Retro Bunny Baby Quilt

This week's project was a sweet little baby quilt/play mat for a good friend who is due any day now with her second little girl. She mentioned to me that she really liked handmade items so I thought I'd surprise her with a little play quilt made with some "retro" bunny fabric that I had in my stash.

Since time is precious these days, I decided on a simple stripe pattern for the quilt top and used the "backing + binding" method to finish off the binding. I usually like to bind my quilts with separate binding fabric but I wanted to give this method a try. With help from this tutorial by You had me at bon jour, I found the technique quite easy. In fact, I was able to baste, quilt and bind the quilt in one evening.

Instead of a gift bag, I found this gorgeous tote from my local Cath Kidson. I loved the colors and thought it would be more useful for hauling around baby stuff vs. a traditional gift bag.

Finally as a little reward for myself, I picked up the latest issue of "Ideal Home" magazine. I'm a sucker for nautical themed decorating and this issue is absolutely packed with all things coastal. A perfect summer read :)