One More Baby Quilt...

As you've noticed, it's been a baby-filled year in my life.  Thankfully, no babies have belonged to me, but it seems like everyone I am close with is starting a family.  My last (planned) baby quilt for the year is for my manager, who's due in August.  Plot twist: she isn't finding out the gender before the birth. 

As you can probably tell, this throws a monkey wrench into just about everyone's plans, including her own.  How do we avoid drowning in a sea of yellow and green?  I'm starting to work on her quilt--my go-to gift--and, as I'm pulling together ideas, I'm noticing the quilting world is very gender-specific.  You can find fabric with astronaut kittens, but it's difficult finding fabric that isn't almost stereotypically male or female.

Because of this, I've had to go a bit outside the box to gather inspiration. 

Both of these Thimble Blossoms patterns are fun for babies and can be adjusted in size easily.  For "Summer," I'd like to use solids with a printed backing, but for "Juggle," I'd use hexagons in all different prints.  A baby quilt uses 42 hexies, so even 21 different prints would give a nice variety, and I could fussy-cut if I found something adorable and baby-related.

Sarah Jane's new line "Let's Pretend" has the same playful feel as "Out to Sea" and "Children at Play," which are both part of my stash.  I could mix-and-match prints from this line with her others, and with some fabrics in my stash, to create something playful and childish but not specifically girly or boyish.

The above fabric is from Ed Emberley's "Happy Drawing" line with Cloud9.  I think animals are a pretty safe bet for kids--sometimes too safe, and then you get into cartoon or baby animals which are pretty boring.  But these are still fun, and I could use prints from this line--including frogs, owls, and giraffes--with some solids in the Juggle quilt for both a boy or a girl.

What have you done in the past for a friend who isn't finding out the gender of her baby?  Do you have any ideas?  I need to figure out something soon--her shower is in July!