A lot of firsts!

This week I finished the slab baby quilt that I've been working on for awhile.



I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.  It's so much fun to look at!  Just like my Scrappy Trip Around the World, almost every scrap in this quilt has a story to tell.

This is a quilt of many firsts for me.  It was my first slab/improv quilt.  I had seen several quilts using these techniques on other blogs, so I decided it would be fun to try.  I'm really drawn to scrappy. patchwork type quilts right now, and it is so fun to pull scraps out and come up with something that is basically your own design!  It is also my first pieced back.  I really did that out of necessity as I didn't have a piece big enough for the whole back, but it was fun to try to put together fabrics that could really make this quilt reversible.  This quilt holds my first attempt at FMQ, which I blogged about here.  It's far from perfect, but you have to start somewhere!



  

It is also my first time using a fabric for the binding that isn't also somewhere in the quilt.  I chose some black and white polka dots, something I've never worked with before, and it makes a beautiful frame for the colorful slabs and white sashing and borders. 

Also a first for me - I'm going to donate this quilt!  I'm embarassed to say I've never done that before with a quilt of my own, although my quilt group has worked on group projects that we've donated over the years.  This quilt is going to A Mother's Hope for a new mom who is struggling with postpartum depression.  I learned about this through the blog Margaret's Hope Chest, and I'm happy to be giving a little support to someone who needs it.  Even though my sons are grown-ups now, I remember those stressful days all too well!  I hope a new mom will enjoy snuggling her precious baby with this colorful quilt.

And last, but not least, my husband said to me this morning, "You're giving that away? Because I really like it."  How's that for a compliment?  I couldn't ask for more!

I'm linking this quilt up to 100 Quilts for Kids at Swim, Bike, Quilt. and later in the week to Needle and Thread Thursday.