Friday, June 1, 2007

Baby Love

Several months ago, when my sister and sister-in-law were pregnant and I wasn't, I decided that I would make baby blankets for those two boys and for Number Two, who has only ever had hand-me-downs from his big brother. Somewhere in the process of making them, I found out I was pregnant, and so there was a time when I wasn't sure if Number Two would end up with the blanket after all. Now that I know Number Three is a girl, I'm back to the original plan, which is good because I was thinking of Number Two when I designed them.

When my parents moved to Utard several years ago, I inherited all my mom's stash of fabric. A lot of it is scraps from completed projects, and there were quite a few larger pieces from aborted projects. The latter category included 6.5 yards of baby flannel, surely originally intended for a baby quilt for one of my brothers. It's a slightly aqua blue, and has teddy bears and giraffes with gold bows around their necks, and roses with green leaves. The first category included some light aqua velours left over from a sweatsuit my mom made for me in the 70s (wish I could find a picture of it to include here!). Somewhere along the line I also acquired a turquoise velveteen bridesmaid dress probably worn by my mother's youngest sister some time in the late 1960s. It had a couple of faded spots that made it unsuitable for wear as a dress.

So, I cut up the dress into the largest regular-sized pieces I could, and started laying out fabric, filling in with the velours. An early decision over which I agonized was the size of the finished quilts. The size of the largest pieces from the dress helped me settle on 24x36. I had originally planned a simple gold satin binding for the edges, but then I saw a baby with a fleece stroller blanket with ribbon loops sticking out of the ends. Besides looking really cute, the loops have the developmental bonus of working the baby's fine-motor and hand-eye coordination. There were just enough smaller pieces from the dress left to make three bunnies, one to go with each blanket, using this pattern (thanks to Angry Chicken for the link).

With both nephews due in May, I had a deadline (always crucial) for my project, and I was able to finish everything but the bunny face embroidery before leaving for Utah last week. Hopefully the boys will like them as much as their mommies (and older siblings) do! I gave Number Two his blankie and bunny yesterday, and he is in love.







And here is new nephew #2--isn't he cute?!?!

8 comments:

MWR said...

(a) While reading this I heard a little TV Lawyer Disclaimer Voice in my head saying "Warning: Bridesmaid's dress may not be suitable for wear as a dress."

(b) Your little brood is sounding more and more like people that James Bond had best keep an eye on.

Anonymous said...

Do you have a better suggestion for code names? I know, you're on record as not believing in blog nicknames, but . . . maybe I should just call them their in utero names? Knut and Odin? We're still working on one for Number Three.

MWR said...

Hmm . . . Little Cats A, B and C? That might require more conversance with the works of Seuss than you've demonstrated in the past ;) Your nicknames are innocuous enough, really. I think what really did it for me was an otherwise sensible person of my acquaintance whose wife became "the butterfly lady" for blog purposes.

Freya?

Anonymous said...

Freya isn't wild enough--too close to something I might actually use. I've thought of Frigga, though.

Wait--when did I miss a Seuss reference? I think we have very nearly the complete oeuvre around the house.

MWR said...

As I recall, you wondered if the Grinch "made hash out of the little buggers."

Muirgen?

Anonymous said...

Nah, has to be Scandinavian to go with the theme.

Heather Richardson said...

Congratulations on your new number (and color)!! Sorry I'm a bit slow on taking in this news - no wonder everything is coming up roses there!!

MWR said...

My final offer: Inger