Sweet Nora

Don't you just love it when a quilt that you made for someone is at last in their possession? I began working on the Kissing Fishes quilt way back in the spring, I think, and finally at the beginning of this month, I was able to give it to Nora and her momma, Erin.

Members of Erin's family hosted a baby shower, so this was the deadline I was working with. I am happy to report that I had it all done in plenty of time. So unlike me, though!

Isn't Nora precious? She is sleeping so peacefully in her mother's loving arms. The quilt looks good on her!!

Just in case you needed to see a close up!

 

It was rather difficult modeling a quilt with a sleeping bundle of joy in her arms, but moms learn early on to juggle, so Erin has things quite under control!

 

So this is one bit of business wrapped up and delivered. So happy to be getting back to blogging!

 

Happy Quilting, Friends!

 

Baby Quilt - Ready for Baby

It is a rare thing, indeed, when I have something done well in advance. I am a seasoned procrastinator, and as such have worked many a late night finishing things that could very easily have been finished much earlier.

So it is with great pride that I share the baby quilt for my friend Vickie's first grandchild, scheduled to arrive in July. I have posted a few mentions of this, if you recall, (click here and here) and after checking with Erin, the mother-to-be, will share with you all the finish. She has seen the pics, and has given her approval.

Bright and cheerful - just what the expectant mother wanted. The pattern was fun to make, even though the directions were limited, and after having to make more blocks than I'd originally cut, I managed to get it together easily. I would definitely make another one. The pattern is called Kissing Fishes, and it was a freebie from some quilting website.

I also had fun collecting random bright and colorful fat quarters for this quilt. I think this is a pleasing mix of colors and patterns.

And I even was able to find an appropriate backing fabric on sale! It is called Coral Reef, I think, by Kaffe Fassett - in pink! It was meant to be!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Three In A Row

Three days of sewing with friends - how lucky can I get??

Yesterday, the party came to me.

My good friend Vickie, a non-quilter, and her daughter, Erin, a quilter-in-training, came over for some assistance. Erin is in "nesting" mode, preparing for the arrival of a baby girl in July! On her own, she has made curtains for the nursery, fitted crib sheets, and more - I want to say a crib skirt, but I'm not sure. Anyway, she has a great start, and the pictures she showed me look fantastic.

Even with these sewing successes under her belt, Erin felt she needed instruction in some of the basics of cutting, squaring up fabric, and minimizing waste. All noble goals, wouldn't you say? So we went to work.

The quilt Erin wants to make is called a Puff Quilt; another name is Biscuit Quilt. I did a Google search for an image, and found this one.

Erin had a website that we looked at, and there was a tutorial, so I think if  you want to make one, finding instructions should be easy.

As a novice quilter, Erin has not amassed the tools to make the process easier and faster. By having an opportunity to use a variety of mine, she now knows the things that will be most useful, should she decide that she wants to pursue this quilting stuff more seriously. We had a brief lesson on rotary cutting; she brought her fat quarters, I cut one or two into 6-inch squares, offering tips as I did, then handed off the rotary cutter to her.

She was a fast learner! In no time she had mastered that cutting business, and was cranking out 6-inch squares just as fast and accurately as you please. She even felt confident enough to give her mother a little tutorial. I do believe Vickie liked the feel of that cutter in her hand!

Our session this afternoon yielded 96 6-inch blocks and 96 4.5-inch blocks, with a few extra for good measure. We used a couple of those extras to practice on making the puffs.

I stitched this puff, and Erin stuffed it. The way it will be made, though, doesn't have the stuffing going in at this point. All the squares will be sewn together and then the stuffing will be inserted.

Erin sat at the machine and stitched one next. Below is what the puff looks like without the stuffing. Basically, the 6-inch square is positioned on the 4.5-inch square, a pleat is formed in the center of each side, and it is stitched all the way around. When all 96 of these are made, they will be connected, and then a slit will be made in the back of each square, the stuffing will be inserted, and then whip-stitched closed. Then a backing is attached to the quilt, and Voila!! A fun quilt is ready for baby!

Erin layed all the squares out on the floor in the pattern she selected. Looks very baby-friendly, doesn't it?

Erin is here visiting her parents for the remainder of the week. (She lives out of state.) I think she intends to work on this while her mother is at work. If she runs into any difficulty, I am just an instant message or text message away!

While Erin worked on her baby quilt, I was able to get all but one diagonal line attached to my Erin's Diamond quilt. I will have that finish for you here tomorrow or Friday. Yaaayy!!

Two Erins - yes, it's confusing. And they played together when they were little.We used the phrases "My Erin" and "Your Erin" to distinguish.

Happy Quilting, Friends!