Sunday, December 8, 2013

New Baby Quilt







A family friend married a few years ago and moved to a beautiful seaside town on the southern coast of Ireland.  When I heard she was expecting her first baby, I wanted to make a very special quilt for her.  Luckily for me, she shared the sex of the baby so I could get started on a quilt for a little girl.

I found a lovely quilt on the Pinterest website but I could not find the pattern.  I just had to wing it on my own and the above quilt is what I came up with.  Firstly, I had to calculate the dimensions of the quilt so that the three bands made up of individual strips of fabric were all equal and the two plain bands were wide enough to accommodate the meandering flowers and vines.  I had to choose 11 different yet compatible quilt prints and sew the strips together.  Then I took the white strips, added stabilizer underneath, and embroidered different flower blossoms and butterflies.  I even used some metallic thread to add a bit more interest.  After that, I appliquéd on the vines and leaves.  Finally, I added free motion quilting to each of the striped bands.  This was the first time I have tried free motion quilting and I think it turned out very well.  I hope this isn't considering cheating but I actually chalked the quilting design directly onto the fabric and when away I went.  It really was nothing to be fearful of doing and I intend on trying free motion on my next quilt.

Next, I embroidered a small fabric gift bag which could also be used as a toy bag for the car or to carry baby items.  Anyway, my friend was so pleased to receive the guilt and said how lovely it was.  I think this was one of my best quilts to date and it certainly turned out well considering I had no pattern.