A very special baby calls for a very special gift.
The baby in question, little Katie May, had a wee bit of a rough welcome into the world, but I'm happy to report that she's cute as a button and a very laid back three-week old (which, for anyone who knows her father, is not genetic!)
This sweet little gal needed a sweet little quilt to let her know that we love her!
I bought the Hopscotch lap size quilt kit from Periwinkle Quilting (of course) intending to make it for my own baby girl, but once her nursery began to evolve, it didn't quite seem to fit anymore. I knew the right baby would come along for this project eventually and she did!
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| My trusty assistant helping me with chain stitching the charm squares for the quilt top! |
The lovely thing about this pattern is that it is all straight lines, so putting the quilt top together was straightforward (and a lot of fun!) The fabric in the kit was also really cute - kind of vintage and country at the same time.
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| Determining the design of the blocks |
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| Adding the red sashing really made the blocks "pop"! |
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| Last part of the quilt top: the floral border |
Because the quilt top is so girly, I opted for a more modern backing fabric. I had bought the end of the roll of one of my favourite prints (
featured in my first quilt!) a while back and was excited to use it here.
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| Cutie bicycle print for the backing fabric! |
I knew that I wanted to take this project to a professional quilter, since the simple pattern seemed to require more than just a "stitch in the ditch" (which is all I'm capable of).
I'm so glad I did! Lynette from Ladybug Quilting worked with me on coming up with a design I loved - a whimsical loopy ladybug and flower print - perfect for baby K.
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| Back from the professional quilter - I love this quilt!! |
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| Loopy ladybugs with a variegated thread |
The last order of business was to trim the batting and add the binding. I'm happy to report that with more experience, my hand stitching has gotten marginally faster and it didn't take me nearly as long to finish up the binding on this quilt. Perhaps it was my mom telling me that she could hand stitch the binding on a lap size quilt in ONE NIGHT that lit a fire under me.
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| An evening on the porch and a cold beer helped get the job done. |
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| Ta da! |
Yes, she is one very special baby, but she also has some pretty special parents, and I'm glad a piece of Prairie Sown will be a part of their lives with Katherine.
Joel: When did you start quilting?
Me: When I turned into an old lady!
