a colorful quilt for baby harper

I am so excited that this is finished (before baby Harper turns one)!  Harper was born in April and her mommy and I did a Bible Study together this past year and will be leading another one together next year.

I started the quilt with the colors of Harper's baby room - pink, red, white, and blue.  I decided to step out of my comfort zone and pick some really vibrant colors for this sweet baby girl.  I have to say that it was quite fun to do, and I am pleased with the result.

Truth be told, this really counts as my very first quilt.  Well, at least the first one that I've gone through all the official steps - piecing, batting, quilting, and binding.   This one didn't have a batting.  So, here are the details... and wouldn't you know I forgot to measure it!

I used a cotton batting that's a really nice weight.  I decided on a gray cotton for the back.  I thought that would be a good way to tone it down, if needed.  I quilted it with straight lines; the simplicity of which really appeals to me.  And, I can't tell you how much fun it was to take it out of the dryer and see the crinkly-goodness of the fabric shrinking around the stitches.  And there it was, a comfy, snuggly quilt.  Like magic!

I do feel a little bit bad that I've never made one for the boys.  They kept trying to sneak it off my sewing table and snuggle with it.  Maybe we should put that on the list.  I would love to make one for each of them to have on their beds.  One day....

But for now, I'm glad to have this one off to baby Harper.

for the babes

I have a great excuse to shop for fabric!  I have several friends that just had or are expecting baby girls.  For a mom of four boys, this is exciting news indeed!

I am in various stages of creating blankets for some of them.  Here's one that I made for a friend who had her baby on Easter morning.  Her baby room colors are pink, green and brown, so I chose fabrics in those hues for the blanket.  It is a cozy flannel on one side and some flannel and cotton strips on the other.  I didn't add batting because the flannel is thick enough for a spring baby.  I quilted it with simple straight lines and added a little bit of green ric rac and brown binding.   I don't remember what it measured but it was generous because I do love a good-sized baby blanket that can double as a nursing cover.

I have another colorful strip quilt that needs to be finished for a friend... whose baby is almost a month old!  Yikes, I better get to that!  And then I need to come up with something lovely for my cousin's baby who will be born in a month.  I'm so excited to finally have a girl baby in the family!

And for the boys... well, they like to crowd into the office chair when I'm online and if I'm on ravelry they request things.  Here's something I made for them a while ago to their specifications. 

ravelry link here

These finger puppets were fun and pretty simple to make. I love the tails on all these critters although you can't really see them in this picture.  The pig was requested by Ethan, the cow (who looks like he has measles) by Nathaniel, and the dog by Jude who was most surprised when he saw that he had essentially ordered Clifford.