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Hey everyone! Hop on over to Quiltstory today (a great site if you haven’t been there yet), and you may recognize the quilt and the post. Unfortunately not my happiest of stories, but it features the Daydreams quilt I made for Willa.
Thanks to Heather for featuring me, I’m so flattered!
This quilt is for a little girl named Willa, a girl not much younger than my own nearly-three-year-olds. I don’t actually know her. She lives in Pennsylvania, and her mother is a friend of a friend. This friend of mine pointed me to Willa’s mom’s blog. I read it and I cried and cried and cried. Willa is dying.
In addition to being born with a rare and serious medical condition, they then discovered a tumor. Cancer. Inoperable. I’m not sure she was even two years old at the time.
My heart broke into a million tiny pieces. I wanted so badly to do something to help, but what can I do? Aside from not being a doctor or a creator of miracles, I don’t even live anywhere close to them. I can’t make a batch of cookies or bring over a few nights’ worth of dinner.
But I can sew. I could make Willa a quilt. Is it a particularly practical gift? No, I suppose not. But I have a little girl. She likes to get surprises in the mail, she likes pretty things. All I can hope to do is to send a little smile via Express Mail.
Oh, and the latest blog entry says that the tumor is growing. They’ve stopped treatment and met with hospice. Willa is at home. That’s why I rushed to finish it as fast as I could. I thought there might be more time, but I was so very sadly wrong. So I finished it and sent it Express. Tracking says it arrived last week. I haven’t heard from Willa’s mom, yet. I have no idea if it made it there in time.
As for the practical details of the quilt:
It is my second time doing the Stacked Coins tutorial, which I cannot recommend highly enough. If you have a couple of charm packs lying around and want to make something beautiful and super fast, this is the ticket. It’s the perfect size for a baby/toddler quilt, about 40×50. The charm packs in this case were Moda Daydreams, which is a few years old but I found them last fall in Colorado and was waiting for just the right use.
Backing is Amy Butler Full Moon Dots in Camel and a blue tone-on-tone butterfly print from my stash, which the selvedge said was by Anna Griffin. Binding is Full Moon Dots in Lime. I quilted it in my favorite (and fast, though my machine was acting up and breaking thread a lot) loopy stipple, and the white pretty much disappears into the quilt.
Like I said, I have no idea if it made it there in time for Willa to see it or snuggle with it. I can only hope that it gave her, and her mom, a smile.
UPDATE, JULY 8
I got a beautiful thank you card in the mail from Willa’s mom. Not only did Willa get it and like it, “she hugs it and won’t let anyone take it away.”
You’ll excuse me, I’m going to try not to cry.
Tags: crib quilts, daydreams, gifts, moda, stacked coin quilt
Wow, half of 2010 is gone? It’s been such a blur.
Thought I would check back on the goals I set for myself at the very beginning of this year and see how I’m doing!
I’m not going to add any new goals at this point, nor am I going to take any away. I think there’s still plenty to work with on this list for the next six months.
What about you? Did you set any goals for yourself for this year? If so, how are they going? If not, why not set some now?
For some reason, I had it in my head when she was really little that my daughter would be a tomboy. She was very spunky and clever and agile at a young age. I didn’t put her in many dresses and ruffles, and I absolutely refused to put any of those ridiculous headbands on her little peach-fuzzed head. I even dressed her as a ninja for her first (technically, second) Halloween. Trust me, it was fitting.
And yet I got ticked off if people asked me if she was a boy. Yeah, I get it now.
Anyways, somewhere along the line, she decided she loved butterflies and “spinning” dresses and anything involving “beautiful colors.” Most specifically, pink and purple. What can I say?
I knew that Far, Far Away was for her. And, thankfully, she loves finding the unicorns and snails and frogs in the different blocks. She’s been pestering me for ages, any time she sees me sewing. “Mama, are you making my quilt?” Yes, my dear. Yes. It’s finally done.
The double gauze is a little tricky to work with. It really wants to distort in shape and fray a lot, so I handled it really gingerly and breathed a little easier once each piece was enclosed in a ring of Kona. I used ten different solids for borders: violet, periwinkle, petal, lime, cactus, amber, peach, carnation, salmon, and melon. Part of me thinks it was too busy, that I shouldn’t have used that many colors. And maybe if I was making it for someone a little older, or as a lap quilt for my house, maybe it would have looked a little classier if I had toned it down. But somehow I think all the different colors work well for a little girl’s quilt.
Sashing is Kona Cerise, which I am completely in love with. It’s such a great, bold raspberry color. Rebecca is tickled because she can’t quite decide if she should call it pink or purple.
The back is mostly Kona Petal, which is a very pretty shade of pink that has a hint of purple to it as well. I quilted it in my favorite loopy stipple, except I did a double-loop instead of a single one. I saw Amanda Jean do it once, and I agree with her that it’s somehow a little fancier or more girly or frilly or something. But still playful. And FAST! There’s something about the motion of the loops instead of a “standard” stipple that feels so natural. I did the whole thing in a single sitting.
The binding is Kona Cactus. I saw several other Far, Far Away quilts with the cerise and a kind of lime-green contrast, and thought it was so perfect. Looking at the other solids I used, I didn’t want to do another shade of pink for the binding. I wanted some contrast, but the blues weren’t doing it for me. Green was bright and it popped, a little something different and interesting. I love it.
But nothing beats my sweet, sweet girl who bounced up and down when she saw it was finished. “Mama! Is it done?!” She immediately pulled it upstairs to put on her new bed. Two nights later, as she cuddled up for our song before bed, she said out of nowhere, “thank you for my unicorn quilt, Mommy.” You’re welcome, my Becca Bean. You’re welcome.
Tags: Far Far Away, Heather Ross, Kona solids, toddler bed quilts
Included in the long list of things people love to ask moms twins, everyone always wants to know who was born first. I’m not sure why. What’s the fascination? They were born within moments of each other, does anyone think that makes such a difference in the “firstborn?” That said, I’m not the kind of person who plans on hiding it from my kids if they want to know.
My son, Daniel, was born first. A whopping 45 seconds before his sister (they don’t mess around in the operating room!). And so, for today, he gets the first post on his quilt. Think that’ll cost me much in therapy later on?
Daniel’s quilt is primarily sock monkey prints, from Erin Michael’s various collections for Moda (5 Funky Monkeys, Goodnight Monkey, etc.). I’ve been slowly collecting a bunch of them over the last year, and they all went into this quilt. For good measure, I also threw in six coordinating Kona solids (buttercup, cornflower, tomato, school bus, grass, green tea). The blocks are crazy nine-patches, made using this tutorial from Oh, Fransson.
It’s easy to follow and very forgiving. I started out with 10″ squares of fabric and had plenty of leeway in trimming them down to end up at 8″ (finished) blocks. It goes really fast, making nine blocks at a time. If you’re usually one to press seams to the side, however, this is one time when you’d benefit from pressing open. Those last two cuts through the entire stack of fabric are a little tricky, and would be even worse with the extra thickness of side-pressed seams.
I sashed it in a great shade of blue (Kona Evening). I was a little lazy when I basted it, though. I figured the top was “good enough” and didn’t iron it again before basting. That was a stupid, rookie mistake, and I ended up with some annoying puckering when I quilted it. Not the end of the world, but it bugs me, for sure.
The back is mainly Kona Grass green, with a single strip of the remaining crazy nine-patches. Quilting is intentionally wobbly vertical lines, roughly 1/2-3/4″ apart (I used my walking foot as a rough guide).
Anyways, I love it, and I love that my son loves it. I love that it is fun and silly and appropriate for an almost-three-year-old, without being excessively babyish and something he’ll outgrow in style before he outgrows it in size. I love seeing my big boy snuggled up underneath it. My Daniel / Dan / Mr. D / Big D (and, formerly, Señor Fussy-Pants).
Tags: 5 funky monkeys, crazy nine-patch, erin michael, goodnight monkey, Kona solids, moda, toddler bed quilts
You’d be amazed how often people ask me if my boy/girl twins are identical. Apparently no one was paying attention in high school biology.**
Being a mom of twins has, to state the obvious, shaped my parental world-view in countless ways. One notable thing is that everything in my world comes in pairs. I never pour a single cup of juice or get a single snack from the pantry. I always ask if there’s a “twin discount” when I’m buying two big-ticket items, like carseats or cribs. Most recently, we bought a pair of toddler beds and moved my big kids into their own rooms and big beds.
Having two kids of the exact same age makes me a little obsessed with keeping everything “equal.” I don’t want them to always have two of the exact same thing (though sometimes that’s the easiest way), since they’re two very different little people with different interests. But we do try to keep things fairly equitable.
And, so, you’ll notice that my kids’ new quilts are indeed very similar, but hardly identical. They are both made of 8″ blocks with 3″ sashing and 5″ borders. Lots of solids, including the binding. Similar strip of blocks on the back. The layout, the structure is the same. And yet, the actual quilts have very different looks and personalities. Both suited to their recipients.
I’ll give them each their own post in the next two days. Much like my beloved kiddos, they are certainly their own individual quilts. And yet, I cannot ignore the fact that they are, and always will be, a pair.
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** OK, here’s your mini biology lesson for the day, in case you want to actually know the difference between identical and fraternal twins.
IDENTICAL or MONOZYGOTIC twins occur when a single fertilized egg splits in half, generally in the first couple of days after fertilization. Therefore, the two resulting babies have the exact same DNA. Having the same DNA means they will be the same sex and will likely be almost impossible to tell apart to the casual observer (barring things like different haircuts and the like, of course). Boy/girl twins, therefore, cannot be identical. (No matter what the crazy lady at the grocery store tells me. There is also not, as she would have liked to believe, such a thing as “almost identical.” WHAT?) Identical twinning is a random occurrence, and there is no scientific evidence of it “running in families.” It just happens.
FRATERNAL or DIZYGOTIC twins occur when two separate eggs are individually fertilized. When they occur spontaneously (i.e. without fertility treatments), it means the mother has ovulated more than one egg in a single cycle (or, as I like to say, “double-dropped”). The resulting babies are no more genetically alike than any other pair of siblings, and can be same- or different-gender. Because they are the result of multiple-ovulation, fraternal twins can and do sometimes run in families, as the mother might have a genetic pre-disposition to double-dropping. But, as you can now tell, it only matters if there is a history of twins on the woman’s side of the family, as the man obviously has no influence on how many eggs she’s going to drop. So it does not matter in the slightest whether or not there are twins on my husband’s side of the family (there aren’t, but everyone likes to ask). There are other factors that can give a woman a higher risk of multiple-ovulation, even if there is no family history.
Sorry, I couldn’t resist this mini rant. As you might imagine, we twin moms get a lot of very strange comments.
Tags: erin michael, Far Far Away, goodnight monkey, Heather Ross, moda, toddler bed quilts, twins, wonky nine-patch
Man alive, that six weeks FLEW by! Spring to Finish feels like it just started, and it’s already “over.” Let’s see how I did on my list:
OK, this one was kind of a “gimme” on my list. It was close to done when this started. But whatever, it totally counts as a finish! Wohoo! I called it “In Full Bloom,” and I was very happy with how bright and cheerful it was. Word on the street is that everyone back home loved it, too. I am trying to convince my cousin that it truly is meant to be used and loved (and thrown in the wash), and that she doesn’t have to hang it on the wall.
2. Cobblestones
Procrastination station, I can’t believe I took so freaking long to get going on this quilt. I think I was just intimidated by piecing 75+ blocks, and the four bits of border that had to go on each one. In the end, I took it about eight blocks at a time, and that felt less overwhelming. I was really happy with it, and am still sad I barely got to see it before it was whisked out the door.
3 & 4. Bed quilts for my kids
Well, I didn’t quite finish in time for this weekend’s big bed/room transition, so their old quilts will have to suffice for now. (Oh, if you could see those quilts close-up… not my finest work, by a long shot! At least I’ve improved since then…)
Rebecca’s quilt top is done, and I’m waiting for some fabric to arrive for the backing. She pesters me about it on a regular basis, to keep me honest. Every bit of fabric I sew together, “are you making my quilt?” Working on it, sweetie. Working on it.
Daniel’s quilt is sandwiched and ready for quilting. I even have the binding ready. Wohoo!
And yes, my addiction to Kona solids is reaching a clinical level. I expect the intervention team to show up any day now.
5. Pinwheel Sampler Quilt
Alas, since this one has no recipient and no deadline, it’s at the bottom of the list right now. Top is done, some fabrics cut for the back, but there it sits, and probably will sit for a little while.
6. Keep up with Bee blocks.
What? Just because I did nearly all of my May blocks on Monday afternoon… it was totally still May, right? Truth be told, there is one (April!) block that I’m behind on, because I foolishly left the fabric at a friend’s house and haven’t gotten around to picking it back up yet. Doh.
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All in all, I’m happy with the progress I’ve made over the last six weeks. I knew when I wrote it that there was no way I’d get all of those quilts finished by the end of May, but still nice that they’re all getting darn close to done.
Now, what’s next on the list? Oh, where to begin? Two baby/toddler quilts, Amanda Jean’s next quilt-along, finally assembling one of my Bee quilts… the list never ends, does it?
Tags: Spring to Finish 2010
When my sister-in-law first asked me to make this quilt, she knew that the couple she was giving it to was moving across the country from Boston (where they had all gone to medical school together) to San Francisco. I asked if she had any requests or ideas, and she said it might be nice if it could remind them a little bit of their time in Boston.
Visions of lobsters, baked beans, and novelty Red Sox prints ran through my mind, and I shuddered. What would make a quilt say “Boston?” I mean, I’m sure there are some neat colonial designs out there, but that’s not really my cup of tea any more than fabric with sports logos on it. So I sat and I sat and tried to think of something, and I procrastinated and put it off. And then, unsurprisingly, inspiration came via Ashley. Her “Postcards from the Park” quilt reminded me of something – Cobblestones. It instantly reminded me of one of Boston’s most iconic neighborhoods, Beacon Hill. I knew what to do.
I had also been gathering a whole bunch of Hope Valley, which I admit to not loving at first, but it slowly grew on me. And there was something about it that said “California” to me. No, not in the sense of present-day Hollywood or Silicon Valley. Something almost pioneer-like, about moving West for a new life. Maybe I’m the only one, but it works in my head.
And so, we have these very subtly wonky bricks that remind me of those old, imperfect, bumpy streets and sidewalks here on the East Coast. The wonkiness is more subtle than I had pictured it in my mind, almost to the point that I worry someone would just look at it and think, “can she just not sew quite right?” But I’m happy with it, and I still think it gives it a softly (intentionally) imperfect feeling.
There are 16 prints from Hope Valley in this quilt, and no fewer than 12 solids (13 if you count the sashing). Because I’m the kind of person who would want to know these things, the solids are: zucchini, raisin, deep rose, sweet pea, teal blue, stone, plum, sage, rose, amber, moss, and eggplant (all Kona). Sashing/border is Kona Snow. I am on a HUGE solid kick right now, and have a new favorite color every day.
The backing is Kona Stone, with a strip of bricks. Again with the solid kick, especially with backings. Be prepared to see a similar theme through the next few finishes.
I was nervous to do it for the first time, but ultimately decided to go for large pebbling when I quilted it, and I’m glad I did. I went through some frustration with running out of thread, regretting a cheap substitute, and needing a new needle before I thought I would. And when I first started, I worried that I was totally ruining the quilt by practically scribbling on it with thread. But the effectiveness is in the whole picture, not in each individual pebble, and I do think I love it.
My husband, of all people, gets credit for the scrappy binding. I really wasn’t sure what to do, and he was the one who suggested bits and pieces. And wouldn’t you know, he was totally right. I love it, especially the way it looks against the back.
And so, it is finished. Just in time for the wedding, just in time for Finished for Friday, and just barely under the gun for Amy’s Spring Quilt Festival. Wohoo!
The only sad part about always making quilts for other people is that I rarely get time to sit and savor the finished product. That is most definitely the case with this one, as I took the photos at about 6AM, it goes with my husband to work this morning to make the handoff to his sister, and tonight it flies to the other side of the country. And that’s why, even if I wasn’t blogging them, I’d have to take pictures of every quilt I make!
Tags: bricks, Denyse Schmidt, hope valley, Kona solids, Lap size
My sister-in-law leaves for San Francisco tomorrow evening. She probably asked me to make this quilt for her soon-to-be-married friend about six months ago. I’m almost done.
Quick poll, though, it needs a name! I’m trying to be good about naming my quilts this year, but am not terribly creative. So I’d love to hear if any of you can come up with something better. I’m not going to show a full picture until it’s finished (tomorrow!), but here’s some info for your naming task:
So… any good names jump out at you? Gotta make the label tonight so it can go in the wash before delivering it tomorrow! Yikes!
Tags: hope valley, quilt name
So. Spring to Finish. It’s going…. well…. it’s going. Let’s check the white board shall we?
Yes, I have a white board in my sewing space to help me keep track, and it is vaguely color-coded in the status column. I’m a geek. Roll with it. Black ink usually means I haven’t quite started. Green means the fabric is at least cut, and I’m probably working on blocks. And red means FINISH THE DAMN THING ALREADY. There’s a lot of red on there right now, and it’s freaking me out just a little.
I’ve got one complete finish, the quilt for my cousin’s daughter. Admittedly, by the time I even put it on the list, the binding was nearly on. But still, it’s a finish. Check!
All of the mini pinwheels were totally worth it for my Pinwheel Sampler, the top for which is complete, and the backing is planned and fabric mostly cut.
Big-kid bed quilts for my kids have come together very quickly. Or, at least, the tops have. Lots of wide sashing made it big enough without having to do a bajillion individual blocks.
So, that leaves me with three flimsies. Three red statuses. Two of which feel like they need to be done rather soon, since they’re for the big-kid beds, the transition to which is rapidly approaching. Excuse me while I go have a small heart attack.
Speaking of heart attacks – you’ll notice that the Cobblestone quilt has a green status on the board. Not red. Not a completed top. You may also notice it has the most specific (and earliest) due date. That’s a problem, since the current progress on it looks like this:
I’ve really been procrastinating on this one, for a number of reasons, and it’s getting to a rather critical point. The extra crafting for Mother’s Day didn’t really help the situation, nor did having my in-laws staying in our guest room (aka my sewing room), meaning I did not have access to my machine for a solid two days. Eeek! Gotta get cracking.
And please, don’t even ask me about my Bee blocks. But it’s not the end of May yet, so they can’t be overdue, right? Except, you know, that one left over from April. Sigh…
Tags: bed quilts, commissions, crib quilts, Far Far Away, gifts, goodnight monkey, hope valley, lap quilt, pinwheel sampler
