First Finish of 2013!I

I just found out that my eldest daughter's friend is having a baby - and I couldn't make her a baby quilt fast enough! She doesn't know if it's a girl or a boy - I have no idea what kind of decor she wants - she might not even know yet!
Regardless, I went to my LQS and found the perfect fabric!  It was a panel with the 8 number blocks on it...I could have just bordered it and finished it like that...nope!
I found several other fabrics to pair with it - the yellow with animal tracks on it, an aqua/white check, and an orange print - and started throwing fabric on the wall.

I wanted 9 blocks instead of 8 - nicer baby quilt size - so I found a scrap of this cute dog fabric, and bordered it with lime green (because every quilt is better with a little lime green in it, right?) - and set the 9 blocks with some checked sashing and orange print cornerstones.

Do you sew your tops together like this? Start by sewing the first  vertical column of blocks to the second vertical column; then sew to the next vertical column, until all are sewn. Don't trim threads yet.

Press all seams toward the sashing sections - don't trim threads yet! Then sew all horizontal seams, again pressing all seams toward the sashing sections. Voila - the center is all together!
Then I just added a narrow orange border, layered with batting and the cute yellow print on the back, and bound it with the aqua check.  We tied with embroidery floss.

First finish of 2013!