Saydee's Big Girl Bed Quilt

 I started this quilt for my granddaughter, Saydee, back in the summertime.  I spotted a smaller version on Pinterest in red and black.  My daughter told me Saydee likes the newer pinker Minnie Mouse so I changed the color scheme.  I drew the Minnies myself (hehe) and just used wonder under to iron them on a handful of the squares.  I zigzagged them on so they will withstand the whirlwind that is my adorable granddaughter.

My very tall son holding the quilt for me.  He wasn't thrilled but he is tall enough!

For the back of the quilt I used a rainbow of colors with the black and white.  This is a super easy block pattern.  Saydee's room is blue so this side matches it a little better (and maybe in the future if she ever repaints!).

I'm afraid I didn't get a very good shot of the quilting.  This is a twin sized quilt so it took some muscle to quilt it in my home machine.  It is a meander of sorts with swirls and curves and m shapes.  In the photos the quilt had already crinkled up from the wash.  Saydee is sleeping under it now and hopefully for many years to come.

Joining the fun at:

Last Elephant Quilt of 2013

I really didn't set out to make three elephant quilts.  I didn't.  But the baby was in the hospital for six weeks.  And we didn't know when she would be able to come home.  My daughter mentioned that she was going to decorate her NICU crib a little to make it cozier and more cheerful for Aleena.  I thought I could make a small wall hanging that would be perky and happy.  Maybe use some washi tape to hang it up.

Then they let her come home!  Happy day!  Well, of course I still had the yet to be finished small wall hanging.  Now what?  hmmmm.....  I added a few more borders and quilted it up to be a little carseat quilt.

I used some kind of fleece as the backing and it is perfect!  Lightweight and warm, they bundled her up in it.  Tada!

We are all adoring her and holding her and passing her around.  As you can probably imagine.

Backing/quilting

Extra cute little baby, still on oxygen, wearing her sister's bunny ears, wrapped in the little quilt.  

So there it is.  The last elephant quilt I am making in 2013.  And possibly forever.

Linking up to:

Play quilt for Aleena

 She's home!

My third grandchild was born in August.  Aleena weighed 4 pounds 2 ounces at birth and had to stay in the NICU for 44 days.  Her parents went every day to hold her and love her.  I went several times but mostly I watched her big sister when I could to help out.  We are so happy she is home with her family now (although she will need heart surgery as soon as she is large enough).  While she was in the NICU was a stressful time on all of us.  So even though I had already made her a quilt, I ended up making a few more (I recognize it was more for me and my stress relief!).  All of the quilts have little elephants on them and have purple, grey, green, and pink, as those are the nursery colors.

Aren't these little elephants cute?

Aleena's Elephant Quilt

Flower quilting detail

Gray with pink polka dots for the back

Thanks for visiting me!  I'll post about the other little quilt I made her in a few days.


I am linking up to:

Quilt for Baltimore Early Head Start

Our Baltimore Modern Quilt Guild has a partnership with the Baltimore Kennedy Kreiger Early Head Start program.  We sew sleeping outfits, hats, cloth books, bibs, and of course, quilts for them.  At our September meeting, we had 21 quilts to donate (all log cabin variations).  It is quite a diverse collection.  You can see all of them at the BMQG page.

This was my contribution.  I made four large 22" blocks and put them together.  My husband says it doesn't look like a baby quilt.  Sigh.  I like it anyway.

Every once in a while, I think: I know!  I'll do a big circle with my quilting!  I love how that looks!

Then, I start and I remember that I hate doing it!!  I do the middle with the FMQ and that works great.  Then I switch to my walking foot as the circles get bigger and that is where I start thinking I made a big mistake.  It is really hard to turn the corners smoothly!  I end up with little places where it jogs over a bit.  I just want it to look smooth.  And I do realize that most people won't notice it.  But it makes it less fun to do.  Know what I mean?

I used a gray with variagated yellow dots for the backing.  I meant to make it the right size for a full, unpieced backing but of course I got carried away making the front so it is a little bigger.  So I pieced it.  And I like it.  I should just assume I will piece the back.  I seem to do it every time.  And Sometimes I end up liking the back more than the front!

I used many different grays for the binding.

So, these quilts will be on display in the Kennedy Kreiger Institute building starting October 1st.  Then a little baby will get to keep this quilt and enjoy it!

Linking up to

Jacquie Gering is coming to Baltimore!

Jacquie Gering Lecture/Trunk Show

Quilting Modern: Honoring Tradition

Monday, October 21, 6:30 - 7:30 PM, Seminole Sampler, Catonsville

Cost: $5 for members, $10 for nonmembers

Jacquie shares her journey from being a maker, to becoming a quilter, and now a modern quilter, designer and author. Jacquie tells about her Mennonite roots, how her family inspires and influences her work, and shows through her quilts how she has developed her unique voice in modern quilting. Learn what makes a quilt modern from one of the leaders of the modern quilting movement.

Payment can be submitted through paypal: baltimoremqg@gmail.com.

Please note that we are unable to offer refunds for this workshop. However, we will make available a waiting list and you can transfer your class purchase to someone else.

A little about Jacquie Gering

The co-author of Quilting Modern: Techniques and Projects for Improvisational Quilts (Interweave, 2012), Jacquie is a contributing designer and author for Stitch, Modern Patchwork, Quilter's World and Quilter's Quarterly. Her quilts have been featured in other national and international publications. Jacquie is a leader in the modern quilting movement, serving on the Board of Directors of the National Modern Quilt Guild. She teaches and talks quilting across the country and shares her designs and quilting knowledge on her popular blog, Tallgrass Prairie Studio.

 

Questions? E-mail: baltimoremqg@gmail.com.

 

Thank you.

Elephants on Parade!

My lovely daughter is due to have her second baby sometime between now and next Wednesday.  She requested an elephant quilt for the nursery, inspired by a pattern she found on Pinterest by Sew Much Ado.  I made my own little elephant drawing and the rest was easy.  She painted the nursery bright green and she requested the gray, pink, and purple to go with it.  I used all fabrics from my stash, except the Kona white (which I seem to run out of all the time!).

So here is my version:

I did a micro stipple around each elephant and a curvy wave in the white borders.

This is the label on the back.  It is blank because I want to add the baby's name and birthdate (after she is born!).


So if you are counting, that is the second quilt that we worked on and finished this month.  I have high hope for the third one but I go back to work in a few days... we'll see!

Nesting

My daughter finished a quilt today!

 She made this gorgeous queen sized quilt for her bed.  She actually started it last summer and finished it up this year.  She used a fat quarter pack (I bought it but right now I have no idea what it was edit: it is McKenzie by Dena by Westminster Fabrics) plus some random fabrics we found at the fabric store.  Don't you love the colors?

 Here is my adorable granddaughter on the front...

 And the back (pieced, of course!).  Carolyn even learned how to do a little FMQ.  She used a loop de loop pattern.  Her husband quilted one of the squares, too.  I helped and I did the borders in a pod/vine type design.  

Today she sewed the rest of the binding on and we washed it and dried it to crinkle it up!

Now she wants to make some pillows!