The Baby C Quilt

For Christmas, I gave my sister-in-love a small swatch of fabric as a gift.  When she opened it, I explained that it represented the fabric I would buy--but that she and my brother could pick out--to make their baby quilt.  Not knowing if the baby would be a boy or a girl, they picked a gender neutral animal print (the animals spell the alphabet), grey, yellow, teal and white.  She picked a denim blue for the back, and so I added in some blue and teal to the front to give it a bit more color.  While they knew the fabric, they didn't know what pattern I would pick.

Here's the top. (You can click on the photo to enlarge it if you want to look closer.)

Since the T was a turtle, and they are Auburn Tiger fans, I remedied that there were no tigers in the quilt by adding in these two cute little guys.

I could not handle how cute this fabric was with the alphabet.  They chose well.  It's a lot easier to make a quilt when you enjoy the fabrics, so I'm glad I got to stare at this cuteness for a few months.

I mean, come on!  The X is an extinct dinosaur.  Stop it!

I pieced the whole top (meaning, sewed all the squares and rows together) by machine.  Then, I quilted (meaning, sewed the sandwiched top, filling, and bottom together) by hand.  I quilted the outline around each little animal, and then in every other square.  It took awhile.  I watched a lot of Netflix during that time.  But sewing around each little animal made them pop out, and I loved how that turned out.

Here, you can see the newt on the front side, and the outline of the newt (by the yellow border) on the backside.

I hand-stitched appliqué of the family name on the back.  I think I might like the back as much as the front.  I was super proud of that appliqué.  It was my first time to do letters.

It turned out bigger than I'd planned, about the size of a lap blanket/throw, a good size for a toddler to carry around.  A good size for a baby to sit on to play on the ground.  But too big to be a crib blanket, or for a stroller, etc., for a newborn.  I had enough fabric leftover (or so I thought when I began) to make a second one.

I made little woven squares, and got about halfway done when I realized I didn't have enough after all.  So I added in a new teal, and it gave me enough to finish the squares and make a border.  My brother was fascinated with these woven squares.  I assured him they're not as hard or complicated as they look.

I bought a simple piece of grey fabric for the back and binding, and quilted it on the machine to get it finished in time to mail off.

I prayed over that box that nothing would happen to it while it flew all by its lonesome self across the ocean.  (I prayed over the quilts as well, for my little niecephew, that the baby would be healthy, love Jesus, love its parents, love to read, and have a heart for the world.)  The box arrived and I was able to Skype with Master Yoda and Princess Leah to see them open it.  I told them not to expect two quilts for every kid!

And then the niecephew arrived about 10 days later.  My nephew is so sweet and little and tall and I can't wait to go meet him.  I'm a proud aunt who is so thankful for the internet that made being far away this week a lot easier with texts, videos and photos.

Since I don't post photos of a quilt until it's presented to its owner, it's probably going to be awhile before I post another one.  I'm working on four right now, and probably won't give them away until summer of 2016.  So don't think I'm not working on any, I just can't show you my projects for a good long while.

With that said, I think I'm gonna go sew for a bit...
(when I should be packing...)