easy toddler fundraiser top: finished

Last November,  my son-in-law's mother asked me to make a toddler-sized fundraiser quilt for the daycare/preschool that she is associated it.

For this one, I wanted something that was easy to construct and not too fancy or intricate.  All of you know that fundraiser items just never get the amount they deserve.  Especially anything handmade.  The audience, bless their souls for being at the fundraiser, typically isn't too discerning regarding handmades.  So, I didn't want to put a whole *lot* of effort into this; no intricate piecing, no applique (specifically, no *hand* applique), no custom quilting.

 

I went through my library of inspirational photos I've been collecting over the years and decided on a simple 4-patch surrounded by a wide frame.  The blocks are 10" and with a layout of 4x5 blocks, the finished size will be about 40" x 50".  

 

I had recently "rediscovered" my flannel stash and was inspired to use the remnants buried in it for this quilt.  One thing about flannels, you need to minimize the number of seams and intersections because sometimes you just can NOT get those intersections *flat* and when you increase the number of seams, you're also increasing the weight of the quilt.

 

Additionally, since we *are* in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, winters just aren't really COLD, ya know?  So, we typically don't need really warm quilts.  To keep my "costs" down, I have opted to not use batting at all.  Instead, I am going to use fleece as batting/backing.  I've done this in other quilts and the result is wonderful.  The quilt is soft, warm, drapeable and washable ... all requirements necessary for a toddler quilt.

 

This  is a photo of the finished top.  I do need to complete the quilting on the quilt that's currently loaded on Lizzie before I can do this one ... so that gives me incentive to return to the quilting.  If I remember correctly, the fundraiser is sometime in March. 

 

I plan on using an all-over quilting design.