Pink Lemonade for Sophia

I did it! I finished the binding (always my dread). This pink and yellow quilt (affectionately titled 'Pink Lemonade' is for Sophia. She turns 3 this week, so the 56"x71" size should be sufficient for her to use as a makeshift tent, a princess robe, an outdoor magic carpet, or simply a blanket for the bed. I love the dark pink and yellow dot print that is the inner border. I free-motion quilted it on the machine using the Bernina Stitch Regulator:
The back is a hodge podge of batiks. You should have seen me trying to sew them all together - I am pleased it actually came out flat. The yellow stripe was coincidental - I just needed a bit of fabric to make the pink piece longer - but it seems to go well with the yellow binding. My favorite section of the bright yellow binding is the fabric from Jan Mullenz Stargazey collection - I say, there should be a reprint of that entire collection. I notice bits and pieces from that line in various quilts I see at shows, and I am thrown into a nostalgia from ten years ago when I was really getting into quilting and that line came out.
But the real reason I used these blue batiks was the following phone conversation I had with Sophia a month ago: me "Sophia, I'm making you a pink and yellow quilt." Sophia "But I don't LIKE Lellow, I like blue!" Then Sarah got on the phone while telling Sophia in the background, "You like ALL the colors." Sarah said Sophia's favorite color has been black, gold, pink, blue, etc.. and she expects it to be something different every day. (Back when I first thought about making her a quilt, her self-professed favorite colors were pink and yellow - that was back when I made her that doll with the huge skirts and the scary-looking, poorly drawn face.) So now Sophia can happily use either side of the quilt.

Meanwhile, I was going to tell you how to make this quilt. It's very simple really. Pick two (or more, whatever you like) colors, and cut 48 total pieces the following size: 9"x4.5". (I chose 9" because a lot of my fabrics are long quarters so the cut comes perfectly off the end of one of those). I did 24 pieces from yellows (lights, mediums and darks) and 24 from pinks (lights to darks). Then sew one pink to one yellow, for a total of 24 blocks, now measuring 9"x8.5". Then whack those in half after pressing, giving you 48 'bricks' (with two squares per brick) that measure 4.5"x8.5". Then, cut 48 pieces from your stash measuring 4.5"x8.5". These are long bricks with only one piece. Next, sew one long brick to one 2-square brick. Do that 48 times. You'll have 48 blocks. Then lay out the blocks on the floor, 6 blocks by 8 blocks, until you get something pleasing, then sew the blocks together in rows, then sew the rows together, then add borders and quilt and bind. Enjoy!