finally finished

Folk Baby, 2008, 38" x 33"
GIFTED TO OLIVIA DUNHAM

The top of this quilt is made with just seven strips of fabric. The piecing took about twenty minutes to cut and sew, and the hand stitching about 55 hours—over a five-month period.

Minimal piecing, maximum stitching. I chose this approach because the boxy patterns of the central fabrics, including one by Nancy Crow, already looked like little quilts.

The recipient of this quilt is Liz Holland, the soon-to-be mother of a little baby girl.

baby color philosophy

Baby Bluebell, 2007, 42" x 36"
GIFTED TO TOSHIKO MEALY

Blue is for boys and pink is for girls. Sex not known? Yellow or green. To break this protocol, my very first quilt was for a baby girl with pretty all-blue fabrics.

Not only did I succeed in my goals, I got hooked on quilting. Now just one year later, I have completed five baby quilts, two twin-sized quilts and one lap quilt. And a quilted pillow and two table runners. I am a rank beginner who is experimenting with patterns, fabrics, and whether or not I like machine stitching or hand stitching the final quilt.

This morning I met with Liz Holland to show her some very unlikely fabrics for her proposed baby quilt. Russet red, hydrangea blue, chartreuse, bright seafoam and a hot coral dominate the bold "global" patterns. The plan is minimal piecing and extensive hand stitching with a lime green thread.

So tonight I will wash the exciting fabrics, tomorrow press them, and this weekend begin (and hopefully finish) the piecing. Oh Baby.