Open for debate

So I'm planning the whole decoration of the nursery, right?

I'm in bed all day, searching the internet, buying stuff online...

And I'm thinking about the curtains and the crib quilt, etc etc etc. Now that I know it's a girl, I've got the right fabrics and... I'm missing a quilt pattern. I'm all for squares, always have been and always will be, but besides squares, there are other patterns I like. I just don't know if Ii like them enough for such a high stakes thing. I mean, it's my first (and probably only, by the look of things) baby and I want it to be perfect. Am I being foolish to put such pressure in this? I know that I'll be making her other crib quilts eventually, maybe not curtains - those I plan to use for a long time - but why oh why is it so hard for me to decide which pattern to go with? Should I just do a sampler quilt? I like squares, bento-box, circles, disappearing 9 patch, bricks, I like a lot of things... I don't particularly like stars and pinwheels but... there're OK too.

Because of my limitations (both physical and experience-wise) I was just thinking of keeping it simple, but then my mom and my husband bullied me a bit into something more out of my comfort zone and then my sister in law said something that also got me thinking... I mean, I'm so confused and I haven't even started anything.

So... since everyone around me is already throwing their ideas at me even if I don't ask for them, at least YOU could give me your ideas. Yes... I'm asking...

What should I do???

A work in (relatively fast) progress

This is the new baby quilt I was telling you about. Before piecing it...



And after piecing it.




I found that all these squares made a too square quilt (does that even make any sense?) so I had to add 4 more rows. So now there's a total of 300 squares of 5 cm, that have 4 cm after piecing, of course. Without the binding it now measures 60 cm x 76 cm. Is it too small to be used in a stroller? I have no idea...

I have already chose a flannel for the backing (something appropriately called "Bundle of Joy")and I'm using a leftover of bamboo batting. Now it's just waiting to be quilted. The question is:

how to quilt it?

If I make little X's, I'll probably end up with a very busy quilt, what with all the colours and patterns and all. The sames goes for free motion quilting, which by the way is lovely and fun but is it just me or the quilts loose some of that soft feeling to them? I have never been successful at stiching in the ditch, which seems ideal to me in this quilt, but man there's a lot of ditches around here... It scares me crazy! And I can't go with my usual quilting (1/4 inch to both sides of the ditch) because then the lines would be too close together, because the squares are kind of tiny (ish).

So, any suggestions?

I'm taking my time with this one (I started roughly a week ago) and having lots of fun. My mother has already seen it and liked it so much she even praised it to her guests on saturday (that was a first, the praise, not the guests), so I'm feel AOK with this. And of course I'm uber excited about finishing it, like I always am. Boy do I love some finished project!!!

Made in Brasil

Os tecidos que os meus pais me trouxeram do Brasil não são 100% de algodão e eu nem sei muito bem o que são. Foram comprados no sambódromo no Rio de Janeiro e acho que são os tecidos com os quais são feitos os fatos do mítico desfile de Carnaval.

Como não tenciono sambar e estes tecidos - pelas suas cores e padrões tão "brasileiros" e pela sua textura diferente - não se enquadram com nada do que tenho, não me sinto muito inspirada.

Aceito sugestões!



*** Mind the Translation ***

The fabrics my parents brought me from Brazil are not 100% cotton and I'm not really sure what they are really. They were bought at the sambódromo in Rio and I'm under the impression these are the same fabrics with which the costumes for the famous carnival parade are made of.

As I don't plan on dancing samba and these fabrics - with their colours and patterns so "brazilian" and their different texture - don't get along with anything else I have, I'm not feeling that inspired.

I'll take your suggestions, please!