Crib Bumpers and Another Baby Quilt

 

 I really want to be sewing for my dolls right now, but for some reason, I've had so many other projects demanding my time!  One of them was this bumper set for a sweet, baby girl:

 

You may remember that I made a diaper stacker, dust ruffle, and valance several months ago for this same baby, and now the mama wanted me to use the leftover fabric to make a bumper set.  There wasn't enough fabric left for the project, so I made trip to JoAnn's (where the fabric was originally purchased) to see if they still carried the elephant print.  Well, of course they didn't.  I check three, different JoAnn's with no luck.  But I did manage to find the pink dotted fabric which matched perfectly, so that is what I decided to use.  The pattern was fairly easy and straightforward, but I always make things more difficult by adding more detail.  For example, instead of using ribbon for the ties which the pattern suggested, I made fabric ties.  Easy, but time consuming.  I also added piping along the top, curved edges. 

 

Cute, right?

 

My next project, which needed to be completed in time for a shower this weekend, was another baby quilt.  This time, I got to choose bright, primary colors since it is for a little boy:

I had actually made the quilt top several months ago, and then set it aside.  My original goal was to have several quilt tops made and set aside for upcoming baby showers.  This was the only one I got around to doing, but at least I got to use it!

 

The pattern is from a baby quilt book I have by Ursula Reikes.  I believe it's called "Even More Quilts for Baby".

 

My first Pinwheel quilt.  I'm pretty proud that all my corners seemed to match up well.

 

The back is a cozy flannel, as usual, and quilted in simple lines.

 

I am hoping (fingers crossed!) to get some doll sewing done this week.  I did buy my daughter some fabric for her Easter dress, so that may happen as well.  Stay tuned!

 

 

 

 

 

Michael Miller Baby Quilt and Bibs

Wow, what a bad blogger I've been.  If anybody is still reading this, I'd be very surprised, since I haven't done a very good job at all with posting!  But here I am, once again, with no excuses other than life is busy.  And crazy.  And wonderful.  I will never be a blogger that updates every day, and I just need to accept that.  But here I am again anyway, with a little proof that I have been sewing, amidst marrying off son #3 last month:

 

A Baby Boy Quilt

Every time I finish a quilt, I always marvel at the pattern, and how all the colors blend together, yet contrast, so nicely.  I've had this Michael Miller "Cowpokes" fabric in my stash for years, and when I was invited to the baby shower for my best friend's new grandbaby, I decided it was about time that I use it.  The pattern is my own design.  The finished quilt measures about 36" x 48".

 

The nine-patch squares measure 6" x 6", while the center square is 12" x 12".  Those little cowboys are just so darn cute, I didn't want to chop up the scene by making all the squares smaller.  So I designed the quilt around a larger, center square. 

 

The back was pieced together with flannel pieces from my stash.  In fact, EVERY SINGLE PIECE of fabric in this quilt came from my stash...even the batting!  I was so proud of myself for using what I had on hand. 

 

And because I still had fabric left over, and the quilt just wasn't enough, I also made this:

 

 

And this:

 

Aren't they just the cutest little bibs you ever saw?  Yes, they will get stained and spit up on and look dingy sooner than later, but for right now, I just have to admire their cuteness.  To make these, I took a well-worn, stained, spit-upon, dingy bib from the bottom of my kitchen drawer (why it's still there I don't know, because my youngest is now five and stopped wearing bibs long ago) and used it as a pattern.  The fronts are pieced together, and the back is a solid piece of fabric made from the contrast fabric.  I edged them with piping, and they fasten with Velcro.  There is an inner layer of cotton batting.  I'm so pleased with how they turned out.  I almost like them more than the quilt.  Almost.  When my husband saw them, he wondered why I had never made any for our own children.  I stared at him blankly because honestly, I didn't know.  They certainly were easy enough.  But maybe I was always too focused on the bigger projects, like quilts and crib sets, smocked dresses and heirloom rompers.  It never even occurred to me to make bibs.  But now that I have, I definitely think they will become my new favorite for baby shower gifts.  Along with a quilt, of course.  Because every baby deserves a pretty quilt.

 

 

 

 

Sewing for Baby

We don't know our future grandchild's name; that is being kept a secret until he is born.  However, we did find out mid-pregnancy that "it" was a "he", and so I've been able to crank out few things for the nursery which my daughter-in-law requested.

 

First on the list was a crib quilt.  The nursery is painted grass green and the theme is monkeys, so I was pretty happy when I found the green, monkey print fabric at JoAnn's last summer.  Normally, I'm not too excited about JoAnn's fabrics; the quality generally isn't as nice as the more expensive quilter's cottons.  But the sweet, childlike look of the monkeys was exactly what my daughter-in-law was looking for, and it didn't feel too bad, so I bought it.  I paired it with many, other, quality, cotton prints from my stash, introducing blues and browns, because I didn't want the entire thing to be just green.

 

 

The design pattern is my own; a simple nine-patch block alternating with snowball blocks.  Each block is six inches square, and the entire quilt measures approximately 39" x 51".

 

 

I found the most wonderful fabric for the back--a deep brown flannel scattered with bananas!  How perfect is that?

 

 

I have yet to learn how to do free-motion quilting (it is on my list of things to learn this year!), so the layers are quilted together in a simple, geometric design.

 

 

I am quite pleased with how it turned out.  The colors are bright and cheery, just perfect for a little boy's nursery.

 

 

 

Next on my daughter-in-law's list was a ruffled crib skirt, which I just finished up today.  Each ruffle is approximately five inches wide, but is overlapped one inch by the ruffle above.  It is 19" tall and will hit the floor when the crib mattress is set at it's highest setting.  Once the crib mattress is lowered, you will only see the bottom three ruffles.  This was a simple enough project, but very time consuming!  Gathering and ruffling all those fabric strips seemed to take forever!  Luckily, I only had to do one side of the crib skirt.  I could also have done the two, shorter ends, but since these would never be seen due to the crib having solid wood head and foot boards, it wasn't necessary.  Phew!

 

Last on the list (at least for now!) my daughter-in-law requested a diaper bag.  My first thought was "Why?  Just go buy one!" I really had no desire to make one.   But she really wanted one made with my son's Army fatigues, in a messenger bag style, and so I started looking for a pattern.  I finally found a free tutorial on the internet, located here:  http://amingledyarn.wordpress.com/gallery/tutorial-hip-mama-diaper-bag/  It gives all the dimensions for how to cut the fabric pieces, and the instructions were easy to understand.  I pretty much followed them exactly, and I think it turned out well.

 

 

I used a quilter's cotton in brown with tiny white dots to coordinate with the camouflage fabric.  The front flap closes with magnetic snaps at both bottom corners.

 

 

The neat thing about fatigues is that there are random little pockets everywhere!   So I incorporated one of these pockets onto the back side of the bag.

 

 

Both sides of the bag have pockets that close with Velcro.

 

 

It's hard to tell from the photo, but the inside of the bag is lined with elasticized pockets along both long sides, so there is lots of room for storing smaller items.  My daughter-in-law already has it packed and ready with the items she is taking to the hospital!

 

This is a nice pattern, and could be used for other things besides a diaper bag.  My son is happy that he can carry it around and not have it look feminine.  You know, no big, strong, Army fellow wants to look like he's carrying a purse!

 

I'm sure there will be more baby projects in the future...in fact, I have leftover fabric scraps from the quilt that would make darling bibs or burp cloths.  So stay tuned!