Baby Quilts from the Past #4

Next up was grandson #3's quilt.  I was becoming more confident with my squares...yes, I would branch out.  A little twist on the Irish chain since his mama is Irish through and through.  I was just going to stick with a pure blue and white color scheme at first...some Kaufman basics.  But then I saw the Hey Diddle Diddle fabric and had to add it, too. This time I used Dream Cotton Deluxe as the quilt would be used more often as a floor mat.  Yes, I even mitered the corners and was shocked at how easy it is to do!








Baby Quilts from the Past #3

I made my first granddaughter two quilts.  I had purchased some fabric in bright colors a couple of years before her birth with her in mind.  My daughter liked bright and playful at the time and I thought this fabric might make a fun quilt.  But as soon as we knew the baby was to be a girl, my daughter and I started seeing pink.  So the quilt for the bed ended up being shades of pink and green.

And the quilt for the family room and stroller ended up being the original idea.  We called it our 'man quilt' so her dad could use it with ease!  He is not a pink and frilly sort of guy!  His daughter would have a tool box...and she does!

Baby Quilts from the Past #2

This is grandson #2's quilt.  I made it five years ago.  I used two layers of Warm and Natural since it would most likely be used more as a floor mat. 

Baby Quilts from the Past--A Mini Series

I love making baby quilts.  They are fun and give you a sense of satisfaction in completing something in a shorter time frame.  Mine are mostly made from simple squares and I love playing with the colors and combinations.   These quilts machine wash and dry like a dream...mostly made with Dream Cotton or Warm and Natural batting.  I prefer Dream Cotton now since the Warm and Natural is no longer 100% cotton.  They are all very simple, but fun to make as I s-l-o-w-l-y developed my skills and my comfort with mixing colors and patterns.  I am not an artist by any means and this has been a long process for me.  But in the past couple of years, I am beginning to feel like I am getting somewhere.  One of my goals with baby quilts is to be sure there are lots of little shapes and interesting things for kids to look at as they are cuddling with the quilt. 

This is my first grandson's quilt.  I didn't know how easy mitering corners was yet!  I made this 8 years ago!

Do you mind one more shot?  :o)

Darlene's Quilt

Roscoe's Pa has a good friend who he worked with whose family is riddled with cancer...different kinds of cancer...but particularly serious varieties.  His friend has spent her life trying to defy the odds by getting routine check ups, eating right, exercising, and generally staying in top shape.  We were so upset when we learned she had breast cancer.  The only thing I could think to do besides obviously praying for her was to make a quilt for her to wrap herself up in when the illness was just too much and she needed a hug.  I used a familiar pattern that you've seen me post before but in colors of dresses that Pa noticed her wearing to work.  She loved the quilt, responded to the treatment, and has remained cancer free now for a couple of years.  This is her quilt:

Anna's Auction Quilt

My Amish neighbor, Anna, asked me for a favor recently.  She had made a queen-sized bowtie quilt that was inspired by the Amish wallhanging quilt that hangs in my kitchen and I use for my profile picture.  Anna pieced the bowtie blocks and assembled the quilt by machine and then hand quilted it on a frame set up in her living room.  The quilt was sent to an Amish school auction where the school kept 10% of the final bid and Anna got the remainder.  Anna asked me if I would mind taking a picture of the quilt so she could remember what it looked like if she decided to make another.  It was made of a solid white fabric and a tiny printed burgandy fabric which she said 'would pass for plain in the Amish world.'  Here is the picture of her quilt hanging from her back porch.  Notice there are no people in the picture.  The baptised members of her church avoid being photographed.  Sometimes they will give permission for you to photograph their unbaptised children.  But it would be impolite to do so without asking first.

Another Win!

I won a giveway a while back over at Ting Tong and Things.  Tong was one of the hostesses in the Placemat Party Blog Hop sponsored by Sarah Vee at her Sew Joy blog.  I won a placemat pattern which used the snowball block.  I found that interesting as I used that block with GD# 1's quilt and it was fun to see how someone else constructed it.  I also won two pretty placemats and some vintage sheet fabric Tong used to make the placemats.  There were other hostesses for the blog hop who made some nice placemats.  I particularly liked the placemats made by Nanette at Freda's Hive.

Another Pillowcase for an Amish Neighbor

This pillowcase is for Linda's birthday who just turned 14.

Linda finished 8th grade last spring but is required by Ohio state law to attend school until her 14th birthday.  So she began school for the new school year on August 30th and now will stop since she is 14.  Her role these past two weeks was helping the two teachers at her K through 8 parochial school.  The teachers are most likely 5 or 6 years older than Linda.  There are about 25 to 30 'scholars'.

Now she will stay home to help her mother with the family chores for a few months (they pack NINE lunches every morning!)  She then will probably 'work out', as the Amish call it, at a bakery or grocery store, or maybe keep house for an elderly person, an ill person or a new mother.  The Amish children who are of working age usually bring home their wages for the family, but get to keep a small amount for their own savings.

Linda's favorite color is green. I pieced the band of the pillowcase with black, medium green, dark green, and lavender.  The fabric is Kona cotton.

I tried to take this picture with the flash, without the flash, in natural light, in artificial light and finally got the true lavender color to show up.

Room with a View

As you probably know by now, I live in Amish country.  There are pros and cons to this decision to live in such a remote place.  I miss Target.  I am pathetic.  I have tried for six years to get over this, but I still drive over an hour to the nearest Target every once in a while to get my fix.  HOWEVER, no 'poor me' is allowed.  I live within a couple of miles of FOUR quilt shops plus some other fabric sources as well.  And this is the view from my sewing room.  Seriously.  I can see 25 miles.  This is where I find peace.

A Quilt Gift from Wonderful Friends

I am home now from helping my daughter and her family get organized for life with a new baby girl.  They are doing so well!  Marina received this beautiful baby quilt from friends of our family from Minnesota.  Isn't it sweet?

Family Reunion Quilts

Several years ago I won a raffle quilt at our national family reunion.  It was made by my husband's cousin, Wanda, and it is beautiful.  It was machine pieced but hand quilted.  It is queen/king size quilt with room for a pillow tuck at the top.

Beautiful hand quilting...

Wanda's son dropped $50 in the dollar raffle hoping to win his mother's quilt for himself.  It was her favorite quilt, and the one she put the most heart into.  So I lovingly cared for the quilt, using it occasionally, but being sure it didn't fade or become soiled.   Last week, I returned the quilt to Wanda and thanked her for sharing it with me for a while.  Yes, I won it fair and square. But now I feel it has gone home to its rightful owner.

Baby Afghan

This is Marina's baby afghan in colors that match her baby quilt.  (She has been released from the NICU and might even get to come home today to meet her big sister!) 

I made this using two strands of Caron Simply Soft in Sunshine and Pink and using an N hook.  It is a variation on a crocheted blanket found on the Project Linus website.

She's here!

Our new little granddaughter finally arrived early this afternoon!!  Her name is Marina Karen.  She and Mom are doing well!

Granddaughter #1's Quilt

I know you have seen this quilt in the various stages of production but here is the finished quilt.  I really love it...a perfect quilt for a little girl.  It now resides on her bed with the matching pillowcases I made for her.

Here is the quilt:

 

Here is the back, washed and crinkly:

  

And the front, washed, dried, and snuggly:

  

Here is the pillowcase:

  

Close up:

Yes, there are two pillow cases as the bed is a full-sized bed.  Baby sister has yet to appear...

Still waiting...

I now have a computer and can blog again!  BUT our new little granddaughter has passed her due date and seems to be shooting for 'fashionably late'.  Can't hurry mother nature, I guess.  I have been staying with my daughter (who feels 40 months pregnant) for a few days. We have kept busy with her finishing work and starting her maternity leave, plus doing some projects around the house and walking, shopping, more walking, and playing with GD #1.  Waiting for the birth of your baby sure can drag on, can't it?  I know first hand because this particular daughter of mine was 13 days late herself.  (Roscoe was 19 days late...ugh.)

So I am finally revealing the completed baby quilt for GD #2.  I have posted about the fabric and layout before, but the quilt is finished, washed and dried, delivered, and awaiting her birth!  It is made from Lecien fabric...the "old new collection 30's."   The batting is Quilter's Dream Cotton in the Deluxe weight.  Here's a look at the front...

And the back...

And a close up...

And a little matching pillow...

Her mom and dad seemed pleased!

A Quick Update

Our new granddaughter is yet to arrive but her quilt is finished.  Big sister's quilt is also finished as of this morning.  My new computer will arrive early next week and I can get access to my photos at that time.  (Posting is pretty boring without a picture!)  So lots going on here and I am trying to be patient!!  Thanks for checking in on me!

Motherboard

The motherboard on my computer no longer works.  This puts a big crimp in my blog posting and in my life in general.  Gosh, do you realize how much your computer means to you?

Please be patient with me as I have to retrieve my files on the hard drive and get a new computer.  Anyone have a laptop that they love??

A Reversible Jacket

I haven't been able to post lately due to a serious family illness and other various family commitments that called for Super Granny Nanny!  My quilting time has been greatly compromised, but I am grateful to be able to help out my children and to spend time with the little grandmunchkins.  Well, the 7 year old is up to my chin as far as height goes, so he's not such a little munchkin lately.

I will post about something I made last summer to fill in the gap.   I made a reversible jacket for GD#1.  I used the 'Wonder Jacket' pattern by Stephanie Kurtz at Sew Baby.  The pattern ran big in case you decide to use it.  It was a little tricky fitting the pieces together at the neckline, but eventually I got it.  I was trying for an Oilily look.  Not sure I got there but it was fun trying anyway.  I looked everywhere for hot pink star buttons and thought they looked so cute on the jacket.  Then when I tried to help my little granddaughter button the jacket, I had big regrets.  The pointy star buttons were impossible for little girls and grownups to button.  I would recommend function over form for little people clothing!  Use nice smooth round buttons!  Here are the two views--

She seemed to like the jacket!  Hopefully I will be able to post, later in the week, on progress I am making on her snowball bed quilt and the soon-to-be born sister's quilt!  I have maybe three weeks to get these done!  Plus a crocheted baby blanket!  Yikes!

Stitchin' and Moanin'

I was really excited that by late afternoon I had a block of time to sew.  First, I made the back for Lucy's snowball quilt.  I always try to have the back and the binding done before I start sewing the front.  It's a treat to be able to keep moving once you have the quilt pieced.  It's just one of those discipline things I make myself do.  Here is the fabric for the back. 

Then I decided to start quilting my soon-to-be born granddaughter #2's quilt.  I was just humming along and thinking, 'Wow, I might get this quilted and the binding machine stitched to the front before I go to bed!'

I was half way through the quilting before I thought to turn the quilt over and check the back.  I hardly ever have trouble with puckers after years of tweaking my 'sandwiching' skills of pinning together the back, the batting, and the quilt top. 'Oh my.  There is a pucker.'

'Oh my there is another one.  Oh, you have got to be kidding me...'  Yes, there were many puckers.  Sigh.  So I marked the puckers with safety pins. Oh, yay.

I am going to blame this on the weather.  The day in June when I made the quilt sandwich, it was a gorgeous sunny one with low humidity.  Today it was muggy, hot, and ridiculously humid.  I think it changed the backing some and made it ripple.  Am I dreaming?  I have never read any blogs that have addressed humidity and machine quilting.  The carefully pressed snowballs on my design board aren't crisp looking any more because of the humidity.

I began to rip.

I was lamenting about it all.   I could rip out to the end on some of the quilting lines but it wasn't really feasible to rip out the all the quilting.  I would have to resandwich the whole quilt, and I could risk putting a hole in the quilt from excessive ripping.  So I was going to have to 'spot fix' some of the puckers.  Matching up the serpentine stitch is really hard.  One hundred years from now when the quilt police start looking closely at this quilt, they will say 'She could really piece well, but too bad about her machine quilting skills.'  After my pity party, it dawned on me that this quilt was for my new little punkin.  I hope she loves it so much that it becomes shreds long before it ever makes it to its 100th birthday.

Lesson learned.  I am over it...sort of.  I have a really busy week of babysitting and such.  I won't get to work on these quilts for a few days.  So for now I am stitchin' and moanin'.

Snowball Progress

Got this up on the design wall Sunday night.  It is the full-sized bedquilt for my granddaughter's big girl bed.

Who knew how long it would take to make 156 snowball blocks?  Anyway, I am short two blocks and will add them today and continue to tweak a bit with the design.

Yes, I should have started at the top of the design wall, but by the time I realized it, there was no way I was going to move 100+ blocks!  I forgot to allow for the seam allowances when I measured for placement on the wall.  Duh.  Next time...

Ruffled Pants and an Update

Colin came home from the hospital yesterday.  He's been doing very well.  Little people can be so resilient.  I am happy that maybe his tummy won't hurt any more and he has a healthy outlook ahead of him.  Roscoe's Pa had his first PT this week and it went very well.  He can now put weight on his leg and graduated from the walker to a cane.  He is already thinking of the yard work he wants to do.

Here are some little pants I made for GD#1.  I used a Kokka print for the main part of the pants and simple gingham for the ruffle and pockets.  I used the 'britches & bloomers' pattern by Jackie Clark.  The pattern ran large in case you use it.  I would recommend sizing the ruffled pants by comparing the multi sized pattern with a pair of pants that you know fit.  At first GD#1 wore these as pants, and then by summer they became capris.

She really liked them!  "My apple pants..."  Score!

Three Pillowcases

I think this blog is turning into a pillowcase blog instead of the intended quilt blog.  At any rate, I wanted to show you three fun pillowcases that I made for three little guys.

First, the soccer pillowcase...

Second, the rocket ship pillowcase...

And finally, the dinosaur pillowcase...

 I love happy kid fabric!