Just for a little back story on why I would even take on such a project with little ones underfoot..... It was around November when it finally began to get cold around here, and my kids began to drag their blankets around the house in a "Linus" fashion. The big kids were full of questions about the blanket that I crocheted for Evelyn when I was pregnant with her and wanted to know where their baby blankets were. Of course when I pulled them out of the closet, they quickly realized that their crocheted baby blankets no longer work as well for warmth on their now big kid bodies. So naturally they began to ask for new blankets. So as my kids are getting older, I'm trying not to divulge too much about their own personal stories because those will be stories that they get to tell or choose not to tell later in life, but with that said, we had been dealing with a behavior issue for a while and so I mentioned to them, that if the behavior could stop for the month of December, then I will not only make them new blankets, but that I would let them have a hand in helping to make them, or at least help pick out fabric.
December came and went and they earned their blankets which landed me in the fabric store, not once, but twice with 4 kids in tow for each of the big boys to pick out their fabric and get all of the essentials for their quilts. For reference, I have only made 1 quilt before in my life, and it was back when I was in high school for my senior project. That particular quilt was sewn entirely by hand, and was quilted together using the tie method. I wish that I could share pictures of it, but alas, that was before we took pictures of every piece of our life with our cell phone, and part of my project was raffling it off to raise money for a cause, so I no longer even have it.
Without further ado, here's what the boys quilts look like.
I won't deny that I attempted to talk the 5 year old out of this bright green. Yes, I told him, he could have his choice and then tried to talk him out of it.... But in the end, I embraced it and helped him find a fleece back to match along with a bright green flannel for the binding. As I sewed it together, the green began to grow on me eventually and to see the smile on his face that he was so proud to have picked each piece of the quilt was priceless.
The 7 year old's color choices may not have been as bright, but he was just as opinionated about them. Every part of the quilt *had* to be grey, black and blue.
Each of the quilts followed the same pattern obviously, and I decided to quilt them each the same also by finishing them with 18 squares-- there are 9 larger squares with 1 smaller square in each as you can see from the pictures of the back. Both have fleece as the back and flannel as the the binding with special thanks for those tips to the This Pilgrim Life blog and her "quilting 101" videos that she posted on Facebook last fall.
The pattern for each quilt is one that I have had for YEARS and have never used. Shameful? I actually won this pattern and two others in a blog giveaway years ago. The pattern came from a little shop called "For The Love" on Etsy, but I'm sad to say that it appears her shop has not been active since about 2015. ( Shop link. )
Completing both quilts took me about two and half weeks with a 2 year old and 5 month old underfoot. And there was certainly times that I felt like I was a little bit crazy, but overall I am so proud of how they turned out. And as a Mom of little people, I find having things around that I can complete, whether it be a book, a craft, or a project so important. All Moms, but especially stay at home Moms, can get so easily wrapped in the monotony of the day to day. My floors are never clean because something will inevitably get dropped on them at the next meal. As a family of 6, I have no idea when the last time the laundry baskets were empty. There's always a list and always something to be done, so while it might seem daunting to take on an extra project like making a quilt, nothing compares to that feeling of success in just finishing something. I love each of my kiddos, and I am blessed to be able to serve them through folding their laundry and cooking their meals (and hopefully teaching them how to do those things along the way), BUT, I also need to do things for me occasionally too.
And alas because I couldn't resist the girly fabrics in the store-- little Evelyn got a small "taggie" style blanket out of the deal too.
Pink and mint fat quarters, and an adorable fairy print flannel. She loves all of the little ribbons (tags) too.
So now a few weeks out from these projects, I'm craving another project and trying to decide if I am brave enough to attempt sewing Evelyn some clothes. Aside from a few pillowcase dresses, my only sewing experience are things that don't have to fit something. And in reality a pillowcase dress is very forgiving. I've spent the last week or so perusing the internet looking at little girl styles and ideas, so now it's just a matter of getting up the courage to try.
What are you working on friends?
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