Barrett's first birthday quilt

I saw this quilt on one of the quilting blogs I read (TipToeTango's I Spy ABCs Quilt), and my first thought was that I had to make it for Barrett.  I love everything about this quilt - bright colors, fun fabrics, almost all scraps, and a sweet design without being too "baby."  

I had to buy a couple of yards of the background fabric (Kona Pewter) and some of the colors, but mostly this quilt came out of my scrap bin.  So not only was it fun to make, it used up some of my cute fabrics!  

The alphabet dictates the color as well as the "I Spy" fussy-cut block within the letter.  Here's what I did:

A = aqua + apple

B = blue + boat

C = coral + crab

D = dandelion + dog

E = eggplant + elephants

F = fuchsia + fire

G = gold + gummy bears

H = hunter green + hat

I = ivory + inch (the ruler fabric was all I could find!)

J = jade + jack o'lantern

K = kiwi + kite

L = lavender + ladybugs

M = mustard + Mickey Mouse

N = navy + nuts (most adorable squirrel ever)

O = orange + owl

P = pink + pinwheel

Q = quail grey + quail (ok, it's a cardinal but Q was hard!)

R = red + rabbit

S = strawberry + snowmen

T = turquoise + tractor

U = ultramarine + umbrella

V = violet + vines

W = white + whale (Seinfeld fans, anyone?)

X = xanthic + xtra-terrestrial (I admit, this is a stretch)

Y = yellow + yarn

Z = zucchini + zebra

Then I used some more fussy-cut squares to make the borders.  I used everything I could find, and even used the last of my yellow elephants, ladybugs, and orange crabs.

The backing is a red with aqua polka dot I picked up at JoAnns on sale for $2.49 a yard!  The binding is Kona Caribbean.  Since this is a first birthday quilt, and I'm a sucker for all things nostalgia, the hubs and I managed to get Barrett's handprint in fabric paint on a scrap of white fabric.  This was no small feat as he really didn't want to do it, and also the fabric paint is permanent, so we had to stop him from grabbing us!  Luckily, we got the handprint after two tries.  I put it in the middle of the quilt, within a band of the Kona Caribbean.

I stitched it with the walking foot and light grey thread, following the alphabet blocks up, down, and through each side diagonally.   It created these great intersections on the back, and since there isn't too much quilting, the quilt is ridiculously soft and snuggly.

Funny side story - when I washed this quilt, I put it in the washer with a color catcher, in case the red backing bled.  If you don't know, color catchers look like dryer sheets, but catch all the dyes in the wash.  Well, in our house here, the washing machine drains into the laundry sink next to the washer (it's common here, but nowhere else I've lived!) and somehow that color catcher ended up in the sink.  You guessed it - it clogged the drain and the washing machine water overflowed the tub sink!  Water everywhere!  Luckily, the hubs was home and caught it before a full-on flood, and luckily it's only the basement workshop below.  But man, this quilt is the only quilt that was as much work after finishing it as it was before!