Monday, November 9, 2009

Crazy Quilt for a Baby



This is my first baby quilt. Therefore, I looked at LOTS of designs. Many were very cute; most were done in pastels. My priority was for the quilt to be interesting to the baby. I went through my stash of specialty prints. I pulled out all the really interesting ones, especially if they were bright colors. Some were black and white, but that worked for me too. I usually buy seasonal prints when they are on the BIG sale. Then I added some wild stripes and bright colors. In my mind, it had to be a crazy quilt because of the diverse sizes and shapes of the interesting bits that I had. I also pulled out all of my gross grain and washable ribbons and other decorative items, like rick rack. Then I looked for bright colored thread.


The first start was awful. It got totally out of shape. This time I used a firmer backing fabric and carefully pressed, especially if the seam was covered with trim. As I assembled the pieces, I did decorative stitches [machine] to hold the seams firmly in place. My starting point, in case you can't find it, is the little girl on the ad. She resembles the mother very much. I also added a pocket and put in a firm, sewn 'teething chew'. I made these by taking some flannel, doubling it twice and then covering it with fabric and stitching it many times to make it firm. I gave one to the baby right away, as she was teething at the time. She used it immediately.

Even though the colors aren't bright, I had to include a piece with sewing supplies.


2 comments:

Katherine McNeese said...

Well done,Ann!
Katherine

Unknown said...

Oh how wonderful! I hope you made it large enough to be a loved quilt as a toddler. One of my favorite things to do when I was sick, or kept in bed for any reason was to look at the comforter and see all the different pieces in it and look at the prints and make stories up about it.

That's one reason why I always loved Robert Lewis Stevenson's "In the Land of Counterpane." Great job!