Baby Quilts

I have been very, very busy beavering away making a couple of baby quilts for two very close friends who have both had gorgeous bouncy baby boys. Here are some pictures of one of them.

I made it double sided (in the hope they would like at least one side) and used the clouds as the quilting lines.

I saw the phrase 'Eat, Sleep, Play, Repeat' somewhere when Charlie was a tiny baby and it really resonated with me as being exactly what it is all about! I was very excited to find that a new quilting shop opened in Grantham just a month or 2 before we moved here. I found some great fabrics and can't wait to have another reason to visit. 

A new Xmas 'stocking'/Santa sack

Homemade Santa sack/ stocking. Applique Xmas tree with name on baubles.

I foolishly bought Ollie and Max matching Santa sacks a couple of years ago. Completely un- 'future-proof' - what was I thinking! Of course I can't find a third matching one anywhere. So I have to get rid of them and start afresh, not fair for 2 to have the same and one different.

So I made this for Charlie. I didn't have time to make the other 2 but hopefully I will get time this year before he is old enough to question why his is different!

It's a pillowcase with bits of material appliqued on. The tree is actually an old skirt of mine!

I intend to embroider onto each present the year and what the main thing they asked Santa for (and got)was. I thought it would be fun to look back on how their demands change over the years....

My first quilt is finished!

It is double side and only big enough to cover the bed minus the pillows but I am very pleased with myself! Now I want to do a better one!

Quilt update - Charlie's baby quilt & the Spring side of my first quilt

Just thought I would give an update on the quilting situation.

Firstly, and most importantly, the quilt my friend made for Charlie has been completed and received! And I am very happy with it. The design was a bit different to the other boys, and it was a bit of a gamble using so much patterned and quite pale materials but I really like the way it turned out.  Thank you so much Barbara for all the boys quilts. We are so lucky to know you and have you as part of our lives.

T

I also need to extend the thanks to Barbara, for helping me with the second side of my first ever quilt.
Barbara, her husband and my mum all came to stay for just under a week and the board was more than paid for in help with quilting, upholstering and childcare! We had a great time!


The second half of my quilt was quickly finished with the help of an assistant. It is a unique approach I have, I think! Accurate and perfect it is not, but done it is! And I like the pattern and I think the imperfections add to the beauty and makes me know it is mine and made with love and not just bought from a shop! That's what I keep telling myself anyway! Marilyn Monroe once said 'imperfections are beauty, madness is genius'
So here is a photo of the finished 'Spring' side of my Autumn/Spring quilt. I have tacked the two side and wadding together and now I just have to hand quilt the whole thing (which is near enough King Size). It will still be a while before it's finished, but I can't help already planning a Winter/Summer one!

My first foray into quilt making

I realise this has nothing to do with Gobbling but it does have to do with Cobbling! I decided to have a shot at making a quilt for our bed as, over the cold winter, I never managed to find a bedspread that I liked or (if I did like it) could afford! Quilting is a craft I have always wanted to try. I have been heavily inspired by a family friend who has made me these gorgeous quilts as Christening presents for the boys and decided I wanted to have a go myself.

I have started quite simply. As with cookery, I am completely incapable of following a recipe or a pattern without freestyling it, so I knew I would have to find designs and patterns that wouldn’t matter if they weren’t dead on. So I dragged out my ancient sewing machine (that my nan passed on to me when her arthritis got too bad to use it) and had a go.

I got a tip that I could use a cheap sheet (one with a thread count below 600) instead of large expanses of proper quilting fabric. I went for this design so that I could have a quick result and be encouraged to continue.

And within 2 days , side one is complete.

Now I have got the bug and want to do a completely different design on the reverse. I want something a bit more Spring like as these fabrics are quite Autumnal in feel. And then I will still have to wad and quilt it – which I think is going to be the really tricky bit! So the completed item is still some way off but I will show you when it gets there.