An old friend revisited

Remember this sweet baby quilt? I made it years ago and was never able to let it go (aka give it away). But I finally found a home for it – my sister’s third baby received it for his christening.

I had to go back to fix it before wrapping and gifting, though. Back then I chose a zigzag stitch that was too narrow for the raw-edge appliqué. So the fabric began to fray after the first wash. Duh.

So I added another MUCH wider zigzag stitch to stop the fraying…

… and I added the little boys name, too. Thankfully my sister and my BIL chose another short name – very sewist-friendly (o;

Here’s a full view of the fixed version. One hardly recognizes the added stitches from a distance, does one?

I am happy I was finally able to let it go. Because that’s what quilts are meant for, aren’t they? To bring joy and comfort to someone we love.

Happy quilting!
Christine

Hexies and hidden stars - a baby girl quilt

Some weeks ago, the topic of our monthly sew-in at Modern Quilt Guild Bielefeld was Modern Hexies.

I had a treasured Cotton & Steel charm pack and I wanted to make a baby girl quilt for my sister’s second child – due in April.

I auditioned different layouts and decided on the one that formes little stars on the negative space – which instantly prompted the quilting design.

I applied some marks with chalk to keep those quilting lines straight.

I defined three big and some small stars that I omitted while straight line quilting and quilted them free-hand afterwards. Each with a unique quilting design. I used a variegated Aurifil thread in shades of white, light grey and dark grey.

To show you the free motion quilting, I used directional and natural lighting instead of artificial light. The fabric I used for the Background is "Notes in silver on white" from Zen Chic's Modern Backgrounds.

 

Once the baby was born, I added her name in light pink thread.

And this is the back: I used a dotted flannel and some leftover Cotton & Steel scraps.

 

 

And this is the entire quilt, already puckered and crinkly as I had to wash it 5 times to get rid of ALL quilting marks... BTW: what is your favourite method or tool to mark grids and designs?

 

I had a hard time giving it away as I really enjoyed the free-motion quilting a lot but I am sure it will be put to good use at my sister's home.

Happy Quilting!
Christine