My Little Sunshine Blog Hop

*The winner for Cherry's fabric giveaway is Val's Quilting Studio.  Congratulations!  A reminder to all who leave comments.....PLEASE make sure you are not a "no reply" blogger.  The first two names that Mr. Random drew were both no reply.

Benartex introduced Cherry Guidry's new fabric line, My Little Sunshine, yesterday and they are positively adorable.  I have enjoyed following Cherry's journey in the quilting world for many years - as a quilter and now as a designer.  Some of my favorite quilts in my home are from Cherry's designs.  I love that she is also designing fabrics. 

As my regular followers know, I sew a lot for our 29 grandchildren and there is nothing more fun that sewing for babies - especially when you have great fabrics.  This new line of fabrics has such soft colors and darling designs so I jumped at the chance of sewing up something with them.

One thing that new moms always appreciate are sweet little burp cloths.  They are easy to make and I will show you how I do mine.  You will need a main fabric and a coordinating flannel.  One fat quarter will give you two burp cloths.

The first obvious thing that you need to do is to make a pattern.  This size works great with fat quarters.

Draw a large rectangle measuring 18"x9".

I like to round my corners to make sewing and turning easier.  I simply use a spool of thread and round off my corners.

The next marking you will need to make is a curve so the burp cloth will fit snuggly at the neck.  To do this I mark the center of my rectangle on the long side.

From that edge I will mark in at 1 1/4" and taper down about 3" - curving back to the edge like this.

Now cut out all of your new markings.  I like to fold my pattern in half at the center mark and make that neck cut from the fold which will give you the same cut on both sides of the fold.

Ta da.....  pattern finished.

Using that pattern you will cut two pieces - one of the main fabric and one of a coordinating flannel.

Place the two pieces right sides together and sew with 1/2" seam allowance all the way around,
leaving a 3" opening along the long side.

Clip all the curves and then turn inside out through the 3" opening.  Slip stitch the opening closed. Press well.

Top stich 1/4" all the way around and your burp cloth is finished.

Of course, I had to do a little machine embroidery on the flannel (before assembly) so the backside would be as cute as the front.

A bonus.......look at these darling selvages.  They quickly went into my selvage project pile.

I thought a matching quick quilt would make a sweet addition to the burp cloths as a new baby gift.

Lots of texture with a soft minky type fabric backing

Finished size 36 x 45"

Detail of the quilting - giraffes, elephants and lions. Can you read the delightful text print of the gray and the alphabet print on the yellow...... LOVE both!!

If you have enjoyed seeing these cute fabrics and have some sewing to do for little ones, Benartex is generously giving away a fat quarter bundle to one of my readers.  Please check out their blog site and let me know which one of Cherry's fabrics you like the best from her collection.  Contest is open to U.S.A. mailing addresses.  I will draw a winner at the end of the hop.  Be sure to check out the Benartex blog each day for other chances to win.

Here's the blog hop schedule:

Tuesday: Mary @ Needled Mom

Wednesday: Carol @ Just Let Me Quilt

Thursday: Erin @ Avery Lane Designs

Friday: free patterns @ Sew in Love with Fabric

Monday: Elaine @ Summer Crafter

Tuesday: Annie @ Annie Smith