Monday, August 30, 2010

A Look Back at My First Quilt from Upcycled Baby Clothes

Here is a sweet baby quilt that I made last November and wrote about on my family blog, Under A Shady Tree.

I have finished my latest sewing project, which was a baby quilt made from a collection of my favorite baby clothes' of Ella's. It was a sweet project that didn't take a lot of time (other than the two days I spent ripping out some seams I didn't like) and it has given me great satisfaction. Actually, when I finished it, I cried a little, because I have such strong emotions tied to these little squares of fabric. I love where my baby girl is right now--she has such a personality, but I do miss the snuggly little bundle that used to wear these outfits!


I must give some credit to some blogs that inspired and "tutored" me in this project-- the first is Wee Wonderfuls. I stumbled on this post and I just knew I had to have one for myself. (I mean, who am I kidding? I say I made this for Ella, but it is mine, all MINE!!)

I was also inspired by Nettie over at A Quilt is Nice. The quilt in this post will be one of my next projects. It is going to be a Christmas gift, so I won't say much more than that. I loved the way that Nettie explained a spray basting method for adhering the quilt sandwich together. If there is one thing I hate about sewing, it is pinning, and this negated that.

When I got to the binding part I was clueless, so this post on Crazy Mom Quilts really helped me out with how to create a continuous binding. And lastly, my high school friend Phoebe (thank you, Facebook!!!) directed me to this online resource that helped me avoid having to hand baste the binding.

Which I think is so pretty!! (But don't look too closely at that mitered corner!) It is my first time, afterall!



I really smile when I look at some of these squares. This one with the sheep was from one of the CUTEST outfits EVER, that was a gift from my sister-in-law. It had a tiny stain at the neck that no amount of Shout would get out, so I sacrificed it for the quilt.


Here is another fabric square that I really love:


A few squares from outfits from my Mom: Here is a retro fabric from a quilted overall onesie.


And an adorable poodle outfit from Mom that she absolutely loved seeing Ella in. (Mom had a thing for poodles.)


I also used four squares of white eyelet from a dress that Ella wore to Mom's Celebration of Life. I felt it was a fitting nod. But it does make me a bit weepy.

On another, and HAPPIER note, as I am looking through these photos I am actually laughing, because I guess I have a thing for cupcakes! As you can see here,


and here,


and here!!

My goodness. Well, here it is all done. Imperfections and all. And I am already itching to make another one!

Oh, and THANK YOU for answering my frantic e-mail, Stephanie! I developed my own mantra after we corresponded: "When in doubt, RIP IT OUT!" And I am so glad that I did. I am much, much happier with the quilt now than I would have been. (Probably staring at the seams and going "Grrrr" in my head!)


How can you not smile when looking at this! (Keep your mitts off of it, Ella!) Just kidding baby. It's all yours. But you might have to wait awhile. Maybe when you have your first baby girl . . .


Oh, and see the big mistake? Somehow I left out a square in the lower right next to that elephant. How funny is that?

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10 comments:

  1. Aww so cute! I wanted to do that when my girl was an infant, but I was going through a divorce and living w/my parents- There was no way!
    I've seen it done with old receiving blankets too, so cute!
    Yours is darling. I'm sure your little girl will cherish it and probably steal it away for her own baby! It's hard to think about a time like that, isn't it!

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  2. I love it when people recycle family fabrics into quilts - that is the way it was and the way it should be imho.

    It turned out great!!

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  3. What a great idea and a great way to savory those memories. Thanks for the idea.

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  4. That is really cute! What a great way to remember all those fun outfits they wore! Thanks for sharing! ...I follow you! :)

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  5. I love it!!!! Why don't you help me do one for Ginger?!

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  6. Such a sweet idea. great job.

    New follower from the monday linkup

    Carole
    http://frogbellysoup.blogspot.com

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  7. What a wonderful keepsake! I wish I'd done something similar with my daughter's baby clothes ... too late now as she's now in her 30's! This is a very special quilt! And you did a great job!

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  8. Hi Sew Sweet! I know Ella will cherish it. I would love to see what some of my baby clothes looked like!

    Thanks Melissa & Asyhre!

    Diane! Maybe you were my 100th follower today! Welcome!

    Flan--of course I would love to help you with that--sounds like a great winter project!

    Hi Carole and thanks for stopping in. I will definitely be checking out Frogbelly!

    Hi Rita, welcome! I don;t think it is ever too late (well, that is if you still have some of her clothes!)

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  9. This is oh so sweet. I plan on doing this for my girls when they get older. I choke up just thinking about it!

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