Today I want to share about the journey of 2 finished baby quilts.
My sister and I have developed a tradition of making a quilt when our nieces and nephews announce they are expecting a baby. Usually my sister begins the process, finding a pattern and buying the fabric, then she sews the quilt top and I do the machine quilting and binding.
When my nephew announced he was having twins this spring, my sister jumped into creative overdrive. She made 2 quilts tops that were similar yet different - just like twins! Both quilt tops use bright fabrics with elephants (a childhood fascination for our nephew). Here is my sister working on the layout on the design wall when we were at retreat.
I basted the quilt tops using my favourite method with curved safety pins and the Kwik Klip tool. While I baste a quilt, my mind conjures up possible quilting designs for the quilt. I decided to do the same thing my sister did in finishing the quilts -make the quilts similar yet different. I used the same Tula Pink backing fabric and same solid green binding fabric on both quilts, but quilted them diffently.
One quilt was straight line quilted using the walking foot. I used the hera marker to mark the lines to stitch on (you need really good lighting to use this method). This method is relaxing and easy, and the resulting quilt is lightweight.
This is a photo of the quilt before it was sent off to the parents-to-be. You can see some of the line quilting extending into the borders. Very simple quilting, yet it does the job.
The second quilt was densely free motion quilted and there are no photos of it in the quilting stage. I tend to "get in the zone" when I'm free motion quilting and don't take photography breaks! This is the finished quilt before it headed out the door. It was a heavier and less drapey quilt due to the intense quilting.
Maybe you can see the quilting design in this photo of when I was binding the quilt? This is my favourite meditative stage of the process in quilt making. I think about the parents of the babies, send positive loving thoughts for their safe arrival and recovery for the Mom, and say prayers for the family for a long and healthy life together.
And this is the photograph every quiltmaker waits for... to see the new owners using their quilt!
These sweet babes had a hard journey to the world, with an early extraction, health challenges, cardiac surgery, NICU stays, and finally both arriving home safely! They are doing very well now and is it too presumptious to believe the quilts provided the safe, healing comfort from which to heal and grow?!?!? 😁 💖💖
