A New Baby! And Baby Quilts

 A few weeks or maybe a month ago, I dabbled in the Kaffe Fassett fabrics and made some blocks for a baby quilt. Actually, two. We seem to be having so many babies coming lately - our own daughter, and friends and family are adding babies one after another it seems.

Anyway, I used some KF fabrics paired with some solids from my stash to come up with 2 baby quilts. One is definitely for our daughter's new baby, and one is an extra for any of the little girls already here or are coming soon.

My thought was that I would imitate the quilt I made in 2022 for Cate. Click here to see it. Since I didn't use a pattern and made it up as I went, I did the same thing on these 2 new ones. The sizing for these two new ones is smaller, but still they'll be okay for newborns, I think.

The two quilts are identical except for the binding. One is bound with a remnant binding made from lots of scrap strips. The other is bound with a single fabric cut from some yardage. The backing is a blue solid - and yes, these are intended for baby girls, but I didn't have pink yardage - and all has been from the stash. Use it up!

And, YES!! Our little one arrived early this morning! Reagan Jayne Storey stormed into the world at 6:53am, and weighed in at 8lbs. 3oz. She's a long girl at 21 inches. We are a tall family, and so is Glen's, so length was to be expected. Emma is doing great and this sweet new family has a whole lot of love surrounding them.

Happy Birthday, Reagan! We got up to the hospital before she was 6 hours old, and to say we are in love is a major understatement. Emma pulled off quite a surprise with her name! Neither Kevin nor I had any idea they were planning that middle name for her, and consequently I have been a borderline emotional mess all day! A happy mess, though, to be sure.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Jayne

Cate - 10 Weeks Old

 Since her birth in late October, DH and I have made Tuesdays our day to visit our sweet baby Cate. It has been wonderful watching her change and grow through these early weeks. Yesterday was our last Tuesday, as next week she starts at daycare and her mama, our daughter, heads back to work. Maternity leave has ended.

As much as I will miss these weekly visits, it coincides quite nicely with our upcoming month in Florida. The Tuesdays -terrific Tuesday, as my DH called it - were bound to conclude at some point. 

Let's mark this occasion with a few pictures of Cate who happens to have a few quilts made by Granny Jayne.

After a good nap and a bottle, Cate needed some time to stretch out and entertain the adults in the room. DDErin spread out this quilt on the floor for 'tummy time' - it has a nice ring to it, but she was never on her tummy!

Doesn't the quilt look great? It is evident that it's been laundered a few times, with all the crinkly goodness showing up. It is so gratifying to see Erin using this quilt.

Is Cate not the cutest baby you've ever seen??? Her demeanor is so pleasant and she seems to be thriving in every way. Gosh, she is irresistible!

I wrote about making this quilt back in September and October. Honestly, it almost didn't get made. I had no plan for making it - ever. I just had a wild moment of inspiration that combining a gorgeous Kaffe Fassett floral with a solid would result in a wonderfully cute quilt. Mostly, I was just playing around. 

The urge to just play around with fabrics was just part of my objective. I was also motivated to make a quilt for our soon-to-be-born grandchild, and I knew her mother was partial to Kaffe Fassett fabrics. I am nowhere near as artistic as Erin, but I attempted to make a quilt that would appeal to her sense of color and design. Perhaps I succeeded. *grin*

It does this ol' quilter good to see a baby quilt being used and loved. 

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Dithering - Avoid If Possible

My best advice to a quilter of any stage of advancement is don't waste time dithering!

Whenever I find myself wasting too much time overthinking something, I force myself to follow that advice.

Case in point: I have a quilt top (above) ready for the long arm, but have not found a suitable backing in my stash for it. While on vacation, I bought yardage, but did not have the quilt with me and the colors just don't work. The bottom fabric in the stack below was intended to be the backing. My quilt top and the purchased fabric just don't have the same "vibe" - they don't work, in my opinion.

Back here at home, it occurred to me that perhaps I should check my tub of flannels; it's been literally years since I've made a flannel project. Sure enough, I did find some promising stuff!

Nowhere in the recesses of my brain do I remember where or when I acquired these two flannels. But by gosh, they are going to be sewn together, and they will make a perfect backing for this baby boy quilt. A much more suitable "vibe." 

Perfect"? Perhaps not, but definitely will work. And I am stoked to finish it!

And this is how you avoid dithering. You don't worry about super-perfect matches. You make do with the best options in your stash whenever possible. A backing need not be a headache; it's a backing! 

I wish I had thought to check the flannels before buying the yardage, but ah well, the next baby boy quilt I need to make will get its start with that new stuff.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Easiest Baby Quilt

While we were away gawking at fall color in upstate New York and Pennsylvania, I posted a picture on a Facebook thread in which the quilter asked about easy and fast quilts for a baby gift. It occurred to me that I have made seven -7! - versions of this quilt. 

First, here is the picture I shared. It was the version most readily available on my phone. It got several inquiries from quilters on the thread, so I thought I'd share it here, along with all its 'cousins.'

Now, let me go in what I think is the correct order of making. The one shown above was made in April 2020.
 

The first was for my nephew and his wife as they expected their first son in November 2017. I wrote about gifting this quilt here.

Also in 2017, I made this version. While the blocks are smaller, the same general plan is used. This one is shown with the backing fabric hanging in front. The quilt was pinned to the design wall; for whatever reason, I don't think I have a finished picture of this quilt.

In 2018, I made this one for a friend who went to school with  my kiddos.

Another one made in 2020; this is for a little girl, and featured flannels.

The two most recent baby quilts have been for my sister's two grandchildren, Archie and Boone.

Archie's was made using some leftovers from previous baby quilts along with a collection of playful Fisher Price fabrics.

Boone's was made with bright green and yellow juvenile prints featuring tractors, airplanes and such. I need to get a better picture; it was secret sewing when this was taken; I neglected to have a full view photo to use for later.

Even though some of the photos are not full-on shots of the quilts, the general idea is still there. I make the quilts wide enough so that I can use a length of 45" fabric for the backing. The squares for the top are usually cut at 4" or 5" although some of them may have been smaller. Definitely that one with gray and orange was smaller. I generally make them as wide as possible to fit the yardage of the backing, or until I run out of one of the fabrics for the top. No great scientific plan for these; they are to be used and washed and loved and snuggled. When and if they wear out, the mamas simply need to let me know that they'd like another!

Hope you are having a great day! We got home from our trip late afternoon Tuesday; all the luggage has been cleared and put away. I have done a bit of hand quilting on Fall Foliage. Making progress!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Baby Quilts Gifted

Earlier this month Sharon and I met our friend and former fellow English teacher Dee for lunch.  Big news from Dee is that she is now a grandmother, and both Sharon and I had baby quilts to give her for the new baby girl.

Rather than bother with quilts in a restaurant, we just conducted the gifting right in the windy parking lot. You've seen my contribution already - the chevron quilt in primary colors. Sharon's is much calmer - a soft gray and white rail fence design.

And in the last week or so, Dee has sent pictures of sweet little Emery - now almost 3 months old - on her new quilts. She came into the world a bit prematurely; she's just the tiniest mite of a thing!  These quilts look gigantic with such a tiny baby.

Look at that smile! She is sporting her Irish green finery in that second photo. 

It was great seeing Dee and it is good to gift another quilt. Just this week, I learned that come August our family will have yet another baby coming, so my baby quilt making will be continuing.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Long Arm Job

When I began (finally!) using the Tin Lizzie, I pretty much determined that I was going to get lots of practice on my own quilts before I ever even considered doing them for others.

Ahem.

You know, those best laid plans you're always hearing about? Mine have been shot to pieces.

My Frienzie, Hettie, contacted me Friday afternoon with an urgent need for a baby quilt to be quilted. The woman she had originally planned to have doing it was unexpectedly called out of state for an ailing parent. Yes, I am doing her quilt for her.

This baby quilt measures 38" x 52". Hettie requested stippling, but since I only know one type of quilting, she said that would be fine. Below is her backing.

So, what kind of stitching do I know how to do? Well, I suppose I invented it, based on seeing an awful lot of quilts over the years. Call it Jayne's Loopy Style - I just sorta' take off, having no idea what I'm going to end up with. I am beginning to understand what I have heard referred to as "muscle memory" - I do find that I achieve that after a while. Interesting how that happens.

The two pictures below are representative of Loopy Style. I will continue to perfect it, for sure. Practice makes perfect, as they say.

I have my own baby quilt to load, as well, so I am going to attempt putting both on at the same time. I did that with help down at the Cynthiana shop summer-before-last; it will make quick work of two quilts, if I can achieve it.

This is the baby quilt I need to finish. It is for a baby that is already 5 months old! My nephew's little boy Graham will be the recipient.

Hope you had a great weekend, and that your first full week of 2020 is productive.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Emma Makes A Quilt!

Both of my daughters are at the age where many of their girlfriends are having babies. I have written on several occasions of helping them (in varying degrees) to make a baby quilt for this or that friend from high school or college or work. To read about some earlier efforts from Emma, click here and here. To read about some of Erin's baby quilts, click here and here.

More and more I am doing less helping! They are becoming quite confident in their quilt-making efforts. Yay! Both girls have a baby quilt in progress, and I have done practically no helping whatsoever!

Having the daughters take up quilting has been really gratifying for me. They each have a very distinct sense of style and color, and do a good job of combining fabrics and patterns. I believe it was Emma who said before making her first baby quilt that she figured she would continue the tradition of Honnold ladies making/gifting baby quilts. *smile*

Last Saturday, Emma came with fabric and when the day ended, she had a whole quilt made and quilted! The only part left to do was to hand stitch the binding. And she did it all on her own! I was across the room to give advice and offer suggestions, but she did all of the construction herself.

 We started with cutting strips of 5 fabrics that she purchased for this little girl quilt. The idea was to copy a quilt I recently made - super fast beginner stuff, for sure. Emma decided the width of each row and the placement of fabrics.

After she decided the quilt top was finished (that's the beauty of this quilt - no pattern! Just make it up as you go!), I dug out some scrap batting. She had already determined that the elephant print would be the backing, so we prepped it, spray basted all the layers and set up for machine quilting.

While she quilted, I made her binding. She stitched it on with corner instructions from me. This week her only job has been to hand stitch the binding. The baby shower is tomorrow.

These last two photos provide a closer look at the fabrics - the color scheme is purple and gray. The fabrics are not at all "juvenile" prints; they run from that elegant floral to the more playful elephants and dots.

It was a fun day. We visited and gabbed all afternoon. Emma did 10 years of 4-H - all sewing - so she knows her way around the sewing room. Once she gets more settled, we'll get her a sewing machine of her own, and she will be able to do all of this without Mom's help. (Hmm, maybe I will hold off on getting her a machine of her own!) I really enjoyed the day. *smiles*

Happy Quilting, Friends!

October Update

I gotta' get my act together! October is nearly over, and I have not accomplished near the tasks I had hoped.

This teaching gig is seriously digging into my sewing and quilting time. *whine!*

I had to cancel sewing yesterday with Sharon because I still had 15 essays to read. Plus, book club is tomorrow and I had barely started the book. (More on that later.) And I admit, I do a substantial amount of running around whenever friends or family want to do something. So, I am complicit in my sewing shortcomings.

I want to make the remaining week of October productive, so I am going on record right now with the following goals:

1. Finish the basket quilt top.

I have just 2 or 3 horizontal rows to attach along with their sashing strips. Should be one afternoon without interruptions to accomplish.

2. Finish Chock Full O' Charms quilt top.

Apparently, I haven't taken any pictures of the current CFO'C quilt, so above is a smaller version of it which I made 2-3 years ago. I am using 8 Charm Packs of Rachel Remembered, and it is going to be gorgeous! I have some of that luscious blue floral for the border. Mmmm… It will be a beauty. Stay tuned!

3. Finish the Schmidt baby quilt.

This has been a UFO for at least 3 months. I just keep putting it off. I have the border and backing fabric purchased. Like that first quilt, this would require just one nice, long session at the machine and I'd have a finish. Do I need to mention that this baby is at least 6 weeks old already?? *sheesh*

 So, three goals to try to accomplish by next Wednesday. Let's see how I fare.

Hope you are having a great Wednesday! I am about to head off to class. It's a gorgeous day!
Happy Quilting, Friends!

Meet Robert!

This has been the year of the baby quilts, as I have gifted 4 and helped the daughters with at least 3 more. Many blessed events this year!

One of the quilts I recently gifted has popped up in an email photo along with the handsome young man for whom it was made. I'd like you to meet Robert Schrader. He looks pretty darn thrilled with his quilt, don't you think?

Robert's quilt was a jelly roll race quilt made with Neptune fabric. I quilted it when I rented time on the long arm machine at Mendlebrights down in Cynthiana. Grammy Vickie, my close friend, delivered it for me recently, and momma Erin provided the picture. Wouldn't you just love to cuddle on this guy for awhile?? I'm told he has the most unruly hair! Wow!

It's pretty hectic around here lately. I did get the Tin Lizzie all set up, with the valuable help of DH. We plugged it in and it fired right up. Now for some time to test things out. First, though, we have had an electrician in to create more outlets for the basement space where the machine is located.

I have done some secret Santa sewing the past couple of days, and I am slowly working on Christmas decorations. Busy! Should take time to enjoy, right?!

Hope you are having a wonderful week!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

An Update on Emma

Blogging regularly has become a real chore for me lately, and I can't quite pinpoint a satisfactory reason. For close to nine years, I have always been eager and happy to share my quilting work here on my little blog. Lately, though, I am in a slump. I have plenty of material to blog about, but I seem to have lost my enthusiasm for doing it. I think I will just go with the flow through the remainder of the year, blogging a bit less frequently, and perhaps begin the new year with a renewed vitality for more regular blogging. Typically, I do find lots of renewed energy as I being a new year.

I will take a moment today to fill you in on an update from DD2, Emma. Back in February, she and I worked together on a baby quilt for Brooklin, one of her college roommates. That little boy is pictured above with said quilt and his parents in a professional photograph! Special quilt! *smile*

And last month, the two of us worked on another baby quilt for her boyfriend's sister. That quilt, too, was a huge success. Above, Emma and the mother-to-be are showing off the quilt at the baby shower. Since she appears to enjoy making these baby quilts, I am holding onto hope that she will eventually fall into quilting as a hobby. I did try to cultivate it when she was a child, but it really never seemed to interest her all that much. Perhaps there was an incubation period??

In other Emma news, she has recently been in Chicago with her boyfriend who was attending a school-related conference. He is working on a Master's degree in engineering, and earned a spot at this conference. Emma tagged along. Above is the only picture she sent me of their sight-seeing.

And finally, she got some really good news a couple of weeks ago. My sister-in-law, Emma's Aunt Ann, put her name into a "giving raffle" sponsored by an order of nuns in Indiana. Emma's ticket was drawn and she won $250! Isn't that sweet? Ann told me she put a different niece's name on each raffle ticket she bought and said a little prayer as she sent them off. How nice! Here's how she looked when she opened the envelop.

Crazy girl. But I sure do love her!

Hope you don't mind that I spent a post focusing on one of my kiddos. I am still sewing, and making a fair amount of progress on November's UFO. Hopefully I can share that soon.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Friday Finishes

A week-plus ago, I spent a few hours quilting three baby quilts. One of them, I finished off with the binding right away. The second, I prepped the binding, but did not finish. The third, I did not have enough of the backing fabric to do a binding, so I was in need of a suitable alternative. That stymied me. Earlier today, I dug through the stash, found something that I deemed acceptable, and I was ready to go.

This is the quilt with the substitute binding. Based on color, it works well, however, I would not have used this in anything other than a binding capacity; it is not a match, at all, if you were to see larger pieces. And that's all I have to say about that.

The chevron Buckeye quilt is now finished. It is bound with the flannel that is used for the backing. The quilting on this is freehand - yes, I did free motion quilting, my first voyage. It was extremely fun. I'd gotten my confidence by following a template on two earlier quilts, so I felt ready for free motion.

The quilting on this was done with a template. It was fun to do, but working from the back of the machine is very different from working from the front. I can see benefits of both.

At last all three baby quilts are ready for delivery. I will find some gift bags, wrap them up and hand them off to the grandparents - they can take it from there. I do hope that each family will remember to send a pic of their new little guy with his quilt; if they do, you can be sure to see them here.

I am linking with Finish It Up Friday over at Crazy Mom Quilts. She is showcasing a beautiful bag that looks just too scrumptious!

Happy Quilting, Friends!