Very Hungry Caterpillar

Whenever I have a vacation from school, I try to sew as much as possible to see if I have what it takes to be a professional quilter when I retire from education. This past week saw alot of hours at the machine. So much so that my husband told me he couldn't take listening to it anymore! I was able to finish my Very Hungry Caterpillar Quilt for my daughter to hang in her Kindergarten class. I got the pattern/kit from My Hands to Thee at a quilt show in N.J. last Spring. Her website is http://www.myhandstothee.com/ The fabric is also available from the Eric Carle Museum website. www.carlemuseum.org/Shop Click on the link on the left hand side for fabric. The museum shop carries the entire line of fabric which isn't always available at shows and shops.

Since this was "cheater" material, I decided to try to quilt it with some more detail than just outline and stitch in the ditch. I got brave and stippled the center panel with a variegated thread. This was the first time I did this where the quilting showed up against a contrasting color. I also tried angled rather than curved free motion in the orange outer border. I left off the last border that came with the pattern because Kelly was concerned that it would be too big too display in the classroom. I love the "jelly bean" fabric and the bright colors of the fabrics were very cheerful to work with.

I also bought fabric that was just released to go with Eric Carle's Brown Bear book. I hope to have this one done for her so she can read the book with the kids at hibernation time next year.