I was looking for pictures of this quilt last night, when I realized I had never posted about it, after our trip to Ohio this summer. It's part of the 5 Quilts album, but I want to get the details down about it before I forget. Click on the photos to see them larger and in more detail.
I made this for my sister-in-law's birthday. She's the mother of the cute kids that show up in photos on this blog now and then. When I talked to her after the kids opened their quilts last Christmas, she was jealous of them, and had already snuggled up in Trent's. He was more interested in his new video game. Shocker. LOL Anyway, so I asked her what colors she wanted (to match her bedroom), then promptly ditched them when I realized I had tons of scraps from the kids' quilts. I knew she wouldn't mind. :D
Fairly early in the planning, I knew I was going to do this design. I had seen something similar on a blog, and liked the white borders. Also, it was a good way to use almost all scraps and not have to purchase more of the fabric. I did buy more of some of them, but the vast majority is from scraps. I drew it up in Word, and figured out what the squares and borders size would be, in order to get a twin size quilt. Tina and I both agreed it's the perfect size for snuggling up under in the winter. Especially with the chenille backing I ended up using.
This is a close-up of the embroidery I did on her quilt. The kids' all had embroidery, so I knew I had to add some to Tina's. I ended up working them around one of the lower blocks. You can see the placement in the first photo. I used matching thread in each color of the kids' fabrics to create a sort-of border with their names. And I knew I had to include Bradley, so his name went in the middle, with a pair of angel wings. It took forever to find wings I liked that I could trace. They were either too detailed or too girly or the wrong perspective. Eventually I found winged beads (that look a bit like a snitch) on a bead site and traced the outline. Yay for Google Image search!
One thing I was super excited about doing on Tina's quilt was the binding. I had made custom binding for the kids' in striped fabric that matched their quilt color. I had tons leftover. So, I sewed it all together in series, and bound it until it was all done. It worked perfectly, with all three colors of binding (the same pink binding was used on the girls') included and no repeating.
The backing was supposed to be a flannel sheet, just like I'd done before. But I wasn't able to find a single sheet, and didn't want to buy another set. I also couldn't find good white flannel cheap by the yard. So I went with the chenille, which turned out to be cheaper (on sale!) and much nicer than the flannel. It's going to be extra comfy this winter.
I gave her the quilt the first day we arrived in Ohio, because I just couldn't wait. :D She didn't cry, but it was a close thing.
So, that's the story of the mother's quilt. I didn't think of it when we were there, but next year I'd love to get a photo of all five of them together. Maybe even with the kids and Tina in the photo! Somehow, I doubt Trever would sit still long enough for that, but it's possible! LOL
