Sunday, August 26, 2007

Knitted Baby Blankets In Action - Part 1

Long before there was quilting in my life, I knitted baby blankets for my friends' babies. Now that the babies are born and growing so fast, it is such a wonderful feeling to see the baby blanket in action. The yarn for this blanket was a very soft wool blend painted in different blues and greens.

Here are some pictures of little baby Lucas enjoying his blanket on a leisurely Saturday afternoon. As you can see, the blanket is not only comfortable, it is also quite tasty.


Quilt For A Big Girl - Part II

So I spent yesterday afternoon trekking around SoHo looking for the perfect fabric to back this lovely little quilt. I went to one of my favorite fabric stores, Purl Patchwork on Sullivan Street, because I knew they would have just what I need. I decided on this gorgeous, pale rose pattern for the back, instead of a solid color. It is delicate and feminine, but with enough detail to be a great reversible side.

Ever since I learned that Simplicity did not make a compatible walking foot for my machine, I really started looking at my machine with new eyes, as if it had betrayed me and now all I could focus on was its faults. A little time trolling on the internet led me to a great deal on a Brother machine that came with all kinds of great quilting feet. The old machine is in a box; the new machine is all fired up and the rest you could say, is history. I tried out the elusive walking foot last night and it was everything I wanted and more. I quilted this little baby by sewing in the ditch, a fancy term for following the seam lines. I only quilted the vertical seams and did not quilt the short horizontal lines. Keeping the back of the quilt nice and visually simple seemed like a nice contrast to the fun and busy front.

Here are some pictures of the completed quilt for my little friend. I am waiting to give it to her after her little sister is born so I will just have to wait for action shots of the quilt and its new friend.



A Quilt For A Big Girl - Part I

I know a certain three year-old who is about to get a new baby sister. It is an exciting time but it also comes with a lot of changes, so I wanted to make something special for my little friend. I also had a lot of great material that would be perfect for her bedroom. Most of my material was patterns so I supplemented the group with a pretty fresh solid pink. The material were all made up of pinks and browns, so I added three little squares of a bright, fun pattern of birds and flowers. I chose the garden path quilt style, or at least, that is what I think it is called.

Here are some pictures of the quilt in the making.