The Good Aunt

Don't know what the years will bring but for the beginning I did well, I guess. And I might at least be remembered as the aunt who made the quilt.

After finishing the baby quilt for my sister's new son almost on time it took me about a month to bring it to the post office... I am so bad with wrapping, packing and sending off parcels. But I finally did it!

Three days later the quilt arrived at its destination, sister approved and I can show it here, too.

As you might remember I was trying to make a rather plain quilt my sister could like. Of course, it's for my nephew but I think he wouldn't mind something like little red ridinghood under pink skies and heartshaped clouds and raining flowers...
I didn't really think a lot about the design though, it rather just happened. I had been making those little placemats using that cute hedgehog fabric a little time ago, still being in a autumn-leaf-hedgehog-deer-forest-mood. Adding the Love Beads of FunQuilts, which I like very much, this hedgehog  inhabited forest came to my mind and I made a sketch of it to know how it had to be pieced. At that time a little bird sat on one of the trees, later in the process it was turning into a squirrel - always working intuitionally...

The squirrel and the little trees on the back of the quilt are the only appliqued parts, the rest is really pieced. I had to "make it fit" a bit when it came to the trunks of the trees but the result looked still okay to me.

The back is of that fake kind of "I had to piece it because I had only leftovers of the fabrics I used for the top"  type but I like  this hint of randomness, faked or not.

Of course I found a way to throw in my inevitable printed tags... the baby's name and birthdate had to appear somewhere, right?

During the process of quilting I went from machine to hand and again back to the machine, encouraged by you, my dear readers, and ended up with a somehow herring-bone resembling appearance of the quilting which might have been caused by the lack of space around my sewing machine... you know, it's very cramped cozy in my studio. The walking foot worked well, the silk thread I've been using for sewing and quilting did not break once and I was pleased that my first real quilt turned out quite pretty.

Since the batting is 100% cotton, too, I suppose the quilt will look all nicely rumpled after the first visit to the washing machine/dryer and I hope I will see it maybe in a year or so when it has "grown up". These virginal quilts look a bit like babies themselves, don't they?

Happy to be able to join you good aunts out there!

I hope you all have a great day today!

Edit: I forgot to mention I consulted "the Modern Quilt workshop" (ISBN 1-59253-152-0) for the binding and followed the instructions for the Traditional Binding which worked very well. It's easy to do and the result is convincing.

Comments

[christina]

what a wonderful gift. that quilt is going to be well loved over the years. you are so talented and it shows in your work.

[Michelle]

I heart this quilt. :)

[Lisa K.]

I love everything about this quilt: colors, design, fabrics, quilting, back...EVERYTHING. Wonderful first first(-of-many) quilt.

[isa]

that's a wonderfull quilt...

the little squirrel looks awesome ;)

[myra]

Oh my gosh, it's incredible Alex! And that little squirrel - just perfect. What a wonderful aunt you are!

[julie]

another beauty...so lovely..i love the branches of the trees and the text. Of course you work intuitively!!!

[Ali]

That is the most beautiful quilt I have seen in a long,long time. I absolutely adore it. Bravo!

[Kristin La Flamme]

Yippee for good aunts! This turned out great -- I love that it is simple and sweet for a baby, but not so juvenile that the parents won't mind it strewn about the house. Very well done.

[Marie-Louise]

Alex, you have done it again. It's fantastic. It's the sweetest gift. :-D
Marie-Louise

[Nina]

Ahhh, so sweet.

I have all the fabric sorted out for my first quilt, I am going to be an aunt in about three weeks.

since nobody knows if it's a boy or a girl I have to wait for the baby to be born before I start....

(I don't really want to make something girlish for a boy)

nina

[Nicole]

I love all the things you do, but this makes me want to start on a quilt right away. It is absolutely amazing!

[katrin]

so absolutely beautiful...
lovely design and perfect in appearance!

[Nic]

Alex, das ist so wunderschön! Ein absoluter Traum, ich bin hingerissen...

GLG, Nic
willst Du meine Tante sein? ;o)

[Mama Urchin]

The quilt is so beautiful and perfect for a baby. What a nice gift.

[Jan]

What a charming quilt! How nice to see a truly individual design. The little hedgehogs in the forest are a wonderful touch!

[Cristina]

It's splendid--inspiring how you took elements you liked from different sources and put them together in a uniquely MOONSTITCHES way. Congratulations on being an auntie, too!

[Amelie]

The squirrel! I love squirrels :) And the hedgehog fabric is wonderful too... The FunQuilts books are great, aren't they?

[Kristina]

AMAZING!
It's very beautifull - good job ;o)

[Malin]

Could you be my aunt? ;) That's a great quilt!

[Steph]

This is by far the most adorable quilt I've ever seen, especially since it's your own design. I love the 'Igel' fabric and the squirrel, and the little mirrored trees on the back. Just amazing and beautiful!!

[lyn]

That is ** BEAUTIFUL **

[Elke]

Here it is, the real "Alex-Quilt", not restricted by any pattern! Wonderful work.

By the way... is it possible, to adopt aunts???

Gruß, Elke

[Kelli]

THis is your first quilt Alex? You have to be kidding me. It is art! Truly, ART. It is spectacular!

[Pip]

The best Aunt ever! Wow. I really wish I had a sister sometimes. The colors are great for a baby too.

[Sue]

The nephew's quilt is absolutely gorgeous. What a wonderful keepsake you have made, and hopefully it will last through time and be an heirloom for the family in future.