Category: Projects

Punctuation Baby Quilt

Quilting and Sewing

It’s late but it’s done!  I think it’s also really cute.


This half square triangle quilt was made using the Punctuation collection by American Jane for Moda.  I really like the happy colors in this line, and think that it lends itself well to a baby boy quilt.  Paired with a beautiful blue solid, I made this quilt with one charm pack.  The quilt measures approximately 42 inches wide by 46 inches long.


I used straight line quilting on this, carrying the horizontal and vertical lines across the green border to the edges of the quilt.  I then quilted on the diagonal, going opposite the line of the half square triangle squares, but kept the diagonal quilting in the center of the quilt only.  I’m very pleased with how the quilting went.  I feel that I’m getting better at it, but I’m also aware that this is a very small quilt.


If there was one thing about the quilt that I struggled with, it’s the fact that the charm pack came with so many squares of the pinstripe fabric, two of each color.  I didn’t realize when I bought it how little it had of the more graphic designs.  In spite of this, however, I think that the quilt came together nicely and, on the whole, is colorful and interesting to look at even with an overabundance of that particular print.


For the back I used the alphabet print in red, which I like a lot.  It seemed fitting for a little boy born at the beginning of the school year, the sixth child in his (quite amazing) family.

And for the binding I went with the same blue solid.  I like the way it works with the blue quilting lines that go through the green border and meet the binding. I feel like it pulls the whole quilt together.  The binding was machine stitched.  I’m getting faster at it, and think that I may have found a way to sew it on that I like.  I need to bind one more quilt to see if I’m right.


And lastly, my favorite part of the whole quilt:


That’s his footprint!  When he was a couple of days old I had his grandma trace his foot so I could make this little tag .  I simply embroidered it and then stitched it to the corner of the quilt back.  I really like it.


Because of the tag I decided to simply wrap it with a ribbon.  Now it’s wrapped around an adorable little boy, and I hope they love it.

Hopeful Homemaker

2 comments ,

Personalized Tags for Baby Quilts

Quilting and Sewing

Years ago I began embroidering my child’s name in the corner of the baby quilt I made for them.  Last year it occurred to me that I could add a hand or foot print to the tag.


I traced her hand on a piece of paper, transferred it to the fabric and wrote the name and birth date nearby.  An hour or so of embroidery and it was done.  On this quilt, I ironed the edges under, then stitched twice around using my machine.  This meant that I was sewing through all layers of the quilt, making a rectangle of quilting lines on the back.


Because it’s a rag quilt and has a scrappy feel to it, I felt that the additional quilting lines wouldn’t detract from the overall look or feel of the quilt, and I also felt that the tag fit well on the front of the quilt for the same reasons.  It’s a wonderful reminder of how small she was, and I love to watch her touch the embroidered lines.


I recently finished another baby quilt, a gift for a friend.  I decided to put a tag on it as well.


This tag was placed on the back of the quilt, as I felt it would look awkward on the front.  Because I didn’t want inconsistent quilting lines showing on the front of the quilt, I stitched this tag on by hand, being careful to stitch only through the backing and the batting without piercing the quilt top.


To get the tiny footprint, I called my friend’s mother while she was staying with them to help.  She traced the footprint when he was just a few days old, and her teenaged son smuggled it to my car when I stopped by for a soccer carpool.  Thus, the little tag was a complete surprise to my friend.

While it takes a bit of extra effort, I thought I’d share the idea.  It adds an extra touch of sweetness and thoughtfulness to a handmade gift.   After all, they’re only little once!

Hopeful Homemaker

Leave a comment

Chore Board (repurposed old window)

Organization

We have  a friend who replaces windows for a living, and he’s one of those really smart guys who keeps the old windows and shares them with people who love them (like me).

A few months ago he and his wife drove to our home with a gift in hand.  Two old windows with 8 panes!  The perfect gift for a family with eight children.


One of these windows have been put to use as what I’m calling our “chore board”. I chose this name because sometimes we’ll have contests or earn points for special rewards based on cleaning and other responsibilities, and it becomes a scoreboard.  It hangs on a tiny wall behind my garage door, next to the bathroom door in a poorly lit corner.  We’re using what we’ve got, which is what life’s all about.


Before I hung the window on the wall, I used dry erase markers to write each child’s name and basic responsibilities on the back of each window pane .

Yes, that meant writing backwards, which explains my somewhat wonky handwriting.
I did this so we can write on the front of the window panes without messing up the basic list.  We can cross things off, circle them, write new lists, etc. but their names and basic daily chores will stay put.  Right now, with sports teams in full swing, we’re just focusing on basic habits.  We’ll add more to the list when our evening schedules calm down and when I know that we’ve mastered the essentials.   Until then, I’m not going to overwhelm us all with lists we can’t reasonably accomplish.  I want my children to feel successful, not buried.

I know that I could add things like brushing teeth, bathing, and other things to the list.  I chose not to, because I’m here at bedtime and can keep track of those things easily, and lists can get so long and overwhelming to kids.  This board is primarily for the things we need to do in the after school hours, the ones that get crazy.  The blessing of having a teenager is that sometimes I can leave him to babysit while I run one of the children to an activity.  The down side of this is that it leaves them with 20-30 minute increments of down time when I’m not home.  The purpose of this board is to help them be proactive, to work even when I’m not watching, and then be able to do fun things later.


We’re trying to teach our children that consistently doing small and simple things will offer great results, both in our  home and in their personal lives.  If they can learn to enjoy those simple things they will have discovered the secret to living happily.  I found the wall sticker at my local dollar store and thought it would be a nice reminder, hence it hangs above the old window.

So, simple as it is, we’ve got a new chore board hanging in our home.  The window fits the style of the rest of the house, and the entire project cost me ten minutes and one dollar.  Can’t beat that!

Thanks for stopping by!

Hopeful Homemaker post shared here .

4 comments
1 … 179 180 181 182 183 … 213