This one wins for texture.
Somehow I managed to unearth hankie-like big scraps of super soft cotton for the back, a worn-in pillowcase for the blue stripes, and even the binding is that slippery-ish feel that vintage tablecloths give.
The whole thing is a score, in my make-it-out-of-trash world. It's 9 attached blocks of 9-squares, just about big enough to be plopped-onto or maybe hold when it's time for that.
Favorite part: one made-from-smaller-bits square that I hand-stitched onto the back after I quilted the long strands of line.
I'd initially tacked it on to be quilted, but then I didn't like how it looked crossed out by the quilting, so I stitched it on after.
And now, the quilt doesn't really have a "back"--at least in the sense that there's sort of quilt news on one side and then blankness on the other. Both sides count.
The printed scrap is cut from an old tea towel. Baby's due in Feb. God help me if the baby is late. [*Artist's Misunderstood Sigh That Friend's Uterus Might Not Agree To Timetable-Specific Quilt Vision.]
You already know that I do these projects to stay sane myself. But this one was even niftier to take on, because I also really like this baby. Ahead of time. He's not here yet. He promises to be funny, insightful, and have really, really tall hair (if my seared-forever memory of his father across the preschool snack table is any indication of his hairdo genes).
So this little blankety wonder was easy to want to make--and a real push in editing for me. I'm forever over-making things. Can't help myself. There was one more thing I wanted to add, but I didn't because this quilt looks finished to me. And I didn't want it to turn into a big scrap jumble.But I can see it in my mind--and I'll hold the thought as I hang out with this baby in the years ahead. It's just a little word I wanted to embroider about the score this baby made to land with his particular mom and his particular dad:
"lucky"
Because he really is.
And yes, I've now made myself cry. Happy tears, actually.
