the tv watching the Glee season premiere episode for the 2nd time, drinking a cosmopolitan that my lovely husband made me…when my little 9 month started rocking out to the songs on Glee. It was so stinking cute and such a perfect moment.

A drink. Some fun music. Quilting. And my family having a great time. What more could I ask for?

Angela Pingel Squared Straight quilt

17 thoughts on “Squared Straight – A Modern Baby Quilt”

  1. Love the quilting Angela … it really suits it. Sometimes it's better to wait until inspiration comes … it turns a quilt from one you like into one you love 🙂

  2. Thanks for sharing your story about the evolution of this quilt. I love to hear how other people conquer some of their quilting problems especially when they end up with quilts as wonderful as this one! I really love the soft buttery yellow fabric and the unique quilting!

  3. this is so great. I love the yellow, and the blocks, and the quilting!

    Beautiful.

    (and Steiger and I were rocking out to the Glee season premiere too… he especially liked when Rachel and the Filipina girl were singing in the bathroom)

  4. Sometimes the pieces have to fall together one at a time. I think it's allowing that breath in between that gives room for new creativity. The quilting is my favorite part!

    Btw, I got the book today. Thanks again.

  5. Thanks for walking us through the creative process for this quilt. I like knowing that it is the stripped fabric that inspired the quilt. It's nice to see the great blocks that came from that little stripe fabric.

    I go through the same stages with some of my quilts too. The blocks are done, but how to finish it – should there be a frame around each block – should there be sashing – what colour – what quilting style – why am I stuck… I love reading about the problems you encountered and the process you went through to finish the quilt.

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