15 November, 2010

DONE!

And it only took me a year and a half to do it.


The inspiration came when I saw in a hip little fabric store some enchanting applique quilts and exclaimed to my friend Renae, "I'm going to start designing quilts!" And she basically let me believe that this was the best idea I've ever had! Because that is the type of person she is. I wonder if she would have told me if she thought it was a bad idea...?


I promptly recruited my friend Lara to help. She is amazing with a needle and thread. And to keep things manageable, I started by designing two baby quilts. One for her and one for me. When I posted the fabric in this post and the start of the quilt project in this post, my only thoughts were I'm going to get this done in a month or two. No sweat.


Little did I know that in a weeks time I would meet Mike and start a crazy awesome carnival ride that would lead me to actually finishing this quilt for our baby boy that is currently tossing and turning in my belly right now. A little miracle that I thought would never happen for me.


I wish I could say it is all Mike's fault this quilt took so long. But really, I'm just easily distracted. Creative ADD. That and the needle turned applique birds. If you want to make this quilt and you are in a hurry, machine applique. There is no shame in that. Those bird beaks require patience.


But now I am done. The baby can come and I think the small ruffle looks gorgeous. It isn't girly at all. Any baby can sport a small ruffle. Have I convinced you? I've certainly convinced myself.


I love the layered look of one quilt on top of the other. It adds a lot of depth. That scallop took a lot of brain power to pull off. You can barely see the contrasting polka dot fabric underneath, but trust me, It's dang cute.

I've never done a quilt with embroidery before, and I'm thinking it's possible that every quilt I make in the future will have it. It's just such a great detail. I showed a close-up last year of the stitch here.


All that is left is to wrap my new baby up in it when he arrives. Well, I have to write the instructions for the quilt too. I hope that doesn't take another year and a half. I hope I can remember what I did.

22 comments:

mruchti said...

omg Patti! that is the most. gorgeous. quilt. i. have. EVER. seen. TRUTH! i love love love it!

Laura W. said...

LOVE love love love this. And I love it some more. Beautiful.

Anonymous said...

LOVE IT!! are you designing the whole nursery around this quilt? and i don't think i'd be wrapping any baby up in it. .except maybe for some pictures! think you should hang on the wall to show off! anything that took that long to make and looks that good needs to be shown!

Kelly - yur sista! said...

That turned out SO dang cute! I'm glad to see it all finished! Adorable. But I knew it would be. :)

Lori said...

SOOOOOOOOOO adorable! i love it.

Lauren said...

This turned out SO amazing!

Christy said...

OH. My. Gosh. That is the cutest darn quilt I have ever seen! EVER. Ever.

Wendy said...

Patti! That quilt is beyond beautiful! I don't want to gush too much for fear it will come off as insincere...but truly, that is a gorgeous quilt! Do you mind if I blog about it?

Wendy said...

Patti,
I didn't wait for your permission to post about your quilt. Tell me if you don't want me to and I'll take it down. I was way to excited to wait for your answer...(you know, ask forgiveness rather than permission.) I love you!

Venessa said...

Patti!! It's amazing! I remember sitting next to you on the plane to New York while you were stitching away on this and Mike had just became a something in your life. I can't wait for you to make instructions for this. But if it takes you another year or so that's ok too. There's gonna be another something here soon. ;)

Andrea said...

Well, I'm late to the party!!! Who cares if it took that long...it's a.maz.ing!

Joellyn said...

What an accomplishment! I am beyond impressed. Can't wait to follow the arrival of your babe.

Kara said...

turned out so beautiful!

Annie Traynor said...

I can only echo the comments of the others and tell you that your quilt is beyond awesome. Seriously, that must have been a labor of love and it turned out so incredibly beautiful! You are so talented!

Just Lara said...

Everything about it is beautiful! Congratulations on getting it done. I wanted to finish mine for my girl but I accidentally had a boy instead! Opps!

Don't listen to the other commenters. Wrap your baby in that quilt! Yes it will get stained but the memory of using it is much better than a picture perfect quilt on the wall. Trust me because I have done both.

I can't wait to see the quilt AND the baby when it gets here. Promise you'll take a road trip soon!

Love you!

Brooke said...

I came across a photo of this quilt and I fell inlove! I was impressed by it and even more impressed when I found out that you designed it yourself!!! I am not a quilter myself but my mom is and she said that if I could get a copy of the pattern she would make it for me for my first child!... so I was wondering if it is possible to get a copy of the pattern for this! Its absolutely adorable!!

Talk of the Town said...

I am actually working on the pattern right now! Thanks for giving me more motivation. If you post another comment Brooke, but this time use your email address (it will show up in my email) I can let you know when it is ready. I'm aiming for the end of the month.

Brooke said...

Its not letting me connect to my google account through here, but you can email me at lbfmoncrief@hotmail to let me know when the pattern is done! put bird quilt or somehting in the subject so I dont think its junk mail. Thank you so much i cant wait!!

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mbrutesco said...

Hey Did you make a pattern for this quilt? I am IN LOVE! Would like to make it for my little bundle of joy on the way in a few months. Please email me if you have the pattern at madison.brutesco@gmail.com. Beautiful work!

Unknown said...

I am also hoping that you have created a pattern for this quilt... Absolutely adorable! If you have finished the pattern I would love love a copy, lacey.haycock@gmail.com

Anonymous said...

I also love your quilt! My best friend is having her first baby, and I was hoping to make something like this for her, so I am also wondering if you have a pattern yet? My email is eleanor_catherine@hotmail.com. Thanks so much for sharing your beautiful work :)