2.14.2012

layla's quilt!

how about the finished product of a project i started last april and finished in november and then never posted about? i figure if anyone is first in line for an overdue post, it's this guy.

in november, you may have noticed that the background of layla's birthday picture was her quilt. the one i started ages ago, butchered on my first attempt at quilting it, and finally set aside for a good 6 months.

well, i finished it! yup, that background was more than just the quilt top (which i had used as a photo prop before); its a full-fledged blanket extraordinaire. my first ever quilt! it is far from perfect, but i we are so in love with it.

after i finally seam-ripped all the awful original quilting lines (an entire night's work) it was much easier to get motivated and make some forward progress. i wrapped it up a few days before layla's birthday and we have been loving it ever since.

sometimes, i snuggle with it if she isnt using it.

in the dawn's early light: there she is.

i basted it correctly this time with actual safety pins which made a huge difference, though my choice of quilting pattern was just as stupid this time (drunken digital spirals!), it looked better and didnt have much of the nasty bunching that my first attempt was soiled with.

drunken spiral quilting pattern-do not attempt

i made the binding myself and hand-stitched it on. i had made fun of raechel in the past for saying how much she loved hand-binding quilts, but i swiftly ate my words when i first sat down to do mine and found myself falling in love with the rhythmic, exact, inching progress of this method. lesson one: never doubt the rae-rae; she will make you a believer.

i mitered that corner like a playa!

i backed the quilt with one of my favorite fabrics from this collection.

it has a slight swelling protuberance going on over at 3 oclock, but we love it still

and i used printable fabric and added a built-in security precaution in case we ever get separated from this treasured item. it might not stop it from getting picked up by someone else (swiper, no swiping!), but hopefully it would unleash enough guilt to impel them to turn it in or contact us.

security blanket, indeed. (i didnt think of doing this until after the blanket was done, so i had to hand sew it on so the stitches wouldnt show on the front, and i went a little overboard with my embroidery floss. too flossy flossy.)

and lest you forget, here are the cool details of where this project started for me:

raechel was the source of my original inspiration for the quilt. she made her sweet daughter, hazel, one first after she was inspired by the designer of this fabric, ann maria horner, who made one for her son. shwew. that's a hefty amount of inspirational trickle down.

but that means there are at least 3 of these log-cabin style baby quilts out there making little toddlers and their sewing-mamas very happy.

this fabric collection is called "good folks." it is out of print and of the 24 fabrics that comprise the set, over half of them are really REALLY hard to find. raechel was key and SO sweetly gave me 3 or 4 of the really rare ones that she had left over from hazel's quilt. "greater love have no woman than would lay down her out of print designer scraps for her sister" -the bible of sewing.

a few of the rarest ones i actually tracked down by searching etsy for products that were made from these fabrics and then begging scraps form their makers. so many ladies just GAVE me their leftover pieces of these amazing fabrics for no charge or for so cheap. i heart the sewing community. (one lady actually said, "oh yeah, i was using that for serging practice, you can have it!" i about fainted over the prospect of using this awesome fabric as scrap fabric for serging! ack! yes, i burn twenty dollar bills for fire readiness drills sometimes too).

2 fabrics came from england, several from canada and one fabric i actually got by buying pillow covers made from the fabric i needed and then deconstructing them into yardage myself. girl's gotta do...

so now the quilt is finished and i actually have lots of leftover fabric from this collection since i had to buy many of the prints in full yard quantities. so i have declared this "layla's official fabric collection. what, your baby doesnt have an official fabric line? i might not have a clue what he birthstone is, but i guarantee this fabric is prettier.

pretty pretties before their first washing (which is what gives it that nice stippling effect that quilts are known for)

after the first wash

and the reason for the whole thing:
to see miss stinkerbell wrapped up in her coat quilt of many colors.

a little nervous about the general public possibly swiping her beloved.

reassured that they shant ever be parted thanks to my security measures.

the satisfaction we have gotten from the finished product of this project has been so much more gratifying than i expected. i have made really pretty, useful things before, but something about a cozy blanket (that will hopefully be around for a really long time) made by hand for your babes is really extra special.

high on the accomplishment of this first quilt, i am now in the middle of 2 more. expect recaps about their completion sometime in 2014.

7 comments:

  1. I love the idea of the little "If found" tag with your email address. I pinned that on pinterest!

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  2. i think you did a great job for your first quilt. I am, by no means, a quilting expert but I have made several, including a king size, and I have sent them off to be quilted and my mom does the binding for me. I've promised her that the next quilt she can teach me how to do the binding.

    Great job, love the material.

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  3. I need to make one and don't know how. It's GORG!

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  4. this is just what i've been wanting to make! i am clueless when it comes to quilting or sewing for that matter but my daughter is 2 1/2 and ive been thinking of giving it a go at making a quilt for her big girl bed. where did you get such pretty fabric?


    twoundertheson.blogspot.com

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  5. That is an absolutely beautiful quilt! I only wish I could make amazing quilts like that for my 2 girls. Can't wait to see your next ones! Bakingmommy

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  6. For fear of sounding like a teen- you beasted that quilt! girl, it's amazing. that picture of layla being nervous about the public-those eyes-what a mess!!!

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  7. i wish it were big enough for my bed. i'd totally steal it now that i know how to get to your house.

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