Friday, May 1, 2015

Not your mother's baby quilts!

Got these sent off Tuesday and they are hopefully now at their new home in NH.
I mentioned that DD#1 didn't want typical baby quilts. These qualify, don't you think? And what fun they were to make!
My top two favorite fabric styles are Civil War reproductions and batiks, so you know I enjoyed these. Third on my list would be thrift store shirts, so I think my next baby quilt will come from that stash.

I wasn't going to put feathers on a baby quilt, but those setting triangles just called out to me, "practice your feathers!!". And believe me, I needed the practice. I draw the curve for the spine of the feather and then work my way up one side of the spine, stitching along the line as I come back down to start up the other side
 I get the quilt "puddled" around the triangle that I will be stitching, and then I get into the flow of the feathering. It is fun, even when I am rusty and have several glitches along the way. I did not unpick (my apologies to the new grandbaby).

 This is what resulted. I realize the final border wasn't stitched when I took this photo, but that's okay, because it wasn't that great. : )

These were April's blocks for those things I don't do. (BB BOM and Attic Heirlooms OOM)
Have only got them fused. May get to the stitching during the MLS soccer game on TV tonight. : ) The snowlady doesn't look like much without all of the stitched details. That will be a basket of flowers in her twiggy hands, and she will be wearing a floral wreath on her chilly brow. If you are doing the BB BOM you may notice that I added a strawberry to my tomato pincushion. Just felt right.

If you follow this blog because you like mini quilts, then you will want to stay tuned. Recently Lisa Bongean of Primitive Gatherings introduced the results of a collaboration with Creative Grids. These rulers are expressly made to meet the needs of the mini maker. They can be ordered here (6x6) and here (3x7).
See all of the thin, little dashed lines in small increments, and the measurements written along the edges? And they have the textured surface along the bottom edges to grip the fabric.  I have been playing with them and in my next post I will be sharing my experiences and giving a thorough review. Believe me, I am thrilled! Thank you, Lisa--somebody needed to do this!!

I'll leave you with another shot of the Sandhill Crane that has been wandering a field to the north of us the past few days. Isn't he a handsome fellow, standing there in the dandelion peppered alfalfa? Don't know if he lost his mate or if he hasn't had one yet, but he looks lonely.

Oh, I forgot to mention that this month marks the 4th anniversary of my blog. One of these days a giveaway will probably surface.

Until next time,
Janet O.

33 comments:

  1. You are up late Blogging or is it EARLY? I was Blogging tonight too. I am glad you got your Baby Quilts sent off. Will you be going to NH to see the new Grandchild? Congrats on 4 years of Blogging!!!

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  2. My kind of baby quilts. This way they can always use them. Very lovely quilting. I saw these small rulers. I would love to have them. Congratulations on your new grand baby.

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  3. So you....both of the baby quilts speak volumes about what you love to do. I know they will be loved. And the feathers look absolutely beautiful.....no one will even notice a wobble or two, and I looked hard!

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  4. I love your grandbaby quilts! So much color and action for baby's eyes to follow. Congratulations on 4 years of blogging too! I'll be looking forward to hearing about those rulers since there are a ton of small scraps lurking in the corners of the closet waiting some action.

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  5. Your quilting looks great to me! My usual quilting is mostly straight lines. The rulers are intriguing and it will be interesting to learn how they work for you.

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  6. Those baby quilts are NOT your typical baby quilts :) and they are gorgeous---the new mom will be delighted, I just know it. :D The Sandhill Crane is a beauty too.

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  7. Colors being used for babies have changed a lot since my kids or even grand-children were little. I have seen pictures of nurseries being done in black and white or in gray shades. I have read that babies like bright colors. Everything was pastel when my kids were little.

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  8. I love those little baby quilts ... but then I love CW fabrics and traditional blocks. I can't wait to hear how you like those little rulers. I haven't used mine yet, but given that I'm getting serious about working with more minis, I suspect that they'll get a nice workout here. I love your new blog header (I hope it's new ... or maybe I just am not very observant).

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  9. Great baby quilts! Of course, I especially love the churn dash quilt and actually, the CW fabrics being darker are more practical for not showing the dirt - if it is getting dragged around. :-)

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  10. Your grand baby is going to love those quilts. So bright and cheerful and the quilting looks fantastic. Feathers are my favorite too. Great picture of the crane with all the dandelion fluff

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  11. The baby quilts are wonderful, they will be greatly appreciated and much used in chilly NH too! :) I love the styles you chose, Janet. Your quilting is lovely. I am a very new convert to the Itty-Bitty Eights, only experimenting with the new ruler yesterday afternoon... it is terrific; the results speak for themselves! This truly is a ruler no quilter should be without. I echo your thanks to Lisa and CG. The crane is majestic, great shot! Happy Anniversary to your blog; here's to many more!

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  12. Gorgeous work as always, Janet! Still haven't tried any feathers myself, but someday...
    Baby quilts are for moms, not babies, anyway!

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  13. Fun baby quilts. Your machine quilting looks great! I am sure you will get good use from the new rulers. Enjoy!

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  14. The baby quilts are gorgeous! We have sandhill cranes in the bottoms across the road from us. I love hearing them, but I rarely see them. Congratulations on your blogiversary! :0)

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  15. The baby quilts are so lovely Mom!

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  16. Wonderful baby quilts! I love the non-typical for baby quilts! And the quilting is perfect from what I can see!
    I also love that (your daughter?) Aimee commented that your quilts are lovely. That means they are so extra special. Thanks for sharing!

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  17. Love Love LOVE those baby quilts, girlfriend!

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  18. Looking forward to hearing more about those cute rulers. If the crane finds a mate, is it possible s/he would stick around? You have a pond if I remember correctly...

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  19. The baby quilts are the best! I think that's what all baby quilts should be like. I'm going to have to start converting others to this idea.

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  20. I think your quilting looks fantastic!

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  21. Beautiful work! It looks like you are having a blast with that mid-arm. Love everything you are working on.

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  22. Absolutely beautiful, mom! They are perfect and I can't stop staring at them! :) Can't wait for my little baby to wrap in them! Thank you!

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  23. What fun, fun quilts Janet! Looks like your daughter loves them, and of course the babe will be happy swaddled up in them too. The quilting turned out so nice - you should shoot and post a video of you doing your quilting sometime - I would love to see you in action! I saw a video doing bump feathers and it was very interesting - might be easier for me than doing them the traditional way. You know that Edyta Sitar mixes batiks with civil war fabrics, right? You'll have to try that some time! I stitched up 20 churn dash blocks last week before my sewing machine went kaput - hope I can get it fixed pronto!

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  24. Love your baby quilts! I just bought those rulers and can't wait to try them out.

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  25. The baby quilts are awesome!! How tiny are they??? And the BOMs that you're not doing? They're also great. Thanks for the link for those rulers!!

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  26. Love those baby quilts!!! Very pretty! The quilting is amazing!
    Kristie

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  27. Good morning Janet, love your two baby quilts, and my favorite is the purple one, (my favorite color) You certainly haven't lost your touch in quilting feathers, an awesome job. Both of the quilts will be a treasure forever. Had to have a little giggle, I thought you didn't like or do BOM's, I like what you did with the addition of the pin cushion, good choice. Sandra, took your suggestion on your K word for her quilt, that too was a great choice. Any of your bloggers interested in scrappy quilts?, hers can be seen at kwiltnkats.blog . We have dugs

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  28. sorry, my pc froze. We have ducks wondering around our yard. It is the time for mating, the mallards are so beautiful. I hope the hawks don't find the eggs. Only half to a fourth hatch because of the hawks or maybe some other critter in the night (lol) Won't be long until our paths cross. You to the east coast, and I to the west coast. It will be great to get and give hugs to our daughters. Until the next.

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  29. Lovely baby quilts! Your quilting is perfect for them.

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  30. Beautiful quilting on your not-so-average baby quilts - they are lovely and it sounds like they will be well loved. Good on you for keeping up with those things you don't do, I've been collecting the BB ones but haven't done any stitching (or cutting!) yet! It sounds like I have some rulers to investigate!

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  31. How big did you make GC #5 quilts? Did DD#1 love them as she should? That crane sure has a beautiful field to walk around in--with all the dandelion wishes surrounding him. Hope you find your new rulers helpful. Sandi

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  32. lovely little baby quilts...always fun to make no matter the pattern.....and the info on the rulers is great! nice to know that resource is available....

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  33. Definitely not your typical baby quilts - and I love them!!! I love that you used lots of hst's and a very visual design too. These will be heirlooms :) Thanks for the reminder of the BB block - I keep forgetting them! This one is really cute :)

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