Crafty Friends

Ellery received some adorable handmade gifts that I just can't let go unmentioned.

Laura made us a hat


and dress


and bib


Our neighbor Dana made some cute bibs too!


Thank you crafty ladies! I am getting dangerously close to sewing again. The lint is about to fly, in no small part because of the impending arrival of an auntie for two whole months! Hooray for the whole family!

More Gifts

If you read Kris' blog Quilted Simple you know she is a woman with a lot going on. Which is why I was totally floored when a big box arrived addressed to little Ellery with three lovely handmade gifts inside. Above is this sweet bath towel with an adorable hood. It is thick and fluffy and we use this each and every bath. Ellery is determined to suck on it as much as possible. So sweet!

We also received a sweet little burp rag and a tote bag with pockets that is all rumpled in the picture because it has already seen several trips to the garden and the requisite trip through the wash. Kris, I can't believe you. Here I am with just one kid, struggling to get a thank you note in the mail, and you're whipping up handmade care packages for online friends! I'm so honored.

Gifted

Well, every parent thinks their baby is gifted! But I thought I'd ease back into blogging, now that the little one can bear to be set down occasionally, by showing all the beautiful handmade gifts that have come our way.

My grandma told me when I was pregnant that she was working on two quilts for the baby. That coupled with the knowledge that my group quilting friends were doing one too made me hold off on baby quilting myself. Grandma was true to her word. This quilt she put the binding on in a mad frenzy the night before my parents and sisters came to visit. It sits on our couch and has already seen much snuggling. I really like the red stars, and the black house in the bottom corner with the boy and girl on it.

The other quilt did not grab me as much. Ironically, because I'm not as invested in it, it gets used all the time. This is the quilt I grab if we are going to sit on the grass or whatever. So now that I've spent so much time with it, it's really grown on me. Amazingly, this quilt has already seen baby poo and grass stains and both have washed completely clean with Bac-Out, a product no new parent should be without. Now that the quilt has been through washer and dryer it is nice and rumply and I love running my hands over it.
Ellery stares at both quilts with interest whenever she's near/on them. Thanks for such sweet gifts Grandma!

Thankful

Thank you everyone for all the congratulations and sweet wishes. Things are good over here. Our daughter Ellery is gaining weight fast. She loves being held all day so that's what we're doing. Hubby is back at work and we're figuring out how to keep mama and baby clean and fed all day. Thank goodness for slings and baby carriers.

My group of quilty friends made us a quilt! It's a science fiction quilt, because of my love for Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica and Firefly. Check out the little applique'd shapes along the border! My friend Sandra did that. Her free motion quilting is amazing. I'm so inspired and honored. I can't wait till we get the supplies and energy and focus to hang it over the changing table.

Finally, let me show off this pair of knitted baby socks. I finished them the day I went into labor. I had previously knit them in green and orange, but the yellow ones are my favorite. They were knit on size 4 needles, using Cascade Fixation yarn. It has a little bit of elastic in it, so it stays on baby feet maybe a little better than baby socks from other yarns. The stretch also hides tension problems, which is good for me. I used a pattern very similar to this one. It was the first time I've knitted socks, and it was much easier than I figured it would be!

Perfection

We have a daughter! Our homebirth was peaceful and straightforward, everything is simply perfect. I feel so blessed. She is healthy and sweet, my husband is an amazing father and partner... it is a lovely time. I can't wait to show you a picture of her in her handknitted socks, and the baby quilt given to me by my fabulous group of friends. But that's for another day... Happy New Year to you all and thank you for all the well wishes you've shared with me over the last weeks and months.

Never again

It is with great joy and relief that I announce the completion of this commissioned quilt. I took it on just before conceiving and now, a mere two weeks shy of my due date, every last stitch is done, it is washed, and I can lovingly place it in a box to New York.

Except for the left edge at which the quilting puckers inexplicably, I am pleased with this quilt. It is very graphic, with a clean design, but still incorporates random piecing which I do so love. I used a vintage quilt top off of eBay for the back and in some moods I think I like the back better. Oh well.

Working on this quilt taught me a lot. Namely, that creating for someone else who is paying you and has a say in the design is wayyyy different that working on what you want, when you want. When the person you're creating for happens to be the founder of Etsy who also commissioned several other quilts on the same theme at the same time, this artist's capacity for self doubt may be amplified beyond all expectations.

Strangely, of all the quilts I've worked on, this one evokes the most stories for me: my first pregnancy, my grandfather's death, my sewing machine's leave of absence. I think I even became a little superstitious about the "protective" theme of the quilt and though I could have completed it a month or so ago, I have managed to hang on to it until the very end of the pregnancy. Maybe I wasn't ready to let go of it's protective powers until baby was full term.

When I couldn't work on this quilt it tortured me. My Etsy shop essentially died in the process, since I didn't feel I could post new sewn items while months overdue on the eye quilt. When I thought I could complete it over several weeks my asking price seemed fair. Now that it has taken me several months I know my labor (mental and physical!) was worth three times as much, or more. In the end though, I had money for fixing the broken sewing machine and getting a stash of cloth diapers together for the little one. And I learned something very important - I'd rather create for me than someone else. I guess that's a good thing for an artist to be clear about. So thank you quilt, for teaching me so much. I hope your new owner appreciates you.

Where Mama's Been - Quilting!

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I don't know if I can express my delight at having finally completed this Old Mac Donald group quilt. This quilt got me stuck so many times. The baby it was made for is almost 13 months old! One problem I encountered was getting utterly stuck on the back. Nothing seemed right. I finally decided to do the free pieced letters, but that was basically making two quilts. Another excuse for the long gestation of this quilt is that my Bernina was dead for about 5 months and the Singer won't free motion quilt (yet). Bernie's back now though! She is a little more finicky about tension than previously and many swear words were uttered during the quilting process.

It felt so good to give it to my mama friend today. Everyone did such a great job on their squares, and in the end I am really proud of it and know that it's a one of a kind piece of art. She tells me her son loves it when she sings "Old Mac Donald" so it is worth all the extra effort for that backside. When quilting I used a pale green thread in the bobbin. I really liked not having to change the bobbin thread when I changed the top thread. It made things go much quicker. My favorite detail is the use of the inset yellow squares with tone on tone four patches. I liked quilting these in the close-set lines, this is something I picked up from flickr quilters!

And yes, there is more quilting news to come. Having one's due date approaching can really get a quilter moving on her WIPs! All this work on quilts for others has me just wanting to sew for myself for a while.