Pink and Lilac Baby Quilt

Spoiler alert: If my nephew and his wife do not want to see the baby quilt for their daughter due in May they should read no further. I decided to post anyway- they may enjoy seeing their daughter's quilt coming together.

Since my color guidance form the expectant couple was pink and lilac and pale green I got a sense they desired something soft and little girlish. What better than hearts - and curvy hearts to boost. Gathering the lilac fabrics was fun and easy, the pink more of a challenge since I rejected fabrics that tinted toward coral. Here are some of the lilacs.

I was excited about the new technique and, once I did a couple hearts, launched off into mass production without looking further at the instructions. I had an overblown sense confidence in my grasp of the technique. For the large portion of the heart the heart color pieces get folded in half. For the smaller upper hump portions of the heart, the background pieces get folded in half. Grrrr… the number of times I mistakenly folded those small pink and lilac rectangles. This pattern is labeled easy enough for a beginner, and it is. A beginner would not be so danged cocky about what she was doing that she forged ahead and made the same mistake in triplicate, etc. I finally took all those little background squares and pressed them diagonally (and tediously) all at once so I would be constantly reminded.

So here are some sample heart tops and some sample heart bottoms.

And here they are paired to make the heart block.

Here is a small sample of them placed next to each other.

And here is the quilt on my design wall. The heart to the far upper left are my throwaways since I think the colors were too intense to the feel I wanted to evoke. The pinks had too much red and the lilac had too little grey.

Then the bias edges get folded back to make the hearts curvaceous. This is time consuming and takes care but is surprisingly repeatable. I found "That Purple Thang" tool great for just nudging the edges under the pressure foot to start the folded over curve of fabric. The upper row has not been curved but the bottom one has and I think it is worth the effort.

I plan to add a curvy border and here is its start. There will be semi-circles of the heart colors- like reverse scallops- to echo the lines of the hearts in the quilt main body.

The heart quilt will be smaller than the new arrival's older sister's quilt but that one needed to be larger because of the large scale baby animal print. You can see it here. This pink/lilac quilt is thirty-five 6" blocks in a 5 by 7 array but the border will add some size. I bought some bright green and pink fabric for the backing but have not decided if I want to use it. I has a directional stripe and I might want to keep the back more orientation non-specific.

The green might be too bright too for the soft looking front and it introduces a bit of coral instead of lilac. But the fabric is so cheery so we shall see…

   Completed projects:

1. Pastel crocheted afghan. Crocheted Pastels Afghan

Ongoing projects:

1. Doll quilt - have post on binding pending in drafts
2. Pink/lilac/green baby quilt for grand niece - on to border

No progress:

• Chicken quilt - made binding and picked backing
• Hexagon Mask Quilt - layout begun but overwhelming
• Fire and Ice Quilt- sitting in closet awaiting decision on backing
• Grinch Quilt - ripening on the design wall
• Pumpkin/Iris/Blossom square wall hanging- needs backing and binding

I want to start:

• Presents with Bows quilt kit
• The Ghastlies- strip quilt
• Rubber Duckies strip quilt

This week's stats:
     Completed  projects - 1 
     New projects - 0 
     Currently in progress - 2

Crocheted Pastels Throw

I finished this throw Saturday night, a day earlier than I expected.  I can never judge how much is left to do and how much more yarn I will need on round items since each row gets bigger. Yes, I know as an engineer I should be able to figure it out, circumference = pi * diameter and all that stuff, but it is not as strightforward as a rectangle where one hank got me ~6 inches therefore I need 2 more hanks to get ~18  inches total. Toward the end of this project it took me more than an evening in front of the TV to complete one round. And since this throw had a zig-zag edge predicting both the time to finish and the amount of yarn required became illusive.  So illusive in fact that the Mary Maxim kit that I made it from was short yarn... and yes, I did check my gauge.

I was short just a fraction of a round on the pink (so frustrating) and about half a round of lilac.  The kit gave one hank each white, yellow, peach, pink, lilac, two hanks of blue, and one of green.  The afghan is worked with two strands of yarn, so there are approximately eight rounds for each color: two where it is paired with one strand of its inner diameter neighbor color, two where it is paired with one strand of itself, and two where it is paired with one strand of its outer diameter neighbor color.  This gives the nice blended look (see close-up below) but as it got bigger I ran slighty short of the pink and even more short of the lilac.  The blue was OK since the kit had two hanks.  The outer green was OK, too, since it had no outer neighbor and thus had only six rounds: two where it is paired with one strand of blue, two where it is paired with one strand of itself.  

Fortunately, even though I bought this kit a long time ago, I was able to buy more yarn. The yarn was Bernat Baby Coordinates and has a nice shimmer and softly bumpy, texture to it.  It was long enough ago that the yarn is now packaged in smaller quantity hanks than came with the kit. There was only one review on the Mary Maxim site and I was bemused that the woman said that there was plenty of yarn left over  for other projects. In a weird way that is certainly true for me since a bought another hank for a few yards and I do have extra of the colors I did not run out of.  Maybe I can make another with the colors in reverse order ... ?

This is my first crocheted project and I enjoyed it. Although I have done the random crocheted finish on a knitting project I have always been mainly a knitter not a crocheter. My mom did both. She made beautiful tablecloths with cotton thread and intricate pineapple designs- whole big round tablecloths- not just doilies! My cousin Nina said she liked crocheting better because she only had to worry about one stitch at a time! I agree. But when you make that inevitable mistake there is no way to fix it in crochet other than ripping back to the point of the mistake. Also another perk of crochet is that there are no loose ends to sew in- you just crochet over them as you go!

Inspiration

An avid reader who read my last blog post about fabric purchases I had made said I had inspired her to renew her quilting endeavors. That led me to ponder about what is the source of inspiration.  I have been on a new year's kick to get projects done and sometimes that gives me a high. But as I look at my last draft post on binding for the doll quilt, and realize just how long the finishing stage of a project can get, that high can fade to disillusionment and discouragement.  So here is my list of other activities that get my quilting motors running again.

1. Blog about what I have done.
2. Do a short quick project that requires no hand finishing.
3. Start a new project even though the UFOs are still plentiful.
4. Pull fabrics from my stash and see what goes together just for fun.
5. Read other folks' blogs

Let me address each one in order of quickness to do and bearable amount of mess to put away:

1. Blog about what I have done.

Ta-dah! Self explanatory.  Some of you have seen my blogs on the still-in-progress-and-always-more-to-do doll quilt.  I have yet to post on its completion but I do have a pending draft on how I fussy cut the binding.  Can binding be non-boring? Yes, if you find a way to blog about it! I plan to put that info in a future blog once I have something more to add other than just binding. Until then, that blog sits in the drafts, reminding me I have done something. For now, here is a sneak preview of the fabric I found for the backing.

2. Do a short quick project that requires no hand finishing.

When I am in a slump, I make  pillowcases or more pillowcases or burp cloths. Each project can be completed in one sitting and there is a sense of accomplishment. Due to the small time investment, they make good, quick gifts to give away on short notice.  I pulled together a few burp cloth and pillowcase combinations for my sister who had very limited time and energy due to caring for our elderly dad. She is now in the process of settling his estate since he just passed away this summer, a few months shy of his 98th birthday, and I am trying to encourage her to resurrect those activities she loved. With fabric pre-cut, she would not have to clear a space to lay it out and could sew a few small projects that need no follow-up hand finishing.  I intended to mail these pre-cut mini-kits but before I did I was thrilled to learn that she has scheduled a visit to come out to CA to see me. I am looking forward to doing some mini-projects with her when she is here.  Here is a sample of some burp cloth selections for her next grand-daughter, due in May.

I packaged them and a few pillowcase combinations in this mesh hat box for her to pick from during her visit.

3. Start a new project even though UFOs are still plentiful.

I have been wanting to start a baby quilt for my nephew's second child but have tried to be disciplined about finishing other things first. I started it this past Saturday (even with lurking UFOs about) and what a lift it gave me! I made 15 of the required 30 blocks in an enjoyable afternoon and may make more than the 30 to make it larger. I told my husband I wanted to keep working on it a lot while I was still in the honeymoon phase of the project. You know. Nothing major has gone wrong yet. The new pattern is still interesting. The steep learning curve where you had to rip out or discard the first one or two blocks has flattened out. You have not yet realized you do not have enough of a particular fabric either because you did not buy enough or you cut it wrong. I decided to use a new technique I have been curious about. Plus the expectant couple requested pastels and I usually gravitate toward brights, so this is different for me. Here is a sample block- not of their pink/lilac/pale green color scheme- to show the technique. The bias edges are peeled back to make curves.

Here is the book it came from.

4. Pull fabrics from my stash and see what goes together just for fun.

I love to just go into my sewing room and pull out fabrics that might go together and see if they do. Here is a fabric combination I have gathered for a potential pillowcase I intend to encourage my sister to sew. She loves blue and I think she will love this fragile leaf fabric. The main body and border are two prints bought at different times and from very separate fabric lines but I love that they go together. Same thing for the narrow accent band. Doesn't that tiny strip just bring out the gold leaves in the main body? 

These green and purple polka dots really pick up the green frogs and purple birdies in this baby lamb print I got as part of a 50% pack of 10 random clearance fabrics.  This is another pillowcase contender though I have only have a 1/2 yd of the lambs and need 3/4 for a full size case.  But it is enough for a smaller pillow for a toddler. Again, all stash fabrics but still fun to play even if I never sew a stitch. After all, do people who stroll through an art museum ever paint any of the pictures they look at?

4. Read other folks' blogs or experiment with different crafts

Not only can this inspire you to do some sewing, but in and of itself this is a sewing activity worthy of your time and enjoyment.  Do we quilt because we need another cover on a bed?  Do we quilt because we need another placemat? Do we quilt  because we do not have enough fabric and must make do with scraps like the pioneer women? (This one gave me a chuckle.) No, we quilt for enjoyment and to use a part of our brain that makes us feel good. Get over the guilt of not having a product to show for it. It is process not product. My blog is titled DianeLoves2Quilt but I have posted about knitted Christmas stockings, a ribbon scarf, a ski cap, and am currently working a crocheted afghan. And I have spent countless hours reading other folks entries, and not sewing. Remember Scarlett O-Hara when she waived away any shred of guilt she might have with the phrase "– I'll think about it tomorrow–".  Well if you just think about it today, maybe you will be doing it, or even something different and better, tomorrow.  And even if you do not produce anything tomorrow or the next day, well you know what they say– it's the thought that counts! 

Completed projects:

1. None. And I do not feel at all guilty about it!

Ongoing projects:

1. Doll quilt - binding made, backing cut- but not seamed 
2. Pastel crocheted afghan - within 3 rounds of end
3. Pink/lilac/green baby quilt for grand niece - made 15 blocks

No progress:

• Chicken quilt - made binding and picked backing
• Hexagon Mask Quilt - layout begun but overwhelming
• Fire and Ice Quilt- sitting in closet awaiting decision on backing
• Grinch Quilt - ripening on the design wall
• Pumpkin/Iris/Blossom square wall hanging- needs backing and binding

I want to start:

• Presents with Bows quilt kit
• The Ghastlies- strip quilt
• Rubber Duckies strip quilt

This week's stats:
     Completed  projects - 0 
     New projects - 1 (baby quilt)
     Currently in progress - 3