Journey Baby Quilt in a Dreamy Rainbow!

Today I'm sharing a rainbow Journey baby quilt that I made in early 2025 and never posted here on the blog. 😲 Sometimes it just happens!  I discovered the quilt hadn't been posted when I went to look for the post while preparing for the 2026 Fall Quilt Sale which is coming very, very soon.

Journey is an easy fat quarter friendly quilt pattern that includes all of the quilt sizes and goes together quickly and easily with large pieces. This is the second quilt in the Donation Quilt Series which features quilts that are quick and easy to sew with large pieces, which makes them great quilts to give to those in need.

The Journey quilt pattern is available in the Busy Hands Quilts shop.

Journey Quilt Pattern Features

• Includes 9 sizes - Baby, Lap, Throw, Large Throw Twin, Full, Square Queen, Rectangular Queen, and King

• Fat Quarter or 1/4-yard friendly

• Skill Level: Confident Beginner

• Not recommended for directional prints unless you know how to sew HSTs with them

This quilt is the Baby size which measures approximately 42" x 48".  That's perfect for a crib quilt, a tummy time floor mat, or a quilt for a toddler to drag around and love on.

A Rainbow of Beautiful Fabrics

This quilt is made with Dream by Kristy Lea of Quiet Play for Riley Blake Designs.  This is just a few prints from the collection, as the Baby size requires just 7 fat quarters.  Most of the fabrics are tone-on-tone and read as a single color but also includes some beautiful rainbow prints.

The Accent fabric is a scattered white dot print on bold black which pairs perfectly with the bold rainbow colors.  The binding is also made with this black dotted fabric.

Backing is a leftover piece of Widescreen in Black, a wide backing by Robert Kaufman. The modern vibe blends in with the modern quilt top.

Longarm Machine Quilting

The longarm digital quilting design used on this Journey quilt is Rainbow Hearts by Keryn Emmerson, available at Intelligent Quilting.  It's a beautiful mix of rainbow arcs over a sweet heart.  Quilting was done on my Handi Quilter Amara with ProStitcher in black Superior Omni thread.

Donation Quilt Series

Patterns in the Donation Quilt Series in general have the following features:

• Big blocks

• Large pieces in blocks = less seams = less fabric used

• Easy piecing

• Quicker to piece

• Cost less to make

• Let's make more quilts more quickly to share with more needy people!

Click here to shop the Donation Quilt Series of patterns.

The Journey quilt pattern is available in the Busy Hands Quilts shop.

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Sweetness Throw Quilt in Dream - a bright and happy rainbow quilt!

Today I'm sharing a bright and happy rainbow version of the Sweetness quilt pattern. It really is a sweet, bold quilt!  It's also easy to make with large pieces and is precut friendly.  As a Bonus, I'm also sharing the other four quilts I've made with the Dream fabric collection!

The Sweetness quilt pattern is available in the Busy Hands Quilts shop.

Sweetness Quilt Pattern Features

This is the perfect quilt pattern for you to just sit down and sew without a lot of fuss.  It's perfect for a gift quilt for anyone on your list who will surely love it and appreciate you for all of your effort.

• Includes 6 sizes - Baby, Lap, Throw, Twin, Queen, and King

• Instructions include using 5" charm squares, 10" layer cake squares, FQs, and half-yards

• Skill Level: Confident Beginner

Bright Happy Rainbow Fabrics

The fabric collection used in this quilt is Dream by Kristy Lea of Quilt Play for Riley Blake Designs.  The collection includes clouds, rainbows, and tone-on-tones in all colors of the rainbow; bright pinks, reds, oranges, yellows, greens, teals, blues, and purples.  One print is a clamshell rainbow print which is super fun.  You can easily see it in the image below.

The Dream fabric collection has been out for quite awhile and is hard to find.  Kristy Lea, the designer, has created a newer, very similar collection called Imagine.  You can find Imagine on Etsy right here.

Other Quilts Made with DREAM Fabrics

I have long loved the Dream fabric collection and have made several quilts out of it over the years. The Sweetness quilt is the fifth one I've made in the collection.  Below are the other four quilts in Dream by Kristy Lea for Riley Blake Designs.

You could easily substitute the Imagine fabric collection to replicate this super fun quilts.  You can find Imagine on Etsy right here.

Above is Hand Picked in the Baby size, made in July of 2022.  This pattern is 2.5" jelly roll strip friendly, includes all of the sizes, and is made with strip piecing for a fast finish.

Read about this quilt on the blog, and shop the Hand Picked pattern in the Busy Hands Quilts shop.

Above is a Baby size quilt in the Good Morning pattern in the Dream fabric collection on a gray background.  This pattern includes 5 sizes and two options for fabric selection - 5 colors to create an ombre effect - or scrappy which allows for the use of 2.5" jelly roll strips.  Both fabric options still allow strip piecing.  This quilt represents the scrappy version with strips cut from fat quarters.

Read more about this quilt on the blog, and shop the Good Morning quilt pattern in the shop.

Above is a Quilty Cabins Throw quilt in Dream fabrics, for a super sweet Rainbow Heart win!  This pattern is Fat Quarter friendly with the hearts pieced right into the blocks.  There is NO applique in this pattern.  Included are two layout options - traditional placement, and Offset which creates a wave down the quilt.  There are six quilt sizes included in the pattern.

Shop the Quilty Cabins quilt pattern in the shop, and read the blog post on this quilt right here.

Above is Jacks quilt made in Dream in the Baby size.  This pattern includes 6 sizes and is FQ and 1/4-yard friendly.

You can shop the Jacks quilt pattern right here and read about the quilt on the blog.

Heading Back to the Sweetness Quilt!

Includes 6 Quilt Sizes and Precut Friendly

You'll love that the size you want to make is included in the Sweetness pattern.  The six sizes are Baby, Lap, Throw, Twin, Queen, and King.  The Lap size measures 51" x 64" and requires (45) 10" squares, so this is a good fit for a layer cake with a few additional squares added from your stash.

You can choose to use 5" squares, 10" squares, or fat quarters.  Cutting instructions for all of these precuts are included in the pattern.

The Sweetness quilt pattern is available in the Busy Hands Quilts shop.

Longarm Machine Quilting

The quilting design used on this quilt is a combination of swirls and clouds.  Quilted on my Handi Quilter Amara with ProStitcher in Superior Omni Bright White thread.

I am unsure who made this quilt as it sat in my to-be-quilted box for a long time, and I didn't keep track.  It may have been made by Kare Ybarra or me.  🙃  It was quilted and bound by me this week in June, 2026.

The Sweetness quilt pattern is available in the Busy Hands Quilts shop.

Get a Free Quilt Pattern!

Get a free pattern when you sign up to receive the latest info on what's happening in my studio, new quilt patterns, subscriber-only sales and Giveaways, quilty window shopping, and other fun news!

Click here to sign up!

Easy Bargello Rainbow Twin Quilt sewn in Pop Culture by White Owl Textiles!

Today I'm sharing a glorious rainbow Easy Bargello quilt made with a Fundamentals Pop Culture jelly roll by White Owl Textiles.  The bright white background makes this quilt really pop.

Easy Bargello is an easy version of a typically more complicated Bargello quilt design.  

The pattern is in the shop right here.

This Quilt is Famous!

White Owl Textiles, a subdivision of Lumin Fabrics, featured this quilt in their booth at H+H America in Chicago, Illinois in May of 2026.  I am sure it brought many sighs of happiness as crafters passed by.  Rainbows are so happy!

The materials for this quilt were provided to me by White Owl Textiles.  This quilt was pieced and quilted by me, Myra Barnes.  It was so much fun visiting the Easy Bargello quilt pattern again!

Pop Culture Strip Roll

This stunning 2-1/2" strip jelly roll is called Pop Culture.  This group of fabrics is specially curated from their Fundamentals collections and named Pop Culture, and are subtle tone-on-tone prints, not solids, which adds texture and depth and a special touch to the finished quilt.  The strip roll includes 2 strips each of 20 prints in 2 rainbows, which results in the rainbow being repeated four times down the quilt top.  The background fabric is ECCO Solid in 700 Bright White by White Owl Textiles.

The back cover of the pattern includes the order the 40 strips are placed in to create this exact quilt!

Fundamentals Pop Culture is made by White Owl Textiles, a sister company to Island Batik and subdivision of Lumin Fabrics.

Click here to shop the Pop Culture strip roll on Etsy.

Perfect for Rainbow Jelly Rolls

This quilt pattern is perfect for rainbow jelly rolls.  Maybe you have one in your stash and are wondering what to do with it!  This is just the pattern for it.  Rainbow Kona Cotton strip rolls have been around for a long time, so you just might have one ready to go.

Easy Bargello isn't just a rainbow!

Maybe you're wondering what other fabrics work for Easy Bargello besides a rainbow strip roll.  This pattern certainly doesn't need to be a rainbow.  The prints could range from medium to dark in several colorways.  Here are some examples of this.  Click on the link below the image to read the blog post for that quilt (all of these quilt kits are sold out).

Easy Bargello in Quartz Metallics by Connecting Threads

Easy Bargello in Cloisonne by Connecting Threads

Easy Bargello in Freshly Picked Batiks by Connecting Threads

Get the Easy Bargello quilt pattern in the Busy Hands Quilts shop.

Includes Just the Twin Size

As you know, most of my patterns include as many sizes as possible from Baby to King and everything in between.  This pattern includes just the Twin size.  I know how disappointing that is!  Making other sizes would have involved completely new diagrams and charts for each size to create the strip sets, and I just didn't have it in me to figure all of that out when this pattern was written.

Keep reading for how to make the Baby size!

How to Make a Baby Size Easy Bargello

You can read about the Baby size Easy Bargello rainbow quilt I made in this blog post right here.  It is made with 17 different colored strips measuring 21" long, placed in rainbow order in a strip set.  For additional details, refer to the Easy Bargello quilt pattern, though it doesn't include specific instructions for the Baby size.

Longarm Machine Quilting

This quilt was quilted with Diagonal Bias Plaid, an easy modern quilting design, on my Handi Quilter Amara with ProStitcher with Superior Omni Bright White Thread.  I use this design when I don't want the quilting to overpower the quilt top.  Instead, it highlights the simplicity of the rainbow design.

Quilt Stats

Pattern: Easy Bargello by Busy Hands Quilts

Fabric: Fundamentals Pop Culture Strip Roll by White Owl Textiles for Lumin Fabrics

Background:  ECCO Solids 700 Bright White

Batting:  Warm and White

Backing and binding: Fundamentals Gesso Tropical Waters W130-001-517 Click here to shop this fabric on Etsy.

Quilting: Diagonal Bias Plaid in Superior Omni Bright White thread

Pieced on: Juki TL2200QVP Mini

Quilted on: HandiQuilter Amara with ProStitcher

Get the Easy Bargello quilt pattern in the Busy Hands Quilts shop.

Click here to shop the Pop Culture strip roll on Etsy.

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Get a free pattern when you sign up to receive the latest info on what's happening in my studio, new quilt patterns, subscriber-only sales and Giveaways, quilty window shopping, and other fun news!

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Gradient Quilt Pattern - a Baby in Rainbow

The time has finally come!  I have a brand new quilt pattern that I am so pleased to share with you!  Meet Gradient - a quilt design that creates a stunning ombre effect using 7 fabrics.  Includes 6 sizes - Baby, Lap, Throw, Twin, Queen, and King.

This is the scrappy version of Gradient with each colorway made from a variety of prints, instead of a single fabric as shown in the other Gradient quilts.  It was so fun to make a happy rainbow quilt from my scraps!

The Gradient quilt pattern is available in the Busy Hands Quilts shop.

Introducing Gradient

This Gradient quilt was made in the Baby size, which measures approximately 43" x 43".  You will find yourself turning to the Gradient quilt pattern again and again for its timeless beauty.  The pattern incorporates a stunning stream of rainbow colors interchanging from corner to corner.  Oh so rainbow-y!!  🌈

Includes 6 Sizes

The Gradient quilt pattern is available in 6 fabulous sizes.  Gradient uses subtle hue changes to create an ombre effect diagonally across the quilt top.  Make each colorway a single fabric or use a variety of prints in 7 colorways.

Beautiful Scrappy Rainbow Prints

The fabrics are an assortment of rainbow colors from my stash of rainbow fabrics.  Each colorway includes a variety of prints, and I think there are only one or two duplicate prints.  The sashing is solid white, and the setting triangles and border are a fun scattered print of white dots on black.  The backing is Widescreen in Black by Robert Kaufman.  The binding is a red print, found in one of the squares also, and available in our fabric shop right here.

The Gradient quilt pattern is available in the Busy Hands Quilts shop.

See all of the Gradient Quilts!

Be sure to check out the other Gradient quilts in these blog posts.  They demonstrate two other fabric selection methods that result in stunning quilts from 7 fabrics creating an ombre effect, instead of a rainbow.

• Lap size in Watercolors (we have quilt kits of this one!)

• Throw size in Moda Grunge

• Throw size by Connecting Threads

Longarm Machine Quilting

This quilt was quilted with a Heart in Heart Border digital design, which came with my Handi Quilter machine, in white thread.  This design is great because the hearts face both up and down, so no matter how you look at it, you'll see hearts facing you.  With this design, this quilt is perfect for a rainbow baby.

Quilt Stats

• Pattern ~ Gradient, available in the Busy Hands Quilts shop

• Fabric ~ Rainbow scraps, white sashing, black with scattered white dots for sashing triangles, and border, and red print for binding.

• Longarm Quilting Design ~ Heart to Heart Border

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