Winnie the Pooh Finish

This should come as no surprise for anyone who's been following me over at the OKC Modern Quilt Guild, but Winnie the Pooh is done! 

I started the quilt in August, in what can only be described as a fit of insanity after finishing Alien Invasion for my nephew. It is based on an adorable panel I found at Katydid's Kid's Fabrics, and supplemented with Fat Quarters from my LQSs and stash. Pieced, it looked like this:

I am especially proud of the cornerstones, which are my second-ever paper piecing project. I wanted to put little suns in the corners, but didn't want to mess with appliqué; so after much contemplation, I downloaded the templates from Swim Bike Quilt's Summer Sampler Evening Star Block, shrank them to about a 4.5" block, and changed up the color scheme a bit. These were definitely the most labor-intensive part of the quilt, but I am very happy with how they turned out. I think they add a cheerful touch to the final product.

Every time I do a scrappy binding, I swear it will be my last.  And then, I do another. So, it comes as no surprise that I put the final stitches in the binding (Kona Solids in blue and green - scrappy, of course) when contractions were 10 minutes apart. But as always, I am pleased by the effect. And glad I didn't cut any corners on my daughter's feature quilt.

But the best part is,  she already likes it :-)

Go Baby A! And happy sewing, everyone. Best wishes for the holidays!

The Big Finish - Baby RLQ

Dear Blogland - I have been away for a very long time, but I have an excuse! Baby RLQ has arrived. Baby A saw fit to come into the world on October 11, and is happy healthy, and VERY adept at keeping me busy!

Time has really flown since she came, and I'm surprised to realize she'll be six weeks old this coming Thursday. Still, I could't be a happier mom.

Oh, and for anyone wondering, yes I *did* finish her Winnie the pooh quilt before she came... just barely. Stay tuned for a separate post on that.

Trick or Treat Completed!

Or, baby's first quilt.

 

I just put the last stitches in the binding of Trick or Treat. Much like Baby RLQ, this quilt has been nine months in the making. I cut into the fabric still in the daze that came with learning we were pregnant, and as it turns out I finished it just two weeks before she is due.

I hope she likes it.

It's a new experience, making a quilt for my OWN child, I must admit. By my count I have made a total of 9 "baby" quilts at this point; four for family, three for friends and two for charity. I figured I had it down. But it turns out, there was this immense pressure to get it RIGHT this time: I know she is going to watch me improve as a quilter over the years, and I want the first quilt I made from her to stand up to any comparisons.

It's easy to say "I love you" with fabric, but how do you say "you are mine and I love you more"? I worked a lot harder on the free-motion quilting for this quilt than I had for previous ones, and I scoured Etsy for the fabric I needed to make my first-choice binding when it became hard to find. I think all my fussing was a way to feel close to her - on the one hand she's been with me 24/7 through the entire process, but on the other I still haven't actually met her.

But, at least I know where I will lay her on when she comes home from the hospital, and what to warm her with if her first halloween gets a little cold. Stay in and grow strong and healthy as long as you like, little one. When you come out your father and I are ready to wrap you in love :-)

A Gift from my Quilt Guild

Baby RLQ remains tucked safely inside, but at my September guild meeting, everyone had a surprise for me: A collaboration quilt!

It seems the word is out that I like bright colors, and modern quilting :-) Group members who participated were given the instructions to work with teals, pinks, and oranges, and to "make a block that represents you as a quilter." Which I have to say, led to a lot of really stunning individual blocks! I totally teared up when I opened this, and did NOT want to let it go to continue my WIP afterwards!

For this quilt thanks go to at least 8 members of my guild, plus a special thanks to guild member Amanda over at the Cozy Pumpkin, who not only organized the effort, but also assembled the blocks into a quilt herself.  The quilt has been given a place of honor at the center of the nursery, where my only dilemma is, which side to display?

 They're both so gorgeous...

OK, signing off before I start to cry again.

Modern Quilt Block

Still chugging along on the Pooh Quilt. But, I managed to dig up some photos of a fun, quick project I finished a little over a month ago: a block for the quilt my guild is taking to Quiltcon!

All of us started with 3 fat eighths of Micheal Miller solids - I think mine were tangerine, lime, and charcoal - and instructions that just said "Make one 12.5" modern block." Ok, that was straightforward enough.

Any time I have limited fabric, I always worry about making a cutting or math mistake, and subsequently 'keep it simple' becomes my motto. I'd been admiring this Asterisk quilt for a while, so I decided on a "modified asterisk" (really a Japanese + & x block) for my block. First I made the "x"...

then decided how big I wanted the "+"...

and in the end, this is what I had:

We presented our blocks at the last guild meeting, and I am super, super excited for my block to be part of our quilt at QuiltCon! Stay tuned for a link to the finished project, which is being assembled by the amazing JemJam and will probably be done in November.

WIP Extra: A Nursery In Progress

T minus 5 weeks and counting! I have to admit, before I got pregnant I had all sort of visions for how I was going to revel in the baby prep, and have it done months ahead of schedule. Then I actually got pregnant and reality set in: gestating a human being is a job of its own! Fortunately, my husband and my parents have been really great, and assembling the nursery has been a group effort. This WIP Wednesday is a little off-topic, but I hope you'll "bear' with me.

It didn't take us long to decide on a pooh theme for the nursery: I'm an Eeyore fan, Pooh is safe and gender neutral, and lots of baby stuff comes in it. Originally when we decided on Pooh , we ordered this bedding set and called it our color inspiration:

Unfortunately, it got backordered twice and then went out of stock entirely (I'm working on a fix for that), but the influence remains. Part of its appeal was that we got to keep the beige-and-slate-green color theme that had defined the nursery back before when it was our office.

Of course, the thing that makes a room into a nursery for most people is the crib. The day of the ultrasound, we went down to the local baby boutique and - giddy with newfound excitement that the thing inside me was in fact a person, with little person parts and little person movements and pictures to prove it - fell in love with a round-backed crib by Baby Creations.

We ordered it in black because we knew from previous experience that black looked best with the color of wall we'd picked. Then came the changing table.

We agonized a little bit (well, I did) about "changing table" vs. "dresser" but changing tables are a lot less expensive and more flexible. It was hard to find a black changing table locally, but we were pleasantly surprised when the one we ordered off Amazon arrived on our doorstep the very next day.

For seating we've got a reading chair that was a pre-existing office feature. We also brought in some and old particle board cube from the garage, which my husband painted black to match the furniture.   I then improved it with a (homemade!) foam cushion for the top.

Our showers aren't until the end of the month, so it'll still be a while before the nursery gets populated with all the little things, but I've saved the best for last.

Wanting to keep the cats out - but the baby accessible - my husband and my dad banded together to make a dutch door for the nursery. So, she'll have visibility and good air circulation, and we'll be able to check on her whenever we pass her in the hall.

Personally, I can't wait :-)

WIP Wednesday #15: Oh, Bother

You'd think after my experience on Alien Invasion, where I challenged an unborn child to a race and managed to get beaten by someone who was literally "born yesterday," I'd have learned my lesson. But, apparently not. 

I have a little girl due October 9, I want to make her a pooh quilt before she is born. Because it will be a focal point of her nursery, it can't be too simple; and being me, even though I only have 5-6 weeks to go, I am still working the design out. 

What I have: 

This is what I have so far. It's a 36 x 45 panel trimmed to ~25 x 32, and with "fast and easy" pinwheels that are perfectly sized to go along the sides (link). Sorry about the flash glare, it was late last night when I was taking these.

I still would like to sash the quilt, including a window box around the center panel like I did with Charity Quilt For a Princess, and have different blocks in the corners to break up the pinwheel theme.

What I still need to figure out:

Sashing: I bought a bright yellowish/orange honey-colored fabric to frame the print in, but now I am reconsidering because of its overall brightness (see below). It works well with pooh, but kind of fades out the pinwheels.

 I also have a blue in my stash that might work for the occasion:

I'm not sure I like the way it downplays the panel plaid, though.

I also saw a lighter solid that was a near-perfect match for Tigger's tummy, which I left at the store but am now considering going back for; It'd blend in a little with some of my pinwheel backgrounds, but keep the color pop effect.

And I'm at least considering just putting the pinwheels next to the panel plaid, I don't think they look half-bad that way. But I do think I want a little sashing around the outside before the binding, and it'd be nice if that pulled colors from something closer in.

Corners: There is a voice that whispers in my ear, four more pinwheels and I could be done; but when I first conceived of the quilt, I thought little suns in the corners would be cute. I'm not sure I am ready to give up on that yet.

I bought Moda marbles in three complimentary colors, and I was thinking about using the Evening Star pattern from the Summer Sampler Series. The bad part of this plan is that is incredibly inefficient and  involves paper piecing, but the good part is, I do like the block and it would look incredibly cute. Oh, decisions, decisions. Does anyone else have a simple sun pattern that they like using? I am definitely open to ideas.

And, that's where I am. Still wide open to suggestions on several fronts. Linking up to WIP Wednesday to see if anyone there can help me out, and to show off what I've got so far!