Baby Quilt Advice
I'm making a baby quilt for my SIL who is expecting in June. And the more I've thought about this quilt, and played and toyed with fabrics, the more the quilt design has changed. Ultimately I have decided to not do sashing around my blocks, and turn the quilt into a "scrappy irish chain". This quilt has to be scrappy because of fabrics that are being included in it. I don't have very much of certain sentimental fabrics. The "sentimental fabrics" come from two shirts that belonged to my SIL's father who passed away of renal failure in 2007. And they are a tad bit more boyish than girlish, and we've been told this baby is a girl.
The advice I need involves what to do about a measurement issue. My blocks are going to be 9 inches, not 12 inches as my quilting book recommends. Also my quilting book only gives directions to make a twin size quilt. This is a crib sized quilt. I've figured up the number of blocks that will fit a 45x60 crib quilt, and I've purchased my batting. There's only 1 problem...9 will divide into 45 evenly, but not into 60. I have a gap of 6 inches in the length. I thought about filling that gap with a white border at the top. But that would involve cutting a whole new square pattern to fit the gap, and there would be 1/2 a foot of plain white fabric at the top of the quilt. I'm not sure that would look right and work well. Would it look better and work better to put a 3 inch "border" at the top and the bottom of the quilt? I need for this quilt to actually be crib sized as it will be used as a quilt for the crib when my SIL makes up the baby's bed. She puts all sorts of pretty things in the crib when she makes it up, and then takes it all out when she puts the baby to bed in the crib.
Also, what's the best way to sign a quilt? I've heard about iron on quilt labels, but it's been my experience that they don't hold up well to washing and drying. Is there a pen that I could actually write on the quilt backing with when the quilt is finished? I want to sign this quilt with my signature and the date it was made as well as put a small message on it.