Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Bright Baby Quilt

A dear friend's daughter is expecting her first baby, a girl, in the coming months.  I'm very excited for them, but at the same time, it makes me feel a bit nostalgic.  I remember when my friend brought her daughter home from the hospital, all five pounds of her, and it feels like yesterday that I marveled at the tiny little girl whose head fit entirely in the palm of my hand.

Anyway (get a grip, P.), next weekend is the baby shower.  I thought I'd make a baby quilt.

I asked the mom-to-be (M2B) not to peek at the blog until after the shower if she didn't want to spoil the surprise, and she said she wouldn't.  Do we trust her?  Of course we do!

So here is the finished quilt, pulled together from some bright triangle pieces I had cut but not used for a kaleidoscope quilt.

I was informed that M2B was not a big fan of pink, but as you can see, I did my best to ignore that help her overcome it.  I mean, when you're going to have a girl, pink happens.

Truth be told, I was ambivalent about the top when I got it sewn together.  I questioned my use of big, bold, bright colors in a baby quilt.  Should I have gone with a softer palette?  So when it came time to create a backing, I took it down a notch and went with an Alexander Henry Heath in steel gray, with a single horizontal strip that included some more muted fabric triangles. I think they're Kaffe Fassett.  Okay, maybe they're not all that muted, but I tried.  If the front is too much, flip it over and take a nap.

Really, though, as I thought about it, my wish for Amy, the M2B, is that she has a bright, bold, strong baby girl, like the colors of the quilt, and just like she was.

I quilted it in horizontal wavy lines (I only had to unpick three, one because it was my first and kind of nervous looking, and the other two because they were too close to the edge of the short ends).  It is bound in a black and white mini polka dot.  It didn't seem right to go with anything less dramatic at that point.
My hope for this quilt is not that it matches the nursery decor (but if it does, bonus).  My hope is that it's the kind of quilt that gets hauled around, tossed down, cuddled in, spit up on, dragged through dirt, tucked in with dollies, and ultimately falls apart from all the love it can withstand.


June Finishes



18 comments:

thea said...

What a beautiful quilt! I'm sure it will be loved.

Elizabeth said...

I absolutely love it! Moving from last to first, the wavy line quilting is amazing! I love the grey back. I saw something very similar at JoAnn's and thought of you. Now I'm going to have to go back and get some b/c it looks really awesome with those colors! The strip across the back in pink is just so great with the back. Now, to the front. Shazam! I love! it. You do the most amazing things with fabric and color combinations. I think it is the perfect baby quilt and I'm sure the M2B will love it! GREAT quilt! Congrats on such a fabulous finish and thanks for linking up!

xo -E

Sara said...

I love your thoughts on this quilt Paulette! The backing is my absolute fave well cuz I am a sucker for the Heath colors!

Unknown said...

This quilt is so beautiful! I understand your wanting it to be dragged around and loved on, but it almost seems a shame! I am sure the mother to be will just love it and want to wrap the newborn in it right away!

Larri said...

Oh my! This quilt is so gorgeous! I want one...for me. The M2B is going to cry when she sees it, P. I'm sure of it. Let us know her reaction, because she will be absolutely thrilled...almost tickled pink. ;)

Vicki @ DottyJane said...

It's perfect...just enough pink:) Great quilting design and binding!
I always hope that when I give a baby quilt, it gets dragged around and loved to death!

Cherie said...

The quilt looks amazing! Just the right amount of pink, without it being too girly. I'm sure in years to come she'll still have the quilt and love it just as much =D

Paulette said...

I had changed the comment setting to Registered Users, trying to make it easier for people to comment without having to use word verification (due to spam if I don't turn it on). Unfortunately, that prevented my friend Kathy, the grandmother-to-be referred to in this post, from being able to comment. Shucks! She emailed me her comment and I am posting it below for her. I also changed my comment settings back to what they were. Sorry for any inconvenience or confusion.

Hi Paulette!
I tried to leave a comment on your blog, but I couldn't do it just under my name anymore!! So here is the comment I tried to leave on your blog:

Oh P this is so perfect!! I am the new baby's grandmother and I can assure you Amy will love it! She just doesn't like PASTEL pink. She is decorating her room in aqua and lime and bright pink -- exactly like the quilt!! So this is just perfect. Your comments about baby Amy and how she should love the quilt made me cry!! It was only about 15 minutes ago that I brought 5 pound Amy home from the hospital and now she is going to be a Mom!! Thank you so much for your love!! We both love you too!!

Diane E W said...

I just love the colors you used. My niece said no pink too, and I didn't, but always felt I should have. That's what I always tell new parent...I make baby quilts to be used and my feelings will be very hurt if I see it tucked away for safe keeping.

Myra said...

I love it! I think the M2B will too. I also love the wavy quilting lines - I'm gonna have to try that sometime.

Heidi Staples said...

Such a cheerful little quilt! Well done!

MomWaldsPlace said...

A fun quilt to be loved and used, perfect!

Michelle said...

I LOVE IT! The quilt is just so darn cheerful, it's bound to keep the new baby girl's attention. (I have happy memories of studying the many colors in my great grandmother's scrappy quilts as a pre-schooler.)

Great quilting design too. :-)

Anonymous said...

Beautiful quilt!

Sue Daurio said...

I LOVE brights for baby quilts. And this one is just gorgeous. Just the right mix of a tiny bit of pink, bright hot pink is amazing. I can't imagine it without it. Beautiful.

Kat said...

This is beautiful, I love the colors you chose. I think the "not baby" colors are great --- she can use it for years and years, even when she's a big girl. (Can't tell you how many times my girls have said, "I'm not a baby anymore... that's for babies.") I always have the same wish as you... that the quilts are used and loved and washed then used and loved some more.

queenopearls said...

Absolutely wonderful! I love how you elaborate your creative process as well as sticking to your intuitive design. Then, to beat all, the grandmother to be, Kathy, says the mother to be, Amy, chose those exact colors. Kismet? Intuition? Synchronicity? Any way you spin it, it's a GREAT quilt and you did such a wonderful job creating it!
Thanks for sharing,
Christina in Cleveland

greelyrita said...

Just wondering how this quilt was received. Was M2B happy? Happy baby?