The idea for this baby quilt was to do something quickly, as the baby turned one in July and it was mid-September when I finally got started on his gift. Obviously that idea didn’t pan out, it being mid-November right now. The pattern (Tileworks from Quiltmaker magazine, September/October 2004) is simple enough as written, but of course I couldn’t bring myself to do it as written. I had to modify it so I could cut big squares from the large scale construction vehicle prints I’d chosen as the focus. That choice meant assembling the top was more like putting together a puzzle than most quilts I do. It was still sewing smaller pieces together to make bigger units, but those bigger units weren’t a uniform size or shape and some of them required partial seam piecing, which is slower than the chain piecing I usually do. Adding to the problem was the fact I didn’t work out the sewing sequence in full until after I’d cut all the pieces; it turned out that in some cases I needed different pieces than the ones I’d cut. Ah well, these things happen.

I had the top done before we left for London, but pre-trip prep and post-trip catching up with life meant there were a few weeks when I didn’t touch it at all. By the time I got back to it, I just wanted to finish, so I did plain grid quilting with a multi-colored cotton thread instead of getting fancy. I think it’s fine. The colors are bright enough and some of the prints busy enough that there’s lots to look at already. And if the front doesn’t please, it can be flipped over to allow tiny toy cars to be driven along the roads there. Of course there are some stretches under construction, because that’s good preparation for driving in the real world.