bring on the baby boys

Here are a few of the blankets I have made for the sweet baby boys of my friends.  Thank you friends for having these babes.  I love sewing and quilting for them.

a blanket for jovie

Even though I am done having babies (as far as I know!), I love that my sisters are still adding to their families.  It's so much fun to be an aunt!  My sister, Caitlin, had a baby girl this week and they named her Jovie Quinn.  What a beautiful baby and a beautiful name.      

  

About a month ago I finished this quilt for her baby because I was really excited and of course, I love any reason to make a baby quilt. 

 

The center fabric is by Alexander Henry.

The back is a soft pink corduroy fabric that I have been hanging on to and finally found the perfect project for.

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 I machine quilted it going diagonal and really like this look.  I will have to remember that for future quilting!

still here and with a new baby blanket

I don't know why exactly I go through spurts of blogging frequently and then seem to stop all together. I am usually still sewing and crafting behind the scenes, but life gets busy and I don't have time to sit at the computer and document it. The kids have been out of school for two and a half weeks already and I am still adjusting to the new schedule. Not to mention, I am fighting for computer time! It's a bit odd to go from a very scheduled life to one with only a schedule I produce myself (with the help of the kids, of course). But, I did want to blog about this baby boy blanket I made last week.

I have had this Alexander Henry fabric for a few years and started the quilt around this fabric. I also had cut up a sheet and that's where I got the blue and white ticking.  

The back is navy and white seersucker which is a great summer fabric.

The quilting is just random spaces lines. I tend to keep it pretty simple on the quilting since I don't have much talent or experience in that area. I liked having 4 or 5 lines per strip of fabric because it added so much texture to the quilt.

baby girl quilt

 I have been waiting to post this for awhile and now that I have given the quilt to my good friend, Angela for her baby girl, I can share it with you.  I am starting to love piecing baby quilts.  Of course, I understand that the work on them is quite small compared to the larger quilts, but it is good to practice my quilting skills on these little pieces of work. 

I attempted to make very random blocks with all the pink, green and turquoise fabrics that I had for a little girl.  As I made each block, I wasn't sure if it would be a big ol' mess or turn in to something unique and sweet.  I just kept going until I had twelve blocks done and then laid them out on the floor until they looked as though there was a little pattern to my madness.  I used strips of a pink and white fabric I had picked up from Joanne's to separate the blocks and I think it helped break up the madness a bit.  

 The back of the quilt was a solid pink on pink fabric that had silhouettes of boys and girls that I have had for awhile and can't remember who made it.  I don't have any left or I would look for the source.  But, I think it was cute to have a children on the back of a baby quilt. I free motion quilted and made the pattern rather large swirls.  I like it, but wish that I would have done them closer together.  I was afraid to go wild with the quilting, but I think next time, I will just have to be a little more "free" with the free motion!

sweet baby quilt for baby boy

One baby quilt at a time - that's my progress timeline with quilting. I like to quilt, but just a bit! A few years ago, I printed off this Sweet Baby Quilt pattern by Jackie Clark at Windham Fabrics online. I forgot about it until I was going through my big binder of sewing ideas and found it. I thought it would be a great easy pattern for me to go beyond the last two baby blankets I made with just strips like here and here. I changed up the sides a little because I didn't have enough fabric to do a solid strip on all four sides, so I added another fabric to help. The back of the quilt is a soft grey corduroy that I got at WalMart a few years ago when they were getting rid of their fabric department. I just used a very lose chain pattern for the quilting to keep it simple!

valentine table runner

I have needed a small little runner on my entry table for some time. I had plans to get one done for Christmas using vintage table cloths, but since the fabrics for it are still sitting in a pile upstairs by my sewing machine, I decided to move on and make one for Valentines day. It's not too long - just 42" and it's 13" wide. I just took scraps of my favorite red and pink fabrics and cut them in to either 2", 3", or 4" wide and pieced them together. I stitched in the ditch for the quilting part. I really need to branch out with some sort of free motion, but for now, I am staying in the ditch. I photographed it on my kitchen table and it looks tiny there, but it is the perfect size for my entry table. I am excited that I got it done. I actually might get the Christmas one done now since it came together so quickly!

another baby quilt

I completed another baby quilt this week. I used vintage fabrics and a vintage sheet along with fabric from Girlfriends by Jennifer Paganelli and yellow seersucker. I added 2 inch white strips in between the printed fabrics to help the colors pop. This quilt is for a baby girl, but I think the mom of this little girl is more of a cool mama instead of a girly mama, so I kept the colors cool and not too bright. I just stitched in the ditch for the quilting which made long horizontal quilting stitches. My mom was here visiting so I had her help me (or completely do) the binding. She likes and uses the binding tutorial from Heather Bailey's blog and as I watched her, it seemed much easier than the way I bound the last quilt.

my very first bound quilt

I am a bit sad that I don't have a photo of it right out of the dryer. You see...I finished it the day of the baby shower and took photos before I put it in the washer and dryer. I didn't get it pulled out until a few minutes before I left for the shower that night. I loved how it looked after it had been dried. The front fabrics are a combination of fabric left from outfits I have made for Mallory in the past. The back is fabric I picked up at a flea market a few years ago. I like that color combination is made up of both new and vintage fabric. I got so excited that I finally overcame my fear of binding a quilt that I have already started a new one for another little baby girl!