Another baby quilt from the archive

Analog 2016-02-26

I got my own sewing machine in December 2012. Prior to that, I either used my mother’s machine or (while I was in college and law school and only rarely near her machine) sewed things by hand. The hand-sewing projects I’m most proud of, which will probably never get their own blog posts, are a pair of hand-quilted and hand-bound hot pads (whew — thimbles are made for hand-quilting Insul-Bright), a slipcover for what was at the time the cheapest futon at Ikea, and the installation of a new zipper on my backpack. In retrospect, these projects are definitely in an extremely practical vein.

Photograph of hot pads made from a fabric featuring cross-sections of oranges, bound in cobalt blue

Photograph of futon in dark teal slipcover with blankets and pillow

When I got my own machine, things changed dramatically. It is a lot faster to sew with a machine than without. This made sewing gifts much more attractive, and I started sewing quilts and blankets for members of my family’s next generation. In part because I had missed making gifts for many of the older members of that generation during the pre-sewing machine era, I typically also included presents for the older siblings. (The other reason is that I’m an elder sibling, and I think becoming one is something to celebrate.) One early project in that vein is also one of the first I posted on this blog. Another such project, completed about three years ago, is finally getting a blog post of its own today.

Photograph of front of baby quilt showing cobalt blue binding and front pieced in squares of red, blue, yellow, and green fabrics

Photograph of folded baby quilt showing cobalt blue binding, solid yellow backing, and front pieced from squares of red, blue, green, and yellow fabrics

I pieced the front of this quilt using scraps of varying age from my mother’s fabric stash (purchased in the 70s, 80s, and 90s). The fabrics included on the front are a red fabric with small regular polka dots; a solid cobalt poplin; a yellow fabric with a floral print in green, red, and blue; a solid lime green midweight; a cobalt gingham; and a solid yellow textured fabric. The green and both of the yellows were already cut into approximately four-inch squares, so I made an all-over pattern of diagonal strips out of squares. I repeated the fabrics, in order, two and half times, to get from the bottom left of the quilt to the upper right.

I got a very bright solid yellow cotton at Sewfisticated Fabrics in Somerville, MA, for the back. I quilted it diagonal lines going through the center of every other diagonal line of squares. I bound it with store-bought cobalt blue binding.

In this case, I made playdough for the new big sister, using a really excellent recipe that was distributed years ago at the Children’s Festival in Southern Oregon. I will have to post the recipe another time.

Also, at Inder’s suggestion (thanks!) I’m setting up my blog to be followable on Bloglovin:

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