With my deadline fast approaching (ie the baby is almost here!!) I needed to get the quilt finished. I finally buckled down yesterday and got it done.
I have had some basic designs sketched out for a series of minimalist quilts which express the love between a parent and child. I have sketches with turtles, rabbits, bears, even worms. The turtle is probably my favorite, and I've worked and reworked my turtle sketch several times. It can take 20 or so head and eye combinations to get it right. (is that strange?)
News of a newly pregnant cousin was a fantastic excuse to break out the fabric and get cracking. This actually ended up much less minimalistic then I originally planned. I had planned for a solid print or even more basic with a nice unbleached cotton. But, a trip to the fabric store convinced me otherwise. I am a sucker for a batik print, plus I loved the combo of this green and blue together. Then I found a 50% off natural linen remnant, so really the fabrics chose themselves. The very last choice of fabric is an old antique pillow case from our grandmother (Mimi). I have several old antique pillow cases of hers, and though this one was in rough shape I held on to it anyway for a future project. And I know if anyone in the family would appreciate that sentimentality...it would be this cousin.
I had some funny hiccups along the way...that's just how I roll. I think I've mentioned before that perfection is NOT my middle name. If only I had a perfectionist to do the work for me, and I could just sketch out the ideas. This quilt is not perfect...and that's what makes it just right. I got to use some newer skills as well as some old stand-bys. I mixed machine quilting, hand embroidery, machine embroidery and machine applique to make this quilt. I love the way the turtles came out with their little french-knot eyes looking all lovingly at eachother.
Congratulations to Alexis and Seth. I just can't believe you're all grown up and having a baby! (yay Uncle Skip and Aunt Donna!)
And a special thanks to Jeni Key, I used your tape-to-the-floor technique and it worked great!
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