I knew as soon as I walked into my studio that I would use the big white polka dots on red as a borders for my Kid’s Hankie Quilt.
I didn’t anticipate having to wash it, but I noticed a few stains on it I wanted to get out. So I soaked them with stain remover and washed the fabric in the kitchen sink. Then I threw it in the washer to spin.
While it did, I found the fabric for the back of the quilt. Little ducks, rabbits and kittens on blue and green. I didn’t have enough of it, so I added on a strip of elephants. One of the first pieces of fabric that Lorry sent me a few years ago from her mother’s vast collection of fabric.
But they had to be washed too. Not that they were dirty, but just a little musty from sitting on my shelf. It was the perfect day for drying, warm and windy.
I love the elephant fabric, but so far this is the first time I’ve used it. I still have a piece left which I know I’ll use again somehow.
By the time I was done sewing the red and white Polka dots around the edge of the quilt, the backing fabric was all but dry.
Just damp enough for ironing out the few wrinkles the wind didn’t tame.
Jon had an appointment in Saratoga this afternoon, so we were away for a chunk of the day. But after we got home and I fed the animals, I was back in my studio. I sewed the backing together, then laid the quilt top on it and trimmed it to size.
Although it was getting late and I still had to blog, I didn’t want to leave the quilt top and back unpinned on my floor. So I cut the batting and pinned the three pieces together.
Tomorrow I’ll sew them together and, if all goes well, tack the quilt too.
Maria every aspect of this quilt sings! In every respect it calls to mind the books I read my children when they were young – the colors and the patterns and the classic nursery images – and the backing is so perfect! Fortunate child who receives this!
The red polka dot border has so much fun and youthful energy!
Thank you Pam. I didn’t expect such a response to it. I haven’t made many kids quilts, only two I think.
This quilt is amazing! Children will love it! I enjoyed watching the process.
:)
what a lucky kid to get to sleep under that quilt. i think little kids love RED! it turned out very retro nostalgic and charming. another beautiful piece.
Thanks Nancy!
That is so spectacular! I can see a toddler just pointing to any square of it and asking for the corresponding nursery rhyme/bedtime story, then growing up to read those books on their own – maybe by flashlight underneath it! – and this storybook quilt becoming either one child’s treasure (maybe hung as art until that young individual becomes an adult with children of their own), or being used by multiple siblings and shared within a family. Just…wow!
PS – how many of your creations can be the “best one yet”?
I hope that happens Amy. The quilt is going to a Pediatric nurse who will bring it to work with her. So many children will have a chance to see it. And thanks!