A Labour of Love

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 square from a cute set from Gini. (Shh . . . I still have the pants...)


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


And adorable poodle outfit from Mom that she absoultely 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. Don't EVEN get me started on that. 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 . . .