Why Hello There, Mr. Alligator

What?!  I have a finish that I can actually blog about?!  I feel like I haven’t had anything that I have been able to share for so long now!  But don’t you worry, this is the first of many more finishes to show.

I recently had a custom order for a new toddler quilt from the awesome blogger behind Diamonds, Dog Tags and Diapers.

She had exactly what she wanted in mind, and even helped with the fabric selection.

Chelsea had purchased a vinyl of an alligator to base the room off of.  I used Mr. Alligator to create an applique template for the bottom of the quilt.

This quilt was an odd size.  It’s more than twice the size of a standard baby quilt.  I resized the alligator down a tiny bit, but didn’t want to do too much.  The little guy it is for is also 1 1/2.  A little old for a small baby quilt.  So I made this one big enough for him to grow into.  It’s large on the crib, but once the bed is converted into a toddler bed, it will fit perfectly!

I used Kona solids from Robert Kaufman for the navy and white stripes.  Kona’s are my go to solids, and I am so excited for all of their new colors!  They are super soft, good quality and have never found one to bleed, a necessity for making a quilt that is made to be loved and used!

The back is Shore Thing by Emily Herrick for Michael Miller.  It was ok online, wasn’t anything that I was excited about.  In person though, it is SO much better.  I am thinking of ordering some more to make some shorts for my little guy!

The alligator and binding is the crosshatch from Puppy Park from Riley Blake.  It was the perfect crosshatch for this project.  Reads as a solid, but still has dimension to it.  And the greens go PERFECT with the Shore Thing.

I really love how it turned out!  It was really fun to make too!  I haven’t done any applique on my new machine, only on my old little Brother.  Oh my word, the new machine made ALL the difference.  I actually enjoyed doing it!  There might be some more applique in my future!