My niece Alexis is graduating from her high school as valedictorian!  I didn’t emphasize that quite enough: 

~~~***Valedictorian!!***~~~

Yes, it’s a big deal and she’s pretty freaking wonderful.  I thought, “That girl deserves a quilt.”

As usual when making a quilt for someone, the first step is just to think about her.  It’s almost like the word association game.  I say, “Alexis”, you think …

Christian, in word and in deed.  And brilliant.  Also beautiful.

A cross quilt seemed like the perfect fit.  A “plus” cross design lets you see the cross when viewed from any angle, and it also hints at math and that strong mind of hers.  It’s a simple design that looks good with prints or solids, a great place to start.

Next: fabric shopping.  Growing up, Alexis had tropical themes for birthday parties and her bedroom, so she might enjoy carrying those memories on to college with her.  Since she’ll be attending the University of Tennessee, I looked for collections of fabric that included the color orange.  When I found this line called “Good Fortune”, I knew I had a winner.  What better wish for her happy future?  Perfect!

This quilt is sized for a twin bed in the hopes that she can use it in her dorm room.  If the front gets a bit too busy for her, it reverses to a calmer gray on gray dot.  (I love that gray with the purple binding, and thanks to Katy at I’mAGingerMonkey for letting us know about the Moda extra wide quilt backing fabrics!)  This was my biggest quilt so far and I was in a time crunch, so I took it to a local shop for quilting.  Quilts by Phyllis did a great job!

If you want to make your own, charm squares laid out in a 14×20 grid and sewn with quarter inch seams will fit a twin bed.  I used one yard of fabric for binding, two yards of the extra wide backing fabric and ten packs of charm squares.  You’ll have a little left over of everything, especially charm squares, but you’ll need 10 packs to have enough for at least two full crosses of any given color.  (You’ll hear more about what I did with those left overs later!)

Alexis, we love you and are so proud of you!  Congratulations!