Quilted Baba Update

Confession: I had a hard time working on this project over the last year. The reasons are many and varied.

First, moving to the studio a year ago meant my Morning Make routine was upended. I only do handwork or writing at home now, for Morning Make. Then, when I arrive at the studio things aren’t always so smooth. At the beginning, my son was coming with me so he could do school online. I didn’t feel comfortable having the machine going while he was doing school so he had a fighting chance at concentration. Then, because the studio is attached to our company offices, I was often pulled into work work stuff. In the end, I struggled to find the dedicated time to work on these blocks.

Second, this is boring and repetitive sewing. Tiny Xs, squared up to 1.5” x 1.5”. There are 100 in each block and the whole quilt requires 81 blocks. A girl can only do so much before it drives her to madness. And, let’s be honest, it’s a short drive these days as I struggle through perimenopause.

All that being said, I have no doubt that I will finish the quilt. It's too important to me not to.

In the last month I’ve pulled it back out. My son is finally back in school full time, so that barrier is removed. I also have my own means of transportation again, which means my mornings are no longer heavily influenced by my husband’s schedule. So I can come in when I want and sew before anyone knows I am here, minimizing the company interruptions in the morning. It’s not perfect, but I am getting more consistency.

One stitch at a time, one stitch at a time.

I usually make 10-20 little squares each day. Then it takes a few hours to put an entire block together, mostly because of all the pressing! One day, when I know I have the time, I will try to make a block from start to finish and time myself. If only to satisfy my curiosity.

The truth is, there is no need to put pressure on myself. This was never going to be a fast project, there is way too much piecing for that to happen! This is about persistence, not patience.

Flora - A Baby Doll quilt from Park blocks

Flora

36” x 36”

She’s a sweetheart. Flora loves all things nature, especially plants and birds. But she will also stop to rescue a bug. Even the caterpillars because, while kind of gross, she knows they will turn into something beautiful. So drink the nectar, watch the sunlight move through the trees, and count birds eating mountain ash berries outside your window, Flora will be right there along with you.

Earlier this year I finally gifted an overdue wedding present to my husband’s cousin and her wife. Around the same time their son was enjoying the new baby doll that Santa brought him. Knowing I hd a few extra blocks around, I turned them into a coordinating quilt. Now he can snuggle with his baby just like his Mamas snuggle with him.

There were already 3 blocks started (and none finished). They combined my old Tag Fabric and some prints from Heather Givans’ Succulents collection. Went into the vaults for these! I made the last block with another of Heather’s prints and something else I found in my stash. It was kind of neat to have a theme to the fabrics - all plants. The Park pattern by Carolyn Friedlander is a good opportunity to show off fabrics. On the back I used a Charlie Harper print with birds on it that I know the Mamas would appreciate.

On the original quilt I also quilted a grid. That one was a vertical/horizontal. On this one I went for diagonal. In both cases it should be sturdy enough with the hand applique. Both quilts are going to get some good snuggles.

To finish the quilt I had just enough of the green fabric from the original quilt to also bind this one. It’s another way to tie the two of them together.

Flora is already in her new home, already in use with that loved baby doll. She’s big enough for snuggling under right now. At one point in life I made a few dozen doll quilts and there were tiny. Just big enough to cover a doll or stuffie. While they are loved and used this way, I like the idea of making them a bit bigger so kiddo and doll can be snuggled together. It works while the kiddo is little, at least.

Calla - Another Version of the Lilla Quilt

Calla

81” x 81”

Calla is Lilla’s younger sister. Not quite so driven as the first born, but way more fun. She is the free spirited second child, moving to her own rhythm and enjoying life as it comes. She dreams of sandy beaches, big parties, and a good glass of wine. Not content to stay home or stay quiet, Calla loves to live and lives to love.

True confession, I finished this quilt at some point last fall, maybe even in the summer. That was after the top sat for a few years. She is another version of the Lilla quilt pattern, designed in collaboration with Lotta Jansdotter. This version was actually made as part of a blog hop for Scott Hansen’s Tie One On Fabric, in 2018. That’s just how quiltmaking goes for me and I will not apologize for it.

I will, however, apologize for the massive delay in getting this quilt to its recipients. I just gifted this as a long overdue wedding present to some extended family. They had a Covid wedding that we watched on Zoom. Does that mean they should wait 4 years for a wedding present? Of course not. But they have it now, that’s what counts!

I quilted her on a rented longarm with a unique all over design. Mostly, just me doodling. Much like the quilt itself, it is a mish mash of shapes. In all honesty, I wasn’t too fussed about it. One, this is a functional quilt, not a show quilt. That means the quilting is there to hold the quilt together and give it texture. And two, with the 100% cotton batting I use, the crinkle factor kind of negates most detail in a quilting pattern. Best to enjoy the quilting process and do it well, rather than stress about the quilting design itself.

To bind her I used an orange Grunge fabric. It was a great frame for the quilt, with so much warmth in her colours. The original inspiration of the fabrics and my background selections was Sedona, Arizona and this Grunge was a pretty close approximation of the rocks in the dessert.

She sat then, for months and months as I waited to finish a few other quilts. Actually, just one. Her recipients now have two kiddos. The first babe got his quilt before he was even born! The second, well, hers was just finished. Then it took me another month or so to get labels on everything. And we won’t even talk about my inability to get to the post office to mail everything! Then we got a text this week that the family would be in town. I almost went to the post office on Monday and they came on Tuesday.

Needless to say, the quilt is finally delivered!

Quilted Baba Update

Making progress over here. It’s slow, but it is progress. This is the first 9/81 blocks, all sewn together.

Early in the year I let you in on this epic portrait project. It is a pixelated quilt portrait of my Baba. Each pixel is actually a little x block. And when I say little, I mean that I square them up at 1.5” x 1.5”. When all is said and done, the quilt will measure 90” x 90”. To make the quilt I’ve divided the picture I started with into a 9 x 9 grid. Each of those 81 blocks is made from 100 of the little X blocks. That means there will be 8,100 little cross stitches in the finished quilt.

That picture there? That is 9 of those 81 blocks of 100 together. They constitute the bottom corner. Why did I start in the bottom corner? Well, I had to start somewhere! It also allowed me to test the fabric choices and pixellation because all the other corners were mostly background colours. I’m happy with how it turned out so I shall keep going!

For the most part, I’ve been making the blocks as my Morning Make practice. I tend to make them in batches of 10-15. It is tedious and boring sewing, so that seems to be all I can handle. That, and the fact that it was in the morning and there is only so much time to sew. When I have 100 for the block I lay them out and start the process of sewing them together. Assembling rows goes quickly, but the pressing is a definite slow down in the process. It’s worth the time and effort, though, as there are a lot of seam allowances and having a mess on the back is not good. With such small pieces a messy back would spell disaster for a quilt that stays flat and in order. Once the rows are sewn I pin - yes, me, pinning! - to join the rows together. I want them to line up as best I can. I will admit, there is a some work needed on my part to improve accuracy. But it improves with each block.

Now that I have the studio space I have to figure out a new time to piece these blocks. I think a regular time would allow me to see continued progress, and make it harder to put things aside for weeks or even months on end. So far I’ve been taking 20 minutes after lunch, after I walk with my son and the dog to school. We’ll see how that works.

I think it is important to tell myself that this won’t be an exact representation of the photo. I did my best to match colours and fabrics, but we are always limited by what is available. I wanted to use prints, which meant buying commercially available fabric. I fear that my work with the values, more than the colours, isn’t exactly spot on. I know, however, that the story of the quilt will still be successful. For me, that matters more.