Sewing Project 2011 - A Baby Quilt

I have been interested in sewing for as long as I can remember.  I can't quite pinpoint why I want to sew anything; I know that most items are quicker and cheaper to pick up from the store.   However, I have fond memories of both of my grandmothers crafting items from fabric with their sewing machines.  I was too young to get involved in sewing when I lost my grandmothers to cancer and Alzheimer's.  I wish I had been able to glean some nuggets of wisdom from their years of experience, but I am lucky that I have the internet and a well-stocked library nearby that should teach me most of what I need to know.

I recently found out that a dear friend of mine is expecting a baby in several months.  I immediately knew I wanted to do something more personal for this baby than buying several sizes of diapers in bulk.  I have some scraps of material that would appeal to the mother-to-be because of sentimental value, and I have a relatively untapped desire to sew.  Therefore, within days of finding out about the baby, I decided to make a baby quilt and two matching receiving blankets. 

My husband and I went to the fabric store yesterday and picked out the fabric shown.  I wanted to go for a neutral look, but we couldn't keep ourselves from picking up blue fabrics!  The fabrics that we chose will be perfect if the baby is a boy but may not work if the baby decides to be a girl.

The bright blue on the left will probably be the outside border of the quilt.  The light blue fabric is a light-weight flannel and will be made into a receiving blanket.  The yellow gingham and the multi-color-dotted fabric will be pieced into the quilt.  The final fabric on the right is also a flannel and will be made into the second receiving blanket.  I should have extra material from the flannels, and the extra material will be incorporated into the quilt.

I think that all of the materials work well together color-wise, but I am worried that the heart/block fabric might throw off any theme.  The pale blue flannel doesn't show well in the picture above, but it has white clouds, yellow moons, and yellow stars all over it.  If I leave the heart/block fabric out of the quilt, I can make a sky-themed quilt that should work for a boy or a girl.  If I use the heart/block flannel sparingly, I might be able to incorporate it without a problem.

Now that I really am thinking about the quilt, I'm wondering if maybe a silky edge might be better for the baby.  Then again, do babies really care if a blanket has a silk edge as opposed to a cloth one?  Ugh.  I should probably have a baby before I try to make something for one.

UPDATE:
I should mention that the dotted fabric, the yellow gingham, and the bright blue fabric are just regular cotton quilting fabric.  I missed including the backing in the picture above, but it is just a plain white muslin-type fabric.  I believe that the sentimental pieces of fabric are polyester, and I think the color will be white.  I will probably put the sentimental pieces in the center of the quilt and build the quilt around them.

I didn't originally intend to have a theme for the quilt.  When I realized how much blue I had bought, however, I thought maybe I could swing the quilt back towards gender-neutral if I made it all about the sky.  I probably won't go that direction, but I'm keeping it in mind just in case.