Bunny for Baby - Quilt #6

My first commissioned quilt!  Ok, so the job came from my Mom, but it gave me good practice in turning someone else's vision into reality.  Fortunately she was very open to my thoughts and gave me a lot of creative freedom. 

Rayma recently had her first baby.  Her family and my family have been friends for so long, I call Rayma's mom auntie.  We all live in different states, and haven't seen each other in many years, but my mom is still very close with all of Rayma's family.  Mom wanted a special and unique gift that Rayma and Harper could treasure forever. 

The blanket measures approximately 30" x 40".  It includes applique, hand embroidery, and machine quilting.  This was my first time machine quilting anything other than stitch in the ditch.  My machine doesn't do it well, but I made it work.  :)

To make this quilt:

• Cut six 10.5" x 10.5" squares, cut one 30.5" x 20.5" rectangle for the center.  Sew two strips of three squares each.  Attach one strip on either side of the rectangle.
• Find a bunny and flower applique drawing (I like Google images), choose your fabrics then trace and applique.  Attach baby rick rack.
• Use a button for the bunny nose and hand embroider the mouth and whiskers.  The eyes are a 6 strand french knot.  Hand embroider the baby name and birthdate onto the flower applique.  (I typed it on the computer to give me a font so I wouldn't have to rely on my handwriting, then traced it.)
• Make your quilt sandwich, stitch around the bunny, stitch in the ditch on each of the squares at top and bottom.
• Go to Google images and find different flower drawings. Print them on card stock, cut out and use as a template to draw the flowers (using disppearing ink) onto the blanket. Machine (or hand) quilt.

You will need:
3 fabrics for the top and bottom squares
1 fabric for the center rectangle
Fabrics for the bunny, flower and leaf
Fabrics for the backing and binding (I used the bunny fabric as backing and binding - it was perfect, and we had a lot of it)
Batting
Button
Matching DMC embroidery floss
Matching thread colors for quilting

The quilt top goes together pretty quick since it's six larger pieces.... everything else takes more time.  It was a labor of love and I really enjoyed watching this one come together!

~ Enjoy ~

Wall Hanging #1

Babies are so much fun - and they're even more fun when I get to make things for them!  A teacher friend I worked with last school year was blessed with a baby girl this summer so I made a wall hanging for them.  This measures approx. 20" x 20".  I had a great time with the fabrics; the squares in the upper right and lower left corner was a treasure I found at a local quilt shop in Snohomish. 

The center square fabric has glitter, what can I say, I'm easily distracted by shiny things.  Glitter will almost always catch my eye.  :)  What's more girlie than a butterfly?  I found the beautiful batik I used for the wings at a quilt shop in Port Townsend.  Isn't it perfect for this use?  I used a back stitch for the antennae and french knots for the eyes by hand embroidery, appliqued the cheeks, and finished with a cute button for the nose.

For the backing I used some fabric in my pile and added a hanging sleeve.  This was my first time ever making a sleeve!  This was also my first time doing a blind stitch on my binding.  Thank goodness for YouTube so I could learn how to do it...

In all, this was a really enjoyable project and I can't wait to make more in the future! 

Quilt #5 - Allie's blanket

A friend of mine was having a baby girl and I wanted to make a blanket baby Allie could grow into.  With that in mind, when my friend Dionne and I went shopping we looked for girlie fabrics, not necessarily nursery patterns.  Also, I didn't know what colors my friend would be choosing for Allie's room so I went with a mix.  The back is done in a nice light green flannel.  Also on the back, I made hearts using two of the fabrics from the blanket and hand embroidered Allie's name and birthdate, then appliqued it on.  Since the blanket was finished before she was born I had to hand stitch the applique.  Unfortunately I didn't get a picture of the hearts.  Next time.  :)