For those of you that don’t know this about me…
I have a somewhat large family with lots of nieces & nephews.
When my niece was pregnant with the first great niece or nephew
I decided I would make baby quilts for that generation.
It can be a frequent occurrence in a larger family!
While deciding what type of quilt to make for the first baby,
knowing it would set a precedent for all the other babies to follow,
I decided it would be one of my quilt-as-you-go designs.
Quick & easy & washable = usable!
By the time we were planning the baby shower
the mom-to-be had the nursery colors & name picked out already.
So, I took the nursery photos,
the name “Benjamin” & made his quilt:
Soon to follow was this very appropriate book for me
(& anyone else who makes baby quilts!).
Benjamin is the baby in the photos.
He’s now 7 & I’ve made lots of quilts using this book!
Delaney is a family friend.
She is modeling the larger, lap quilt version of the quilt
that is also included in the book.
The entire alphabet is included (& reversed for you & me…)
Yay!
Well, last week while teaching out of town,
I became a great aunt again.
Regardless of how busy I am,
I’m taking the baby quilt to the new baby the first time I see them!
So, since I had a big quilt finish Sunday night, (reveal later…)
Monday I chose my 3 fabrics & at 6 pm started cutting…
I made the fused letters at the beginning of the project & got the
applique out of the way before I started sewing any of the strips onto the foundation.
Once the applique was complete,
I started sewing the strips.
Since there are only 2 types of strips,
& it’s a baby quilt, it goes together very quickly!
Soon all of the strips were sewn onto the foundation
& I was ready to quilt the border strip
since that’s too large of an area to leave unquilted.
I typically free-motion quilt around the letters.
Soon after, it was ready for the binding.
By 11:09 pm I put the very last stitch into the binding!
I never, ever, start a quilt and not stop until it’s complete
so it was fun to do that this time & know that it took me
exactly 5 hours & 9 minutes to make this quilt
& I took some photos along the way to show you.
I have to say having the fabric decisions out of the way was helpful!
I met baby Keaton last night & he’s a sweetie (of course!).
His big sister is in love with him too.
Here is her quilt when I finished it 3 years ago.
So nice to know exactly what I’m going to make when
another baby or baby shower comes along.
It takes a lot of anguish out of my day!
For those of you that sew for a baby that hasn’t had a reveal before the gift is needed,
just applique “BABY” in place of the name!
Pretty sure I’ve thought of everything with this one, Lol.
You can find the book on my website
& one happy great aunt right here!
Off to get more sewing done.
Fall Market will be here soon!
Just Keep Sewing…
Susan
Quilting my way through life! 