Quilt for Another Baby
About a month ago I was invited to a baby shower for the daughter of my director/friend at work. I've known her daughter since she was a young girl coming to dance intensives in Jackson, Mississippi, years ago. And now she's all grown up and is a dance teacher/choreographer and lives with her opera singer husband in New York City.
The idea of making a quilt had crossed my mind, but I didn't get her nursery colors until two weeks before the shower and I just didn't think I could make that kind of deadline. But friend Gwen said she thought we could knock out a top in a day, so we went for it.
I have loved the New Wave pattern since I first saw it and thought it might not be that challenging for two experienced quilters. I pulled fabrics on a Friday night and we ran to the store Saturday morning to pick up a couple more to complete the project.
It is difficult to find good ballet fabric. A lot of it is cute, but technique is usually lacking. I had bought just one fat quarter of an Alexander Henry ballet shoe print years ago and had only a small bit of it left. I was so excited when I found there was enough for one row of end pieces.
And then the cutting began. Gwen cut the sashing strips from a piece of dark taupe with dark pink flowers scattered on it that we had found on our shopping trip. I cut all the wedges. We set up my Featherweight table in the living room and she sewed all the strips on while I trimmed and restacked blocks to sew into columns. When we finished, my arm was so sore! I realized that while Gwen was up and down between the machine and the ironing board, I had been standing and cutting all afternoon!
I spent the next week quilting and binding. But the end result was well worth it. I love this birch fabric from my stash. I found the brown plaid on that morning run to the store. Doesn't it make a great looking binding with that touch of teal?
These flowers look a bit orange, but they are definitely pink in the center of the petals and have a touch of brown in the details. It was perfect for the backing.
In the end, it came out to be a baby quilt with a sophisticated, contemporary look. It was quite a hit at the shower. It's not so juvenile that I think it will serve the yet-to-arrive little girl for a long time and will be very suitable for a young New Yorker!
The idea of making a quilt had crossed my mind, but I didn't get her nursery colors until two weeks before the shower and I just didn't think I could make that kind of deadline. But friend Gwen said she thought we could knock out a top in a day, so we went for it.
I have loved the New Wave pattern since I first saw it and thought it might not be that challenging for two experienced quilters. I pulled fabrics on a Friday night and we ran to the store Saturday morning to pick up a couple more to complete the project.It is difficult to find good ballet fabric. A lot of it is cute, but technique is usually lacking. I had bought just one fat quarter of an Alexander Henry ballet shoe print years ago and had only a small bit of it left. I was so excited when I found there was enough for one row of end pieces.
And then the cutting began. Gwen cut the sashing strips from a piece of dark taupe with dark pink flowers scattered on it that we had found on our shopping trip. I cut all the wedges. We set up my Featherweight table in the living room and she sewed all the strips on while I trimmed and restacked blocks to sew into columns. When we finished, my arm was so sore! I realized that while Gwen was up and down between the machine and the ironing board, I had been standing and cutting all afternoon!
I spent the next week quilting and binding. But the end result was well worth it. I love this birch fabric from my stash. I found the brown plaid on that morning run to the store. Doesn't it make a great looking binding with that touch of teal?
These flowers look a bit orange, but they are definitely pink in the center of the petals and have a touch of brown in the details. It was perfect for the backing.
In the end, it came out to be a baby quilt with a sophisticated, contemporary look. It was quite a hit at the shower. It's not so juvenile that I think it will serve the yet-to-arrive little girl for a long time and will be very suitable for a young New Yorker!
Comments
Visiting from Artful Quilters ring... I've bookmarked your page. :D
-Beth