Evening's Update

I've been working on getting a few things crossed off of the 'sewing for baby' list -- and one of them was this flannel quilt. It's gone through some serious changes since I started working on it; what was going to be the front is hanging out in my scrap pile, and what was going to be the back became the front. It's been a bit of a humility check in getting too ambitious without proper planning, but fortunately I had picked up two yards of the flannel, and the scraps are large enough they may yet turn into another project -- perhaps some of those many bibs I need to be working on?

Once again, I was able to use my blank wall for basting. It sounds like the future involves me giving up my dedicated sewing space, with some of the work spaces moving to the bedroom, others to the living room, but I think I am going to have to save this big blank wall space in the future-nursery-room so I can keep basting! 

Since the basting wasn't perfect -- my pins didn't always go through the minky backing even when I knew I was touching wall before angling back towards the top to close the pin -- I hopped right into quilting this one. Folding it even overnight seemed like asking for a mess, so I didn't take the chance. I got some help removing a cranky cat from the sewing table and got to work aiming for a large, loosely diamond shaped pattern. 

Mission accomplished -- and not a pucker in sight on the back side! Quilting with minky, without a walking foot, can be a challenge (I'm told a walking foot helps, and someday I'm going to find out!) to keep everything feeding together, but I was able to work fairly slowly and carefully to try to hold my sandwich together (along with using a lot of pins). 

Since things were going so smoothly, I pulled a bunch of binding scraps from my scrap bin and wrapped this one up completely. 

None of the binding pieces match the cotton scraps I added to the top, but I think most of them coordinate fairly well. I know the dark blue/purple one is a little loud, but I just had to add it for contrast sake. 

A few of the white critters (I think they're mice and cats, but some people think they look more like bull dogs and mice) and a few of the balloons lost their pink to sun bleaching. I didn't realize the sun pouring in my window was that strong until it was too late, but I think enough of the pink remains that I'll just let it go. I only bring up the pink because I chose to include a little bit of pink in the backing (pieced minky) and if you haven't noticed the pink (understandable since there's now relatively little of it) that might seem odd. 

It's not a huge patch of pink, I actually wish I could have included a little bit more in the back. It's kind of a silly little addition brought on by using up minky scraps, but I love how well coordinated to the top it feels.  

It's just a silly little blanket -- I have a hard time calling it a quilt although I think technically it is since there is both piecing and quilting involved -- but it feels good to have something new accomplished for the nursery stash. We've got a growing pile of 'to do' things to get ready, and an increasing number of them are things I can only supervise as my lifting and hoisting ability has really diminished in the last two weeks. That's incredibly frustrating to me, but I'm focusing on taking pleasure in the things I can accomplish. 

Gotta wash it before it's really done, but I see no reason why this one should give me any issues! 

The Other Stash...

I really have no plans for these little projects, but they're getting done anyway. Partly to use up my stash, partly to have a few things to draw from as more and more friends keep having more and more babies! I'm afraid I won't be able to keep up with everyone - what a happy problem to have! - so I'm making a few soft and sweet little blankets and things to pass out when I'm not able to make something more intense.

Already in the stash is a happy little denim and fleece blanket:

And joining it today is a hot pink and aqua  owl and rosette/minky blanket:

I love how perfectly the hot pink rosette fabric goes with the hot pink owls! And even better, the owls are stash and the rosette was a clearance remnant piece.I might even have enough to make a second one of these... though it might have to be a little smaller...

This little stash also includes two other tiny quilts that I'm working on whenever I have absolutely no desire to work on one of my bigger projects. There's not much to show yet, but here's a sneak peak (in the form of an old photo) of what else is going on in my 'secret' stash:

I haven't made much progress on it - partly because I'm waiting for a hint that I need to get working on it. I know the point is to be ahead, but I'm hoping that having a plan and fabric already will put me far enough ahead that I can keep up with everyone. I think last count has me anticipating 6-10 Welcome Baby packages to make in the next 8 months or less. Between that number and the number of hours I've been working, or filing with other non-sewing, non-quilting activities, I'll need all the head starts I can get!

Black & White and Red All Over

While the Sweet Serenade quilt is from me to the future Baby D, Greg had an idea for something a little bolder and nerdier for the bound-to-be-a-future-nerd Baby D. We picked out a few fabrics that he thought both parents and baby might like -- mostly in black and white -- and added some Star Trek fabric (not the right generation, truthfully, but we didn't have time to order something else). I searched Pinterest until my creativity was stirred, mainly by these: 1, 2, (links go to the sites, not Pinterest).

I think the result is a lot of fun -- and I love the bold contrasts and graphic elements. I probably wouldn't have chosen most of these fabrics without Greg's help, but I love the result. I chose 3 inches as a width for the strips - and sewed together all our choices until I was happy with the width of the strip top. Then, I took a completely random approach to where I cut the strip top open and how wide of a focal fabric (Star Trek piece) I added. I had initially planned on adding a wider piece with this piece being the left over, but it was much too large (nearly 11 inches) while this started at about 8 inches.

For backing, we went with a red minky fabric - mostly to go with the Star Trek fabric, but it looks good with the other colorful prints as well. I love the soft finish minky gives to blankets and quilts, but I am not particularly confident working with it.

Working with minky is sometimes a real slippery problem and sometimes goes smoothly. After a bad experience last week (which I have yet to share), I did a lot of straight pinning on this one before sewing the two layers together. I not only pinned around the edges (which I always do when working with minky or other slick fabrics) but also in several places throughout the center of the layers. While this extra pinning did almost end up with one pin getting left in when I turned the layers outside-out, it was hugely helpful in keeping everything lined up. I didn't have any issues with things sliding around or being out of place -- a huge improvement over the last one which wound up off by several inches after only a few stitches!

I have yet to wash it - which honestly, I'm terrified of doing, but better an issue pop up on my watch than on the new parents' time! Once it's washed, it's ready to join the rest of the Welcome Baby D package. Assuming the washing on this turns out alright, I have two snaps to install, two bibs to wash, and then some wrapping up to do and the Welcome Baby D package will be ready for delivery. Whew!