Nella Vita di Baby Blankets

Since Christmas, I have been extremely busy with lots of different projects, as well as general balancing of work, home, and life. A lot of these projects (ok most) have been self inflicted and mostly enjoyable, but time consuming and a bit overwhelming all the same. So for the next few blogs I will focus on them (as well as the antics of my furry social life).

Both my sister and Shane's sister are expecting baby girls at the end of the month that will probably be born within a week of each other, so January and February were spent making baby blankets like crazy in preparation for baby showers held earlier this month. Normally, I crochet baby blankets, but this time I decided to try my hand at something I've always wanted to do: quilting. After lots of research and poring over countless patterns, I decided that a split rail fence done in alternating directions would be a good beginner's pattern to try. I like the stair like quality the finished quilt has. In hindsight, I wish I had documented the process more, but with such a tight time frame, I was more concerned with just getting the quilts done! I decided to do Tina's first. For one, her fabric was not going to be as expensive as Jonelle's, so if I made a fatal mistake, it would be more affordable to fix. And also, not that Jonelle is in any way a critic, but I think she would be much more likely to notice any mistakes (and believe me, having never made a quilt in my life there were plenty of mistakes in both...if nothing else, at least by the time I start making baby blankets for myself, I would have worked out a lot of beginners' mistakes in my nieces' ;) )

After having two boys, who are nothing but testosterone and then some, I know that my sister is more than ready for a princess. Even my niece's chosen name, Brielle Marie, has a soft and feminine quality to it. As such, I wanted soft, girly fabric that had a timeless quality to it. I found some very pretty florals in an 'English Rose Garden' theme and matched it with a pale green with a cream lace pattern. I didn't want it to be too babyish, so that the blanket could be used as the comforter on a toddler bed and then as a throw later on.

Where the inspiration for Tina/Brielle's blanket was 'dainty little girl with a hint (or most likely an obvious dose) of diva,' for Jonelle's blanket I wanted 'proud to be a unique trendsetter, but with a comforting gentleness.' This is how I imagine Jonelle's daughter, Reagan Mackenzie, will be. Jonelle strives to live as organically as possible, especially where the baby is concerned, and I knew that bedding items were non-negotiable for her. So for her blanket I used organic fabric (though I could not find organic batting that was less than $150, I used all natural non-bleached cotton instead which was some of the softest stuff I've ever felt, I almost felt like it was a sin to cover it with fabric. If it is in my future to be suffocated, all I can ask is that my killer does it with that batting because what a gloriously snuggly way to go... I also used non-organic thread and binding, but I'm hoping that the damage it causes Reagan will not be too lasting :) ) Because I used organic fabric, and because a hardworking public servant only earns so much, I was a bit limited in my pattern options. Really, the pattern was a pretty easy choice: solid. I knew the baby's colors in the nursery were blue and purple, but unfortunately, I could not find those colors is soft, muted baby tones. Instead, I had to use deep purple and an awesomely loud shade of blue. To balance them out, I chose the third color to be the softest yellow I could find. The end result was a blanket, a little bit brighter than I would want for a baby blanket, but I have to admit that I love the way it came out.

As I was piecing both the quilts together, I could really 'feel' both of the mom's personalities in them. Perhaps it was because making something for someone else, you constantly have that person on your mind, so it is almost like you capture that person's essence into what it is you are making. While the blankets are of course intended for Brielle and Reagan, I can't help but feel like they will both be their mother's daughters. I'm very excited to meet both of my niece's and see the girls and women they grow into. Who knows, perhaps in a few short years I will be making them the quilts they really want, an indy punk quilt for Brielle and an uber feminine flower orgy filled with pink for Reagan.