This is not a tutorial, as such. This is just a diagram of a quilt that I thought up last night for the comfort quilts I make for foster children. I don't know when I'll have time to do it myself, but I wanted to share the idea. Please use this for charity quilting or personal use only.

It is a very simple pattern, and measurements are given so figuring out the cutting instructions, etc. should not be hard for someone who has some quilting experience. House and tree blocks are fairly easy to find in books or online, or to work out on graph paper if one cannot be found in the appropriate size.
There is a 5" paper pieced tree block here: http://blockcentral.com/qb-tree.shtml

My mom made me a floor mat (not quilted) in a similar style when I was a kid, and she has made one for my son and nephew as well. The idea is to drive the toy cars/tractors down the sashing like a road. I think it would be cute to use different novelty prints in some of the blocks - farm animals, tractors, corn, etc.

Thanks Butterflyblue, I'll have to try this sometime soon!

ok i was just a bit fast nice pattern my kids would like it.

Cute quilt!

Very good idea for a quilt. It personalizes it for the child also. Your a very caring person. It may be just what the child needs. hugs

Okay, here is a simple house block I adapted from something I did a couple of years ago. Instructions are bare-bones. Again, you'll have to be able to work from a diagram only to construct this. If anyone notices any errors in the measurements, please let me know. :)

The second picture is a potholder made from the house pattern this was adapted from. Basically, I replaced all the tiny house pieces with one larger block.

Good idea and simple enough for even me to try! Thanx.

Another addition - there is a tutorial for a pocket with flap here: http://www.ikatbag.com/2010/11/pocke...ith-flaps.html

If you have a clothing pattern with an appropriately sized pocket piece (would pretty much have to be a kid's shirt, I think) that would work, or you could recycle by using the pocket off of a child's shirt, and save yourself a lot of sewing.

That is so neat

Cute idea

Butterflyblue, Thank you so much! This would make a perfect Christmas present for my GS. I'd made I Spy quilts for his older sisters but couldn't come up with something different for Jamie. This would be a perfect way to give him a few cars and a playmat too. Chris

Seweasy - glad you like it! If you make one post a picture and let me know.

The more I think about it, the more ideas I keep having. Like quilting the "field" squares with lines that look like furrows.

Thanks for sharing this with us!

cute as can be

This would be so great for my grandson!

Nice idea. Thanks for sharing. :lol: :lol:

Very sweet - thanks so much for sharing!

Makes me think of something similar for my granddaughters: a 4-place setting "tablecloth" quilt for a tea party with plates and teacups appliqued in place ... and using the silvery teflon fabric (like for ironing board covers) for appliqueing spoons and forks next to the plates ... and maybe cupcakes already on a center plate.

Wunder-Mar, what a wonderful idea for little girls. I know my two Gd's love it. I think the kids really appreciate what you can do for them. My two spotted some fabric I have in my stash, and have told me that they want a quilts made of that fabric. The girls' were so excited at what they had found, that I wanted to stop whatever I was working on and start something for them; but I would never get anything done if I did that! Chris

Your idea is great. Love that pocket to put cars in. When my boys were little and I was making them quilts they always asked for a road quilt as they called any design set with sashing. It kept them busy a lot. Thank you.

Thanks for the great ideas. Little boys will love it. I can see roads of different colors to teach colors and animal blocks to teach identification.

What a great idea.

Thank you so much - I've been thinking recently that it would be nice to have a quilt I can lay on the floor, etc. for my grandsons to play with their cars and trucks. This would be very good for that and like you said, adding some appropriate printed fabric in some of the squares would be nice and it would make it like a little town or city.

Thanks again.

Thank you for sharing such a beautiful comfort quilt for children. And more importantly, thanks for the instructions and measurements!

A couple years ago, Project Linus did something similar in that they sewed a pocket into quilt and inserted those stuffed tiny animals (with the little red tag attached). Guess they got factory to donate hundreds of them for us. I forget what those characters were called but I liked them too! lol Gave us all a smile as we were quilting away.

Great idea. Sounds like an easy way to use up some scraps and make a really cute quilt for a youngster.

Thank you for the ideas. Sometimes we get brain dead and need some inspiration. I bookmarked it for myself for the future. Thank you again.

Those are some great ideas!

Yes, I live out in the country, so of course I thought of fields and dirt roads, but change the sashing to black and put more houses (or fabrics with pictures of houses and "town stuff") and it would make a town.

If you're making it for a specific child, the house block could be personalized in the colors of the child's house (in the diagram it is gray with a red roof because my house is).

Cute idea! I've also thought of doing a dollhouse quilt with the quilt divided into different "rooms", and furniture appliqued in each room. A little cloth doll could go in a pocket on the bed (I saw a quilt in an old Quiltmaker magazine where each square was a little bed that a doll could be tucked into.)

What about a block or two of water for a pond or small lake, and maybe add a small boat? This is such a great idea for a quilt!

I like that idea, perfect for a GS.

i love this! perfect for little ones - i see myself making a couple for my great nephews for christmas! thanks for putting all the info on!

Good idea! Ponds could be appliqued, too, or use the drunkard's path block to make a circle (I like curved piecing).

Actually, the drunkard's path could be used to make a circle of green on brown, like a center-pivot irrigated circle of corn or something, too.

This is a good idea for the quilts we're making for our flooded students. Thanks!