Modern Baby Quilt

Even though there are four children in my family there are only three grandchildren, my three. In August that will change when my brother has his first baby. We are all very excited about the new arrival.

As soon as my brother told me about their baby I started thinking about the quilt. All quilters must do the same. Afterall, baby quilts are one of the most rewarding types of quilts to make.


My brother and his wife live in a warehouse apartment in the city and have quite a modern style. I wanted the quilt to suit that style.


I bought most of the fabrics at Amitie's big sale and I must say it was hard to think amoungst all the chaos. A few weeks later I went back and bought more fabric, in a calmer environment where I could talk it through with those gorgeous girls there.

The design is very basic to keep the quilt looking simple and modern. I quilted it with stitch-in-a-ditch which I don't normally use as I am not accurate enough. Then I hand quilted the linen blocks. I was really happy with how that combination turned out as it was so much quicker to make than if I had of hand quilted the whole thing (a lesson I learnt from last time).


The other thing which I was very happy about this quilt was the basting spray I used. This was the first time I used the 505 Spray and Fix and it was so much better to work with that other sprays. It really held in place and it has washed out easily.

Here is it all wrapped up. I think quilts are such beautiful gifts that I prefer to give them wrapped in just a ribbon rather than paper.



I can't wait to wrap the new little bundle up in the quilt and hold him tight. I do love newborns!

Soldier Boy

Last winter Edward got so much wear out of this little jacket that I picked up from my local op shop.And so I decided to make another, slightly more older-boy version.



My favourite part of this little coat is the Japanese soldier fabric.



When I started to make the coat I wasn't too sure what I would use to line the hood but my friend Bec was making a quilt from the fabric and suggested I use it. It is perfect as it has almost all the colours that he wears; red, brown, blue, khaki and black.


I also love the little star buttons. I bought these from the Button Lady, at the Camberwell Markets, when I was pregnant with Kate (and convinced I was having a boy).


I adapted from this pattern from the Winter6/2008 Ottobre magazine.


I found it easy to trace the pattern but a little trickier to assemble.You do have to have reasonable dressmaking skills as the instructions are a little vague. I added the cuff and shoulder trims as I wanted the jacket to look a little less baby-ish.



I lined the jacket with a polar fleece and as it wasn't a particularly thick wool I also used flannelet. I used it almost as an interfacing in the body to create another layer and provide more warmth.

I am so pleased with the result. Often when I sew, I cut corners. I really tried to do a good job on this coat and pay attention to detail. I do love the beautiful buttonholes that my Bernina sews.

Finishing Touches and Appreciation

Tonight, at my sewing circle I will be putting the finishing touches on three projects I have been working on. (There will be some show and tell to come.)

I had the most blissful day yesterday working on these projects...sewing almost all day. My man (with help of the newly purchased Wii) entertained the kids, polished and vacuumed my car and tidied up the yard whilst I finished the buttonholes on Eddie's winter jacket and completely made Ella's velvet swing coat.

So I think that a public Declaration of Appreciation for his efforts is in order!



Also, I have almost finished a quilt for my new nephew to be. So my sewing basket is packed, full of hand sewing for tonight. And I am full of anticipation for plenty of chatting, raucous laughter and scrumptious food, because you can't have a gathering of women like that without some mighty fine food.

Here is my contribution, Bakewell Tart.

Embellishment

This month the Amitie VIP bloggers received a little challenge: To create something using the lovely array of ribbons they were sent. My selection was all very bright yellows. Which, I must admit daunted me a little.



But once I teamed them with black it all came together. I made the flower using this tutorial and I attached mine to a brooch back so that it could be pinned onto a wristlet band as such,



pinned to a black velvet headband or onto the little black jacket I am making Ella at the moment.



Amitie have some beautiful ribbons in stock right now. Go have a look at what others are doing with them.