Bright baby quilt on a dreary day

I finished hand sewing the binding on this baby quilt late yesterday afternoon.  It will be a gift for a new baby girl.  I know of a lot of babies that will be arriving later this spring and summer, so I will be making more baby quilts. 

I thought this photo shows had good contrast with the brightness of the quilt, to the dull, dreariness of the day today.  There are remnants of snow in the background, and it sounds like more snow to come tonight. 

My oldest son and daughter-in-law had given me a bunch of 4 inch squares of fabric.  There weren't enough for a whole quilt, so I cut a few more.  I also cut 2 1/4" squares to make the smaller 4 patch units, and 7 1/2" squares for the larger units. 

 

I machine quilted a quarter of an inch on either side of the blocks, using a variegated purple thread.  I probably won't do that again, as I am not liking the dark thread showing up on the fabric.  I did some hand quilting - x's across all the largest blocks in white #8 pearl (perle?) cotton.  I had a terrible time finding #8 pearl cotton in anything other than white, cream, black and burgundy.  I think next time, I'll have to order it online.

I used a sheet for backing, and I'm not caring for how the quilting shows up.  Oh well.  Live and learn!