Tuesday, October 26, 2021

Love is a Baby Word

Love is the most important thing in the world, but baseball is pretty good, too.
~Yogi Berra

Quilting


Events are superseding quilting. Even with so many calls on my time, I can't quit sewing completely. When I can't sleep, sewing Coins and string soothes me. Lots and lots of columns. Finally I wanted to put one together. 

My original plan was to simply sew a Chinese Coin top but when the first columns fell perpendicularly, they brought letters to mind. That sparked the memory of a sign with VO on the first row and TE on the second. I've always admired four block quilts and wondered what other four letter words might be useful. I started a list. BABY and LOVE tickled my funny bone. They might look good as a quilt.

I spent a couple of days doodling letters on graph paper to see if my idea would work. Some seem to have lots of background. 

The fabrics I pulled for the Coins are pastel, something I don't use much. They've been hanging around for a while and I wanted to use them up. There are a {very} few light solids in my small stash and I knew just where they were. How would a completely pastel baby quilt look?

Love baby quilt

Pretty good. 

Spiral quilting is easy for me now and works so well for a baby quilt. Secretly I enjoy having so few thread ends to bury. But going in circles can make me dizzy. If I take my eye off the stitching line, it won't stay in the right place. So I take frequent breaks to look at things at a distance.  

Spiral quilting in progress


Each of the background solids took about a fat quarter. The leftovers made a narrow border that I I thought might make each letter look like a baby block. Now I'm not so sure the effect works.

Detail of letter V, spiral quilting, and binding

With so many sweet pastels, the binding called for something light but calm. I pulled almost every piece from my stash before hitting on this beige and tan print. 

Back of Love baby quitl

I found a yard of a quiet print with shore birds for the back and increased both directions with a green remnant to make a cross.

Quilt Specifics
Size: 45" x 45"
Design: String quilt
Batting: Hobbs Heirloom Premium Natural Cotton
Thread: Metler fine embroidery cotton thread in yellow
Quilting: Spiral  with walking foot
Approximate yardage: 5.5 yds

It's going to a family friend in time for the baby shower. How lucky is that?

Reading


Over the years I've enjoyed the Maggie Hope mysteries by Susan Elia MacNeil so I've been looking forward to her latest, The Hollywood Spy. Maggie's ex-fiancĂ©e, who works creating war films for Walt Disney, asks her to investigate the death of his current fiancĂ©.  After reaching California, Maggie realizes the same problems that engulf Europe are at work here - from racial tension to Nazi infiltration. 

The plot line is good but this is not my favorite book in her series. She's done a tremendous amount of research and I'm looking for some of her reference materials {which are listed at the back} but at times this reads like a check box of famous people and places of the era. 

Monthly FUR (Fabric Use Rate) 

Three more finishes in October used 25 yards. YTD =  149.375 yards. Something about the approaching end of the year always lights a fire for me.

Enjoy the day, Ann

19 comments:

patty a. said...

Such a cute quilt! That is one lucky baby to get such a lovely quilt!

Julierose said...

Such a charming :Love: baby quilt... I especially like all those pretty pastel colors..just really perfect-- like a giant hug:)))
hugs, Julierose

Nikki said...

So fabulous!

Jocelyn is Canadian Needle Nana said...

Good for you, to feel fired up in the sewing room. I always find this time of year invigorating too what with autumn, Halloween and then Christmas all together and so many wonderful projects on the go. I just love how this quilt came together for you. What a sweet baby quilt. Perfect really and thanks for sharing your method of thinking about the choices. I'm hopeless at that.

bumblebee53 said...

it looks fantastic, including the back; not so pastel as to look insipid, yet still soft. the background fabrics are beautiful and the binding choice is perfect; frames it and adds just the right amount of zip. What a great idea for the strings, too. i love that yogi Berra quote at the top!

bumblebee53 said...

ps - i really like the narrow borders of same color background strips by each letter; it adds something nice and unexpected.

Quiltdivajulie said...

What a wonderful baby quilt!

Ann said...

Thanks, Patty. It’s exciting to have a new idea to run with.

Ann said...

How sweet of you, Julierose. Using all pastels is a stretch for me.

Ann said...

Thanks, Nikki.

Ann said...

Thanks for writing, Jocelyn. We just need to keep an eye out for serendipitous events like the Coins falling. The weather is better for staying on and seeing now, isn’t it?

Ann said...

I’m glad you like the border. The quilt needed to be a bit larger but the border needed to disappear. I rarely use pastels so was a bit hesitant about this until the younger women in my family upvoted them.

Ann said...

Thanks, Julie.

Angie in SoCal said...

I love this quilt! And must make one. Would you share the width of the coins - I can take it from there. So glad you posted this!

audrey said...

Yes!! This is so sweet. Love the scrappy but funky vibe to it.:)

Mystic Quilter said...

I was intrigued to read your previous post just now as to what you were gong to do with those fabrics, now I see the result and this baby quilt is delightful, once again you've created a beautiful baby quilt.!

Ann said...

Thanks, Angie.

Ann said...

Thanks, Audrey. I’m glad I tried pastels for a change.

Ann said...

How kind of you, Maureen. It just popped into my head. And the. Turned out pretty well.