Monday, September 8, 2014

Auntie Kym

It's hard to believe it's been the better part of a year since I last posted! I've sewn a few projects, though I took a long break after a poorly thought-out decision to make a gigantic scrappy beach quilt before I went on vacation in addition to sewing a beach bag from scratch. I didn't give myself enough time to enjoy the process of making either one, but I'm pleased with the way they came out. I just needed a breather after that!

But rewinding a few months to the spring, I made a quilt for my oldest friend Becky's new arrival, Michelle Elaine. (She takes her middle name from Becky's mom, who got me hooked on embroidery all those years ago!) I wanted to make something a bit girly, so it would be distinct from her brother Simon's quilt, but I'm not a big fan of pink. So, I based the color scheme around Patty Sloniger's Les Amis line and went with peach, cream, and green.






I tried my hand at pinwheel blocks for the first time, and I love the way they came out! I found some great tricks online for making a few pieces at once, which definitely came in handy. Since the prints in this line are so cute -- I love the woodland themes that are popular right now! -- I made big blocks for the front of the quilt.

The back is a 108" width fabric from Connecting Threads. It struck me as being too bright at first, but I grew to like the pop of color. I quilted in a grid pattern, roughly following the block pattern. And of course, I embroidered a message to Michelle.




I was lucky enough to get to hand deliver Michelle her quilt in May when I flew out to California for a long overdue visit with Becky and her family. It was wonderful! Becky's a great mom, and her kids are two of the sweetest, brightest kids I've ever met.

Simon, who is now two, calls the quilt I made him "Auntie Kym." His parents originally explained to him that his Auntie Kym had made the quilt for him, but in toddler logic, that meant the quilt must be called "Auntie Kym." He always asks for Auntie Kym when he goes to sleep (which caused some confusion when I was visiting!), but it's so nice to know that he loves his quilt. Sometimes you wonder if the quilts you've spent hours and hours working on get shoved into the back of the closet, or forgotten after the initial appeal wears off. I'm so glad that mine are being put to good use!

When I gave Michelle her quilt, Simon had to bring his out, too. :)




It's an Auntie Kym party!


I love those kids, but at the rate they are growing, it won't be long before they need bigger quilts!




No comments:

Post a Comment