HST Doll Quilt from Plum and June

Happy Monday! :)  Sometimes the simplest quilts are the most interesting!  I love this doll quilt by Beth from Plum and June.  And it's her first go at HST...I would not have guessed! Stop by Plum and June, I was just going through her last few posts and saw some really sweet baby quilts!  I love this quilt she entered into the blogger's quilt festival and this simple patchwork quilt...cute stuff.  Thanks again Beth! 

I finally tried making Half Square Triangles and now I know what all the fuss is about!  They really are fun and easy to put together.  Whoever came up with the right sides together, draw a line down the middle, sew two lines, and cut was genuis! 

I used this charm pack from the "big order" from months ago that I had regrettably prewashed.

Made one and squared it:

Made many more and squared them:

Then I just started arranging and rearranging and mixed in some of the now completely gone solid yardage that I had in my stash (actually, I had to cut some off one of my WIPs - Yikes!) 

And, the Sun and Water Blocks doll quilt was born (have I mentioned that my kids name the quilts???)

I'm again not sure this is exactly my aesthetic but I guess my aesthetic is growing.  And I really enjoyed the HST method so I think when my new fabric order comes, I'll make another one. 

This was another doll-sized, stroller-size quilt.  I like making this size because it can be done in a few nap times, allows me to experiment with new techniques, and it is actually the most practical size for me right now - great for the stroller and floor for the baby AND great for my older girls for their dolls and for gifts for other little girls who love getting things for their dolls.

Pigtales and Quilts embellished Doll Quilt story...

Thearica from Pigtales and Quilts made this darling quilt for her granddaughter's 7th birthday.  What a wonderful gift that she will always cherish.  The story about her granddaughter is sweet. Thanks for this sweet submission. Make sure to check out Thearica's blog!

 I finished this mini Crazy Quilt in October for my granddaughter's 7th birthday present. It was made as the result of a challenge held by a dear friend of mine. It was called the TeaCup Challenge and I knew right away that I would enter and give my piece to my granddaughter! We all were given the teacup fabric, 2 pieces of white fabric, a piece of lace, and a teapot charm. We then incorporated other fabrics and embellishments and made our art piece. I took 1st place winning a $100.00 prize! I was so ever excited about that!

 Allie loves to have tea parties in her bedroom floor. She always dresses up in the many dress up clothes her mommy has bought for her. She even dresses up her little dog in a tutu skirt and hairbow in her hair! When we go for a visit she always tries to get my hubby to have a tea party and he always gives in! But he refuses to dress up and he wins that battle. I love that he always takes time for my grandchildren. He does not have any children of his own and I told him if he had grandchildren, they would not love him any more than mine do. He always takes time with them and they love him to pieces!

I presented this to my granddaughter on a visit she made to our home with her aunt and uncle. She knelt down on her knees and started finding all of the fairies I had hidden among the flowers. She spotted the little pig that I included right away! She loved it and that made all of those many hours of laborous work absolutely worth it!

Wizard of oz Doll Quilt swap...ADORABLE!

Okay, I don't pick favorites, but if I was forced to, this would be it! Seriously, Megan and I spent over an hour checking out Angela's flickr account trying to figure out how she did everything! Anyhow the story is really sweet too.. check out Angela's blog cut to pieces, and tell us what you think of this amazing quilt!

So, it's finally happened. Yes, the moment many of you and I have been waiting for has arrived. I got my act together and worked and worked and worked and then worked some more... and now I have a beautiful doll quilt. I started dreaming about this quilt long before I even knew that I would be part of the Doll Quilt Swap. I wasn't certain if I would get into the swap and I wasn't certain what kind of partner I would have.


Well...my partner said that I could make what I wanted to...but I'm not sure that this is what she expected! LOL. I was so happy to have the creative freedom to make the quilt that I needed to make. That's right..needed.


This quilt has a fairly obvious reference to the Wizard of Oz, but I wasn't just trying to make a story quilt. At least not that story. This quilt is about the story of my life for the last several years and my husband's and my attempts to have children.




We knew that we wanted to have children when we were dating. But thought that we might wait one or two years...I was fairly young and we wanted to enjoy our time together alone for a bit. And we did. We took lovely trips and enjoyed our very long honeymoon stage! But it became clearer and clearer that we would like to try to start a family.




But unfortunately for us, that was not a simple task. What we thought would be effortless turned into years of study, research, surgeries, a miscarriage, more surgery, fertility treatments, prayer, prayer and more prayer. All the while we saw families growing all around us.



We knew that God wanted us to have children and for me to conceive, but the years of waiting were extremely difficult as all the things that accompany being a married couple without children in a world focused on married couples with children. It became difficult to maintain hope when month after month, year after year, we still had the same struggle and felt little control.



And then it happened, on a miraculous Easter Morning I discovered that I was pregnant.



We were in a happy but cautious daze for months. I unfortunately get extremely ill when pregnant and by the end of the first trimester I had already lost 15 lbs. I couldn't get off my couch to sew!!! :( But that couldn't take away our joy.





Our baby girl was due December 21st and I was convinced she would be born on Christmas since we had found out about her on Easter. But she proved her independence early by thankfully coming early! She still was our best Christmas present though!





The hardship didn't end with her arrival for me, but we were blessed with an enormous amount of care from family and friends for months afterwards. And Caitlyn has certainly turned out to be an angel baby. Sweet in every way and thankfully allowing her parents to get a decent amount of sleep.




She is the greatest joy in our life and is truly a miracle. We tell everyone that we waited so long for her because God was working hard on making her so precious.



So this quilt is a representation of our journey. We were on the dark side with that rainbow just barely glimmering above to give us hope. But since Caitlyn joined our life, we are living in the colored side. Every day is magical, seriously. We are so blessed to have her and she has brought color and joy to our life.





When we were waiting for our precious arrival, there was a song that always made us smile. It always made us peaceful and left us happy. That song is Israel Kamakawiwo'ole's Somewhere Over The Rainbow / What A Wonderful World. I'm sure that you've heard it...movies love to use it as a finale song! Well..that is our song. My husband even had a great moment in the hospital when I was (finally!) getting some sleep and brand new Caitlyn was sleeping in my arms. He was video taping and realized that in the background was this song playing on our ipod. He couldn't have planned the moment better. It was the realization of a dream. The reminder that God fulfills his promises in ways that we can't imagine.



And so a quilt idea was born as well. "Where Bluebirds Fly" represents this journey. So many of you have asked me how I could possibly give this quilt away after all the work it took. But the reality is that I don't need this quilt because I am living it. I am in the magical world. I spend every day with this sweet girl.







Thanks Angela. The quilt is one of a kind. Whoever ends up with it is a lucky person! Your daughter is darling, congratulations! May you get many more babies and quilts!

The GracieJane Project

Barbara from the GracieJane project is, well, amazing. She's one of those people that you automatically admire for her willingness to give of her time and talents, as well as the initiative to get it all done. I'll let her tell you her story and what she's all about.

I am a fairly new quilter within the last 2 years or so and since starting I have constantly been looking for ways to create things of meaning for others. The GracieJane Project is named for my niece who came into this world at 36 weeks, but only 3lbs 14oz. While she spent a very short time in a neo-natal unit, she was and continues to be a strong and healthy girl who just turned two on August 27th.

As a the mother of a healthy from the start almost 4 year old, and new baby, I can't imagine the fear that must go with having a child in medical distress. It is my hope that The GracieJane Project's mission is to provide a piece of comfort and tenderness in the form of mini quilts to infants staying in the neo-natal intensive care unit and their families during a time of immense stress.

I am really thrilled to be able to share this project with others and maybe even inspire some of you out there to give. I love using modern fabrics, I want these parents and little ones to know that they are not just thought of after the fact with prints that I would not use myself for a gift or for sale. I want them to feel like this is a treasure, just as their little ones are to the world.

What can you do? The hardest part of the project is of course the cost so donations are the only way I can continue. The master pattern uses 2.5"x5" cuts and so charm packs are a perfect donation and one pack can make 2 quilts. I have been backing the quilts with cream coloured flannel so they are the softest possible when coming in contact with these little babes. Batting is always useful and truthfully a jelly roll or a layer cake would be an overwhelming gift. We would also welcome donations of quilts made with the pattern on the site. Blog about us, talk about us, send me words of encouragement! Everything helps.

Our first donation was of 7 quilts on August 31st.  This is the unit we will be donating to.

NEONATAL INTENSIVE CARE UNIT (NICU) - FOR PATIENTS AND FAMILIES

The NICU at St. Joseph's Health Care is the regional level III NICU program serving Southwestern Ontario. As part of the tertiary care perinatal program, we provide care for critically ill and premature newborns born at our centre and transferred in from the Level I and Level II hospitals throughout the region. The NICU is a 42-bed unit of which 26 beds are designated Level III and 16 beds are designated Level II. We care for 600-700 newborns each year in the NICU with an average length of stay of 17-18 days ( range 0->150 days). Care is provided within a developmentally supportive, family centered framework.

The NICU at St. Joseph's is part of a network of 7 tertiary care NICUs across Ontario. While our primary responsibility is to serve the region of Southwestern Ontario region, at times we are called upon to accept infants from other regions when one or more of their Level III hospitals is closed.
 

 

A huge thank you to Megan and Heather for giving this project the wings that it needs to soar.

Barbara I cannot wait to hear how it all went donating, I bet it was a very touching experience.  As a mother of a sweet baby girl who initially was very sick at birth and sent to the NICU I know that a sweet beautiful quilt at her side would have eased the pain just a little bit more.  Thankfully she is a healthy, stubborn and adorable 3 year old girl today.  I admire the work you're doing and I encourage all of our readers to check out the GracieJane project and donate in any way that you can.