At the end of August, I shared some lovely fabric that I was going to turn into a baby quilt for some local friends expecting their first baby. Today is the baby shower, so both the parents and everyone else can finally get to see the big reveal of the quilt. I’m excited to show you the Combinatorics: Paper Airplanes and Stars baby quilt!
Combinatorics: Paper Airplanes and Stars
Clearly the paper airplanes are obvious in the quilt top (I hope!). 🙂 The quilt top finished at 48 1/2″ square. After quilting and binding it measured 47 1/2″ square (2% shrinkage), and after it’s first wash, the quilt measured 45 1/2″ square (6% shrinkage).
How about a close up to see some detail of the sweet prints?
Combinatorics Paper Airplanes and Stars: Paper Airplane and Quilting Detail
I absolutely adore that the paper airplane looks like it was made from graph paper with the 2 fantastic graph paper prints I was able to find (Modern Mini Graph Paper White by Lori Holt of Bee in my Bonnett for Riley Blake and Graph Paper in Bachelor Blue by Heather Givans from the Jot collection for Windham). The background fabric is Dear Stella’s Beautiful Night Sky Navy with Shooting Stars.
I quilted wavy lines across the quilt using 40wt Aurifil in #2745 (Midnight). After each paper airplane is a series of loops, like contrails, and there are occasional stars quilted randomly as well. But the background fabric and quilting isn’t why this quilt is called Paper Airplanes AND Stars.
Combinatorics: Paper Airplanes and Stars – Quilt Backing
This is a double sided quilt and the design on the back creates a lovely star repeat.
I look forward to explaining more about what I mean with Combinatorics, releasing the pattern for this awesome baby quilt, and more, but right now I’m going to enjoy the baby shower. More soon, I promise!
Until then, here is a snippet from the Wikipedia page about Combinatorics:
[C]ombinatorics is involved with
- the enumeration (counting) of specified structures, sometimes referred to as arrangements or configurations in a very general sense, associated with finite systems,
- the existence of such structures that satisfy certain given criteria,
- the construction of these structures, perhaps in many ways, and
- optimization, finding the “best” structure or solution among several possibilities, be it the “largest”, “smallest” or satisfying some other optimality criterion.
I really do promise I’ll explain more soon and decouple the cryptic definition into quilting terms!!
Linking up with Brag About Your Beauties, a new Friday finish linkup hosted by Michelle at From Bolt to Beauty!
Love the quilt – both the front and the back. I agree that you fabric is perfect!
Way, WAY cool. 🙂
Totally awesome – double sided quilt! I am sure this will be well loved by the parents and the baby. The definition of combinatorics is dense – and I will be interested in hearing your explanation. So many times definitions are not really all that helpful. There is a saying my husband likes to use George Bernard Shaw’s saying that “all professions are a conspiracy against the laity”.
WOW!!!!!!!!!!! <3 <3 <3
What a great quilt! I adore the paper airplanes and the stars that also look cut from paper. Very creative! I’ve not attempted a double sided quilt before. Looking forward to seeing your pattern and explanations. 🙂
This quilt is awesome doubly so! I look forward to reading your explanation on combinatorics.
This is such a fun quilt – I love the back too! Hope you had fun at the shower. 🙂
I love the detail in the plains with the graph paper! Nice touch! What a great quilt that was thought out perfectly from the front to the back! The new parents will love it…and baby will too!
Lovely! I really like the graph paper fabric for the planes and am looking forward to the decoupling.
The paper airplanes quilt is so adorable, and I definitely see the inspiration! I LOVE that it’s truly double-sided. What a great idea!
Gotta love a double sided quilt! This one is a beauty, Yvonne and the new parents will be really happy with it too. I’m scratching my head over the combinatorics so looking forward to your explanation!
So lovely, clever to make it double sided, two quilts in one. I do like the paper airplanes flying all over the quilt, it looks like a wind has come up and is blowing them all hither and thither. I hope you had a great time at the shower.
I love that it is double sided. Paper airplanes and stars work very well together. I kind of see moons between the stars.