We aren’t just cape-wearing jokers and butter enthusiasts around here – turns out we’re quilters too. What started as one baby blanket for Missy’s first baby has turned into a full-blown family tradition, complete with fabric squares that get passed down from quilt to quilt like little heirlooms. Here’s the story so far.
Our Quilt Family Tree
Every quilt we make includes at least one square rescued from the previous baby’s blanket – so each new little one is literally wrapped in a piece of the last. Here’s the lineage:
🧵 Vivian Louise Keihle ** The First Quilt**
Parents: Maryssa “Missy” Wheaton & Jakob Keihle
Shower: May 31, 2025 · Pattern: Love Blooms
The one that started it all — no hand-me-down square yet, since there was no quilt before it!
*** the finished quilt
🧵 Aurelie Anne Naetzker
Parents: Kaitlin Lu & Hayden Naetzker
Shower: July 13, 2025 · Pattern: Love Me More
Carries a square from Vivian’s quilt – top row, second square, the white “Love Love Love” print with red text.
— the Love Me More pattern square
— the finished quilt🧵 Steven Henry
Parents: Brittney (Turner) & Tom Campbell
Due: December 19, 2025 · Shower: October 12, 2025 · Pattern: Autumn Forest
Carries a square from Aurelie’s quilt — second row, first square, yellow with little flowers.
— the Autumn Forest pattern square
— the finished quilt
🧵 Baby Katafiaz-Orlando
Parents: Renee (Katafiaz) & Evan Orlando
Due: March 29, 2026 · Shower: January 23, 2026
Back fabric: Baby Girl Pink Clouds yardage. Carries a square — fourth row from the bottom, second from right, yellow with pink swirls.
Double-check this one traces back to the right quilt — the notes say “from Kaitlin’s” here, just flag if that should be Brittney’s instead.
— the Pink Clouds back fabric
🧵 Baby Turner
Parents: Samantha (Turner) & Brian
Shower: June 27, 2026
Carries squares from both Brittney’s and Kaitlin’s quilts — the first one to inherit a piece of two family quilts at once.
How We Make Them
For a 5×5-inch charm square quilt, sized roughly 36″×36″ up to 42″×42″:
1 Layout — Arrange your squares in an even number of rows (we usually do 8 rows × 7 columns for a 40″×35″ finish). An even row count makes assembly much easier.
2 Pick your thread — Color doesn’t matter for piecing the squares together; it matters for quilting, where it shows through on the front and back.
3 Chain sew the rows — For rows 1 and 2, place right sides together column by column, stack the pairs, and chain sew straight through (stitch length ~2.0).
4 Iron — Set the stitches first (press closed, no wiggling), then press the seams open.
5 Snip and relay — Clip apart and lay the squares back out to double-check your pattern.
6 Join the rows — Sew row-pairs together (1&2 to 3&4, 3&4 to 5&6, etc.) until the whole top is one piece.
7 Iron in alternating directions — Press each row’s seams in the opposite direction from the row before it, so seams nest neatly when rows are joined.
8 Pin at intersections to keep corners square, then sew the row-sets together to finish the top. Press well.
9 Press the backing fabric too, so everything is smooth before assembly.
10 Add a label to one corner square before making the quilt sandwich — stitch all the way around with a shorter stitch length.
11 Build the quilt sandwich — Tape the backing right-side-down and taut to the table, smooth the batting over it, then add the pieced top and pin in place.
12 Quilt the sandwich — Start in the middle (stitch length 3.0, check tension), then stitch in the ditch or use the edge of the quilting foot along both sides of each seam. Do horizontal rows first, then vertical.
13 Trim the edges square.
14 Bind it — Measure around the quilt, add about 10″ for overlap, divide by your fabric width (minus edges) to get the number of strips needed, then cut 2.5″ strips. Attach to the front, fold to the back, and hand or machine stitch down.

[UPLOAD: 10-instructions-layout-example.png] — squares laid out before sewing
Video references from our notes (add links if you want to include the actual tutorials): “Make a Quilt – Part 1: Fabric Selection & Assembly,” “Trimming the Quilt,” “Creating Binding & Attaching with the Binding Tool,” “Tips for Creating Binding Strips,” “Machine Sewing the Binding.”
Bonus: Matching Charm Square Pillows
Made one too many squares? We’ve also turned leftover charm squares into coordinating envelope-back pillows for the nursery.
• Front: use leftover quilt squares, sized to your pillow form + 1″ (a 16″×16″ form needs a 17″×17″ front)
• Back: two overlapping panels — add 6–8″ total to your pillow width for the overlap, then divide by two and add an inch for seam allowance
• Tutorials we used: Charm Square Quilted Pillow Tutorial and the Envelope Pillow Cover guide
Where We Get Our Supplies
Not sponsored — just what’s worked for us!
• Charm packs / squares: Fat Quarter Shop – Charm Packs
• Backing fabric: Fat Quarter Shop – Love Blooms Charm Pack (or any coordinating charm pack)
• Batting (bamboo): OPN Quilting – 100% Bamboo Quilt Batting
• Quilt labels: Dutch Label Shop
• Binding tool: TQM Binding Tool
• Curved & glass pins: Fat Quarter Shop
• Thread: JOANN Fabrics
• Sewing ruler: Fiskars (Amazon)
• Quilting gloves: Amazon
Have a baby quilt request or want to join the next sewing session? Reach out!