Miss Emelina Mae's Quilt

After making my first baby quilt earlier this year, I was excited to make another for my second second-born niece born this year.  Like myself, Emelina is born into the role of being a little sister to a sister just about 27 months older than herself.  I wish her luck in her teen years. 

For her quilt, I kept changing my mind but finally decided upon the deep lilacs of the Joel Dewberry Aviary 2 for Free Spirit collection.  I love the purples and blues of this collection, and thought the details in the prints were perfect for a little girl.  When deciding on the pattern for the quilt, I think the dormant math teacher in me came out as I kept coming back to this arithmetic pattern (found here).  I love lots of squares on baby quilts, and couldn't resist all the plus-signs made on this one.

I think I received the material in the mail two days before she was born, and was able to finish the quilt before she was a week old (even with breaking the reverse button off my sewing machine).  Good thing she came two weeks early so we could meet her when we went to Indiana for my brother's graduation.

And thankfully, her mama took some photos right away as I forgot to take some with the quilt when I was there.  I was busy with snuggling her and trying to keep Eli from carrying her off by himself.

 

Isn't she a cutie?  Can you believe how much hair she has for coming two weeks early?

Miss Natalie Ann's Quilt

 As a second daughter, I have a special place in heart for my newest niece, who is also born into being a younger sister.  Having an older sister can be tough, but I would not give it up for anything.  And I'm glad to have younger ones as well-best of both worlds.

Wanting to celebrate her birth, I spent the week before she was born and a few days after (first baby on our side who came before her due date) crafting this beautiful quilt for her.  I must say it is my favorite quilt I've done, and I hope she loves it as much as I do.

Here she is at 11 days old!

I got the tutorial from Diary of a Quilter here, though I did modify the dimensions a bit (the squares are 4.5" rather than 5") when I decided I loved the Dainty in Red Aqua of the Scrumptious Collection by Bonnie and Camille for Moda print enough to make it the backing (but only had a yard of it).  I quilted by simply stitching around all fifty squares (in the ditch).  So cute!

Now I'm in the mood to start working on more...

With big sis.

Eli loved meeting the baby.

Sewing Pile

So on the bottom of my to-do list for the last year or two, has been "sewing pile". While I've been home on maternity leave it has been moved to the top of my to-do list. I decided that I couldn't make any more baby items until I finished the old stuff in my pile. So, I've made good progress on that goal. I've done the following:

-make a mini-taggie blanket
-finished the binging and hangers on a fall quilt
-fixed a pair of maternity pants
-fixed the pocket on my winter coat
-made a reversible bumper for baby's crib (picture coming soon)
-made a crib skirt (picture coming soon)
-finished the binding on my patriotic/summer quilt


I am most proud of the last item, because I finally took the time to do a binding correctly. I learned how from a tutorial here, and though it took a little longer than machine stitching, it was definitely worth it to have a nice finish.


Now, if someone can teach me how to do mitered corners perfectly, I might be pretty good at quilting.

Miss Me, But Let Me Go

A week ago, my great grandmother passed away. She lived a long life, full with family. Read her obituary below...

Margaret M. (Poulson) Knight 1916-2009
Friday, June 19, 2009 11:46 AM EDT(H-ponline.com)

Margaret M. (Poulson) Knight, 92, of Warren, passed away at 7:10 a.m. Thursday, June 18, 2009 at Heritage Pointe in Warren. She was born on Saturday, Oct. 28, 1916, in North Grove. Mrs. Knight was a charter member of the Idle Hour Club, a member of the Home Extension Club and a member of the Sigma Phi Gamma. She had also been a representative for Avon and Dutchmaid. She was a 1935 graduate of Warren High School in Warren. She worked at Coolman's Drug Store for 15 years. She enjoyed quilting, gardening and playing cards with family and friends. She attended the United Church of Christ in Warren. She married Mark Charles Knight on May 29, 1936 in Warren. She was the daughter of the late Grover Poulson and the late Edna (Rennaker) Poulson. Survivors include daughters, Carol (husband, William) Byrd of Huntington, Cindy (husband, Tim) Fitch of Warren and Janet (husband, Dean) Schmidt of Warren; one son, Waldo (wife, Margaret) Knight of Warren; sisters, Hazel Ruth Brooks of Warren, Freda Finley of Huntington, Mildred Gilbert of Warren; brothers, Daniel Grover Poulson of Warren, Harold Poulson of Warren, Ira "Bob" Poulson of Liberty Center, James Poulson of Poneto and William Poulson of Liberty Center; 14 grandchildren, 35 great grandchildren and 12 great-great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her husband, Mark Charles Knight; father, Grover Poulson; mother, Edna (Rennaker) Poulson; sister, Lois Eltzroth; brothers, Howard "Everett" Poulson and Ralph Kenneth Poulson; and also a great-great granddaughter.

Arrangements are being handled by Glancy-H. Brown & Son Funeral Home, 203 N. Matilda St., Warren, where the family will receive friends from 2 to 8 p.m. Sunday, June 21, 2009 at the funeral home. Funeral services will be at 10:30 a.m. Monday, June 22, 2009 at Glancy-H. Brown & Son Funeral Home, with Pastor Scott Nedberg officiating.Interment will be in Woodlawn Cemetery in Warren.
Memorials to United Church of Christ in Warren, Parkinson Foundation or Family Hospice of Northeast Indiana.


I was lucky to grow up near my great grandmother, and have special memories of holidays at her home and trick-or-treating there every October.  She passed on several of her interests to me.  She was an avid quilter, making quilts for each of her grandchildren.  She collected family recipes and published a family cookbook for us.  And she also completed family genealogy, completing photo albums for each of her great-grandchildren including photos of both sides of their family histories.  Most of my starts in these hobbies came from her. 

Newest Quilt

This quilt isn't done yet, but I went ahead and hung the pieced top until I have time to finish it. I still need to actually sandwich the top, inside padding, and backing, do the actual quilting, and put the final binding around the outside. My inspiration for this was creating a patriotic themed quilt for the summer season.

Mini Quilt: St. Patrick's Day

I haven't done any quilting in a while, so I did a small project to get myself back in the hang of things. I made this little ditty for St. Patrick's day, and it can be used in the kitchen as a hot pad or in some kind of centerpiece.

It was my first time working with setting triangles, and I learned a lot. I did a little better getting all of my square blocks to line up. I still need help with my binding, especially the corners. I am always so anxious to be done by that point that I don't put a lot of time into it, but I really need to get better before I try my next wall quilt. I'm planning one with a star design, that uses golds, blues, and red fabrics. It may end up being my July quilt-if the motif ends up looking too patriotic.