Friday, March 23, 2018

Mountains, baby!

Well, that was an exciting week, wasn't it?  We had a big spring snow storm and virtually no work got done by anyone all week, except by the snow plow drivers and the guys with chain saws who spent quite a bit of time cutting up the massive tree that fell down across my neighbor's driveway.  We lost a few branches, but nothing that required a chain saw, thank goodness.

We all know that a snow day is a free day, right?  So instead of working on real things that I need to get done for my real life, I used the whole day to finish a baby quilt for my friend's first grandson. His parents chose mountains, along with navy, gray, and aqua for him, which was quite the challenge.  I'm afraid there is no aqua in this quilt, but I think I got the style and tone right. Here's how it finally worked out:


How better to photograph a mountains quilt than against the snow? Of course the day after the storm it was bright and perfect outside when I wanted to take pictures, so I had to wait until later in the evening to get photos that weren't totally bleached out.All that snow was pretty blinding!


Except for the center panel with the mountains, this is nothing like I started with. It was lovely to have time to work on it and try things, rip them out, and try something else until I felt like I got it right.  I ended up deciding that piecing of any kind would distract from the mountains, so I just used graduated strips of color, with grays on the bottom and blues on top.


This quilt turned out to be just about 40 by 48, almost exactly where I wanted it to be.  I think that will be a nice size for a tiny boy and still be good when he's a little bigger.  I quilted it with organic lines that were not straight but not curved, either.  These are easy enough in theory, but it's hard to get them to look consistently graceful.  It was a nice couple of hours while I listened to the plows and the wind.


For the backing I used a pretty blue called Prism by P and B Textiles.  It made a nice complement to the colors on the front.  The binding is Kona Celestial.  I was going to use navy but it looked pretty harsh.  This one is just a little bit softer which made it perfect for this project.  And because I like things all blendy, I used a perfectly matching blue thread in the bobbin and 8 different colors of thread in the top. To match the different colors, you know?


When you give a baby quilt, do you wash it first?  I washed this one, then I ironed it so that it will look "new" when little Otto's parents take it out of the box.  Is that weird? Whether it is or not, this little quilt is on its way to its new owner, who is still pretty new himself.  I'm so happy to have this done, and so happy for my friend, because being a grandma is pretty much the best thing ever.  I know this little guy will bring them all so much happiness.

Hope everyone has a great weekend.  Our snow is pretty well melted (since it was 50 degrees today) and I have some fun plans for the weekend.  It's my daughter's birthday, so we'll get to see her, and I'm hopeful that there will be some celebrating.  I can't have cake any more (gluten, bah!) but you know what *is* gluten free?  Most wine.  True fact!  I'll test some for you just to be sure!


Sharing at Confessions of a Fabric Addict, Finished or Not Friday, and crazymomquilts.

19 comments:

Kate said...

Congrats on a gorgeous finish! Happy birthday to your daughter, hope you get in lots of celebrating.

PugMom said...

Oh Mari, this is stunning! It came out great! No need for the aqua. Happy birthday to your daughter. Enjoy your glass of wine. Can't wait to see you next week!

piecefulwendy said...

Oh my goodness, Mari! You came up with the perfect solution. The quilt is perfect! It is just fantastic; I can't quit looking at it. Great job! I hope you all out there are done with snow now. You sure have been hit with the storms lately!

Quiltdivajulie said...

Beautiful!!!!!

Vicki in MN said...

What a fun quilt, you nailed it!!

Karen - Quilts...etc. said...

your quilt looks so pretty out there in the snow

JanineMarie said...

Fabulous! I knew you would figure out just the right thing to do to finish this quilt. Grandparents, parents and baby will love it! And Celestial! My favorite Kona dark blue.

grammajudyb said...

It is the perfect baby boy quilt! Your snow/sew day was very successful! Hope you have a great weekend celebrating your daughter's birthday. There are some great gluten free brownie recipes out there!

Anonymous said...

Oh wow!!! Your quilt is gorgeous!

PaulaB quilts said...

Congrats on this finish. The Quilting really looks like wind blowing and blends the sky fabrics into a smooth gradation, so lovely.

Louise said...

You deserve a big, gluten free glass of wine to celebrate this lovely finish! Great job finding just the right way to add upper and lower panels. I like that you have a sashing piece in between to really set off the special mountainous center.

I wash all my quilts before I ship them off. With a resident cat, I'm always worried that her fur might set off someone's allergies. I never thought to iron them afterwards; I'll have to try that!

BillieBee (billiemick) said...

Lovely!

MissPat said...

Very good solution. I like how the organic quilting lines add movement to the sky.
I didn't used to wash baby/kid quilts, but I do now. I spray baste before FMQ, washing will remove any chemicals, plus I think it shows Moms that it's okay to wash the quilts and they won't think they've done something wrong when it turns crinkly.
We had an uneventful drive from Greensboro to Leesburg, so I'm glad we waited a day.
Pat

stitchinpenny said...

I love what you did. I wash, and I don't iron because I tell the recipient I washed it and that they should wash it upon receipt because their adorable baby doesn't need anything that may be lurking in my home. I know that they will love it no matter what.

Chopin - A Passionate Quilter said...

OH it turned out so pretty!!!!! YEA! Love it!!!

Kathy's A Quilter said...

Fantastic finish. Thanks for taking one for the team and testing to make sure the wine is gluten free.

Laura said...

The mountain quilt is a unique gift for a special little boy! Great job!

Gale Bulkley said...

What a gorgeous quilt. I wash every single quilt I make before giving.

Jannette said...

I just recently started following you - the start of this quilt was the first one I read. I REALLY love how you finished it! It's sure to be loved - a lot!