This coming weekend I am hosting a very small baby shower/brunch for the daughter of a dear friend. There will just be seven or eight of us; I am vehemently opposed to massive showers where 30-40 of the bride's or mom-to-be's closest friends are in attendance.
This pregnancy was a long time coming, and the little boy is due on Christmas Eve. Some of us already have begun to think of him as Nicholas. I had a great time making this quilt. The pattern came from Sarah Fielke's
Hand Quilted With Love and wasn't difficult at all. If you get the book and want to make this quilt, be sure to check the errata page on Sarah's blog.
I hand quilted it and it took a long time. But I am very pleased with the way it turned out.
This past weekend I wanted to play with some Rowan/Westminster scraps and started cutting 2-1/2" squares because I had Kristy Daum's "Mazed" pattern in mind. Another good friend's daughter has a much-wanted fourth pregnancy and is due in March. Usually I make a quilt for just the first baby among my friends' children's offspring. But it occurred to me that a fourth baby should have something new. With three boys in the house already, I can imagine what the family is hoping. So I put together this flimsy for a baby girl and prolly will start hand-quilting it after Christmas. I have a duplicate of "Nicholas's" quilt in flimsy stage and will get it finished, too. In this case, it is important to me to give a gender-specific quilt, not a generic.
Comments
I think differently about the quilt/baby ratio though. Granted I don't have the same number of friends with fertile daughters that you have, but IMO, the stroller, crib, bath stuff, etc. usually obtained for the first child continue to be useful for subsequent additions to the family. Even clothes can easily be handed down. However, I think each new baby should have his/her own quilt. I always hope that the child will become attached to it, want to nap with it, maybe even take it to kindergarten for their rest time there (if it lasts that long)...
When you attend those large showers it seems the "best friends" dominate the event and everyone else may as well have left their gift at the door and just gone home. Sometimes I wished I had.
I've been considering using my polka dot stash to make one for a baby due in February since I've been told by the mom's twin sister that she loves polka dots and blue--yes, she's having a little girl.
Love the Mazed quilt--such soft loveliness.
Long ago when I was a new quilter, an elderly and expert quilter told our guild: "Hand quilt, hand wash. Machine quilt, machine wash." For this reason all of the baby quilts I make are machine quilted as I expect them to be overfrolicked and in need of washing.
Today I plan to cut 42 light blue squares as the next step in making 83 blue HSTs.
Hugs!