when i was just about 21 weeks pregnant with ethan, jared and i flew to new york to visit my family and some friends. of course, my mom and i paid a little visit to purl soho. she bought some yarn to make him a beautiful fair isle sweater, and treated me to a pack of 1/2 yard fabrics that i was eyeing but was hesitant to splurge on.
a while later, i picked out blair's sunshine medallions quilt pattern to make for ethan with the fabrics and i filled in some more yellows from my stash and chose kona snow as the main fabric. i had grand visions of at the very least finishing the quilt top before i returned to work in october after ethan was born, but (as i think i mentioned here once before) the fabric sat unwashed until later into the winter. all that time i thought i would have during my maternity leave...ha!
sometime in february, ethan finally slept long enough (and i was awake enough) for me to start cutting out hundreds of squares of fabric. slowly but surely, the squares were cut out, arranged, and sewn together. i finished the top in april, just before we went to new york again.
for much of the spring, the top sat nicely folded on the floor in my studio. until i decided that i wanted to have it done by ethan's birthday. and there you had it. i pulled the back together using leftover fabric from our bedroom curtains, with one patchwork square of fabrics from the front. i love having a fun detail on the back of the quilt that reflects the pattern from the front. it makes me think of some advice i once got when i was sewing a fancy dress for myself- no boring linings. i love that.
anyways. back done, quilt basted. i was just barely able to fit this twin sized quilt through my sewing machine for diagonal quilting lines with some contrasting dark grey thread. and finally, the binding is the same as the back of the quilt. even though it would have been lovely to hand quilt this one, as i did with our quilt, and my best friend's wedding quilt, i knew that it would just never get finished given the limited time i have. so machine it was (i would have tied it if it hadn't fit through the machine).
and now it's finished. gifted to him just a little less than a week past his birthday. my heart pretty much exploded when i saw his face light up when jared brought him into his bedroom after i put it on his bed while he was in the tub. seriously- he got so excited! now that ethan is consistently spending the whole night in his own bed (with a little help from mama and dada), it's so nice to have this quilt there. jared or i (or, um, occasionally both of us) can lie down with him and feel nice and cozy ourselves too. and clearly, freddie loves it too.
i love putting him down to sleep, all snuggled up and cozy under the quilt that i made him. and knowing that he won't outgrow this one, like all the sweaters and pants that i've made him so far (at least for many years) is so comforting. seeing him wear and play with and snuggle with items that i have lovingly made just for him is more heartwarming than i ever thought possible.
all love.
sometime in february, ethan finally slept long enough (and i was awake enough) for me to start cutting out hundreds of squares of fabric. slowly but surely, the squares were cut out, arranged, and sewn together. i finished the top in april, just before we went to new york again.
for much of the spring, the top sat nicely folded on the floor in my studio. until i decided that i wanted to have it done by ethan's birthday. and there you had it. i pulled the back together using leftover fabric from our bedroom curtains, with one patchwork square of fabrics from the front. i love having a fun detail on the back of the quilt that reflects the pattern from the front. it makes me think of some advice i once got when i was sewing a fancy dress for myself- no boring linings. i love that.
anyways. back done, quilt basted. i was just barely able to fit this twin sized quilt through my sewing machine for diagonal quilting lines with some contrasting dark grey thread. and finally, the binding is the same as the back of the quilt. even though it would have been lovely to hand quilt this one, as i did with our quilt, and my best friend's wedding quilt, i knew that it would just never get finished given the limited time i have. so machine it was (i would have tied it if it hadn't fit through the machine).
and now it's finished. gifted to him just a little less than a week past his birthday. my heart pretty much exploded when i saw his face light up when jared brought him into his bedroom after i put it on his bed while he was in the tub. seriously- he got so excited! now that ethan is consistently spending the whole night in his own bed (with a little help from mama and dada), it's so nice to have this quilt there. jared or i (or, um, occasionally both of us) can lie down with him and feel nice and cozy ourselves too. and clearly, freddie loves it too.
i love putting him down to sleep, all snuggled up and cozy under the quilt that i made him. and knowing that he won't outgrow this one, like all the sweaters and pants that i've made him so far (at least for many years) is so comforting. seeing him wear and play with and snuggle with items that i have lovingly made just for him is more heartwarming than i ever thought possible.
all love.
it's beautiful, julia.
ReplyDeleteIt was so important to me to make each child a quilt. It came out lovely and hello Freddie!
ReplyDeleteYou got it done at the perfect time for him to really be using it. It's really great.
ReplyDeleteIt's so beautiful, Julia! Man, this is really making want to start a quilt for Ewan's next birthday. I can do it in a year, right? ;) He only recently started sleeping under a blanket--before that it was "no cuh-bers!" (covers) This is really inspiring. And such a sweet shot of him and Freddie. Love. xx
ReplyDeletei think my original comment disappeared, but what i was saying was, it's fantastic, julia! he will treasure it forever.
ReplyDelete