Sunday Quilt Inspiration: S P R I N G

I've been enjoying the spring time beauty for the last few days....well, when it's not flooding, that is.  Let's have some fun matching spring beauty with a few quilt beauties.  Ready, go!

How is that for inspiration?  

Happy Quilting,

Mary

Done and Begun

One project done; another begun!  Meggan's quilt is finished--all done, including the binding and label.....yea!  

I was hoping to have it finished in time to give to her while they were visiting, but I had to choose between sewing and visiting, and the grandbabies are saying, "Grandmay" way too cute.

So, instead of sewing for hours as planned, I played with "the grandbebes."  It was certainly as much fun playing.  Meggan's quilt is actually fairly simple, strips of neutral fabric with an occasional, random red pieces to break up the quiet.  The red strips are sewn in perpendicular to the neutrals.  The two sides have a wide border with appliqued tulips, Meggan's favorite flower.  To stick with the red theme and to give the quilt a frame, I used the same red for the binding.   Overall, not a bad job, don't you agree? 

Because I finished Meggan's quilt early this morning, I decided to make a few NICU gowns with the fabric that Jan-Maree sent from her recent giveaway.  You can find her blog here.    Her Aussie Hero Quilts blog is here.

I added a few pieces of themed fabrics and cut out 18 gowns, eight of them from some of Jan-Maree's precious fabric.  For every outer piece, I need a lining, so I cut lots of muslin linings.

I didn't get all 18 sewn up today but didn't expect to. I use an assembly line system: there aren't many seams, so I stitch all of the seams on a gown and set it aside.  

When they're all sewn, I'll turn and press the gowns then make the final closing seam before adding the Velcro closures.  They'll all get washed, dried and pressed again before going to the NICU at Women's and Children's Hospital in Lafayette, where Caki was born.  My tutorial for making the gowns is here.

I feel blessed to be able to do this for the preemies and their families.  Having felt the joy of seeing a grand-baby in a tiny gown for the first time, I know what it means to parents and grandparents.  Share something you do to make the world a better place or to help others.  All you have to do is leave a comment!
Happy Quilting,
Mary

Super Bowl Sunday

First a few photos of two cuties:


Cotton and Candy's puppies are really growing.  They play quite a bit.  The little boy is on the left in this picture and the girl on the right.  


She was the one with the energy at first, but now the boy is definitely the one to keep an eye on.  He loves to chew and has some very sharp, needle-like teeth.


But they sleep more than they play.  Check out these little stinkers. 


They are separated from Candy because we're trying to wean them so they can go to their new homes and so that they'll eat more puppy food. 


Could she be more sweet than this?  Impossible!   


Of course, her brother is just as cute.  They sleep like Cotton does, with paws in the air.  I guess my flash was a wake up call for him.  He didn't move at all except to open his eyes as if to say, "What?"


  While everyone at our house was watching the game and playing with the puppies, I was in  the studio, working on a very late project.  I'm the worst of mothers-in-law: last summer when Rory asked me to make a sofa quilt for Meggan, I agreed.  Then, as I am apt to do, I promptly put it out of my mind.  It occurred to me around the middle of January that I was supposed to make that quilt for Christmas.  

I'm not at all surprised: I tend to do this sort of thing with the kids.  It seems so doable but then I get side-tracked by other projects and life in general.  


What does surprise me is that when Rory said something, albeit something vague, I didn't realize he was referring to the unmade quilt.  I guess he didn't want me to have an emotional breakdown, which is always likely to happen, so he simply let it drop.  In the meantime, poor Meggan did not get a Christmas gift from her hubby.  I surely wish Rory had directly asked about the quilt before Christmas.  

Meggan's sofa quilt is on the design wall.  She likes the size of one of my lap blankets, so that's my goal.  The quilt is not quite there, but I'm getting close!  Once the strips are pieced, I'll add about ten inches of a solid beige to the sides and applique some tulips.  She loves the quilt I gave her for their wedding, and this one is meant to coordinate with it.  She also loves tulips, so the red will be repeated along the sides in the tulip petals.