Christmas Orchard is made from two traditional blocks, Snowball and Practical Orchard. It's super easy to assemble -- even if you're a beginning quilter. The size works well for a child's quilt, so change the fabrics if you want to alter the theme. You might also shift some of the color values around to make different components pop out in the quilt. Like the yellow squares and/or triangles -- the quilt would look very difference with a dark fabric sewn in those positions, especially if you lighten-up the squares that are currently green.

Stretching to the Stars is an easy quilt that's assembled using strip piecing and quick piecing techniques. The design is a good choice when you want to stitch a patriotic quilt, but a simple fabric switch can make it suit any theme. My sister made a cuddly baby quilt from the pattern, using soft pastels and neutrals. You'll assemble two block sizes, one 8" square and the other 4" square, to help you practice working with smaller and larger components. Beginning quilters might want to brush up on their rotary cutting and pressing skills before beginning.

_{Quilt by Janet Wickell}

Quick pieced half square triangle units make up the majority of this scrappy basket quilt block, with rectangles and single triangles completing the mix. The block goes together quickly and pieces are small enough to cut from patches in your scrap bin.

_{© Janet Wickell}

I received lots of positive emails in my response to the question, would you like a baby quilt version of the Cozy Chains quilt. So here it is. Called Baby Chains, the quilt is made with 6" square blocks (half the size of the original) and finishes at 36" x 48" with a border, or 30" x 42" if you omit the border.

I see several more of my larger quilt patterns that could be converted to baby quilts, and might spend a bit of time working on that.