Our daughter Ada is nearly 4 years old, but weighs just 30 lbs. She was sleeping in a toddler bed which is rated up to 50lbs, so we expected her to be in it awhile longer. But in January she repeatedly told us her bed is uncomfortable and hurts her back. This culminated in us waking up at 4:45 am, to find she left her room (without the baby monitor kicking on at all), walked the length of the house upstairs in the dark, came down the back stairs, through the downstairs into the living room, where she turned on the light (waking us in the bedroom next door), found herself a pillow, a blanket and Lovey, turned the light back off, then tucked herself in to sleep on the couch. Jim and I asked what she was doing. She said her bed is uncomfortable so she’s going to sleep in the living room now.
No. No you’re not kid.
So I ordered a twin mattress and a cute set of sheets. But what about a bed quilt? My quilter’s soul couldn’t justify picking up a cheap polyester comforter, so I googled around for twin size patterns that were good for kids. This Heartsy pattern came up and Ada saw it on my screen and loved it. Nearly everything she wears or picks out lately is either pink, or covered in hearts. When I asked why she told me in an exasperated tone, “Mama, I love love!”
A twin calls for 25 fat quarters or regular quarter yard cuts. I looked around for a FQ bundle online, but didn’t see anything that wowed me. Then I remembered that I have a bunch of Tula Pink scrap cuts that are 1/4 yard! I pulled out 13 that I thought would work, and headed to the local quilt shop, where I picked up 12 more prints, background, binding and backing. (While she loves pink right now, her room is painted turquoise and yellow and decorated with rainbows, so I was attempting to tie everything together.) These are the 13 from stash.
And here’s the whole collection, including backing (far left), background (pink Grunge), binding (top pink print), and the blender prints (rainbow in the center). Yep. The color palette is a 4 year old’s fever dream. When I had the top assembled on the floor, my husband came downstairs, took one look and said “I know it’s not actually Lisa Frank, but I totally expect this to be on a Trapper Keeper.”
All in all, I do recommend the pattern, as it came together pretty quickly. But if you decide to make it, I also recommend using all 1/4 yard cuts, rather than fat quarters. Cutting the FQ’s was a pain in the bum, compared to the 1/4 yard cuts.
Here it is, on her new big girl bed, complete with sheets covered in watercolor magenta hearts, and tons of stuffies.
And a wider shot of her room at large, trying to show how the colors fit in. (And so many LC-made treasures on her wall!)
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