Friday, May 30, 2014

Whew! Just in The Nick of Time!

DD#2 had her baby on Tuesday evening - 2 & 1/2 weeks before her due date. Tyce is three now & loves his new sister - Nora Mae. She has long slender fingers and toes - and quite a bit of dark hair.


I was in a bit of a panic when she was born because her quilt wasn't ready for her! I stayed up late on Tuesday night to finish the quilting and binding, and then threw it into the washer & dryer the next morning. It was all finished by the time she came home from the hospital - whew! Here's how it looked before I washed it.


 And this is the after.


Lately, I have been seeing some quilts with the recipient's name written on the back, so I decided to try and do that with this baby quilt.

 At first I was going to piece the letters, but I ended up using machine applique with a cute font.


Each row was done with a different quilting motif on my home sewing machine. Amazingly, I even attempted a little bit of feathering - not too bad!



The binding was made using leftover bits of the fabrics I had, so it's scrappy. I can't remember what brand of cotton batting I used, because I used leftovers from another project, but I was amazed at how much it shrunk! The quilt was 36" wide when I made it, and after washing it measured only 31" - that's a LOT!


Since my last post three weeks ago, hubby & I spent a week in Missouri & Illinois on vacation.  Visited the St. Louis Arch, the Zoo, and the Botanical Gardens. Then we drove up the Mississippi River to the beautiful small town of Nauvoo which was very significant in the history of our church. Now that we're home from vacation & the baby has arrived, I'm hoping that life will settle down to normal and I can start posting more regularly.



We're loving this new addition to our family -  we now have four grandchildren and hope for several more eventually.

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24 comments:

audrey said...

Ahhh.. there's nothing quite like a brand new baby in the family! LOVE your quilt, esp. after it's washed and the texture shines through. Fabulous job.:)

Nedra said...

Congratulations Gayle! She's beautiful. And I love her name. I really like the quilt you made for her, too :)

Sylvia said...

Congratulations on such a beautiful healthy Granddaughter!! The quilt is beautiful too!

Julia said...

Congratulations Grandma Gayle, your granddaughter Nora is so cute and the big brother looks so proud of his little sister.

Wow, I had no idea that the quilt would shrink so much after washing and drying in the washer. It looks beautiful and I can't believe that you quilted that on your regular sewing machine... You did a great job...

Hugs,
JB

Janet O. said...

Nora is a beauty, Gayle! So sweet!
Her quilt turned out great! I love it! Shrinkage notwithstanding, it looks delightful!.

Three Sheep Studio said...

Oh Gayle, how precious is your sweet Granddaughter ;)
The quilt you made for Nora is stunning. I just love all of that puckered goodness after it has been washed !
Rose

Raymond Homestead said...

Congratulations! What a sweet picture of the two of them. Love her name and I love how you put her name on the quilt,that is so cool!

Kyle said...

Congratulations, Gayle. Your new granddaughter is precious. I love her name. The quilt is so cute, especially with her name on the back, love that idea and the scrappy binding just finished it off. You made it just time time!

Yvonne said...

Congratulations Gayle with your beautiful granddaughter! Isn't it a miracle every time to held a new born? Love the way the quilt turned out, very cute! Looks like you had a nice vacation.

Jeanette Hobbs said...

Oh so sweet and perfect! Brother loves her and will take care of her forever! That's what big brothers do. So happy for all of you. What a delight.

Kindred Quilts said...

Baby Nora looks so precious in the arms of her proud big brother! Congrats to all of you!

Love the bright quilt you made for Nora... how extra special that you put her name on the back! Love the crinkly look!

Vacations are great, but there's no place like home!

Lori said...

Congratulations! She is gorgeous and I love the quilt. The name on the back is perfect!!

Saundra said...

OMG what a delightful quilt and amazing the difference after it is washed ~ much more beautiful. Nora is such a luck girl to have you as her Grammie.

Saundra

deerhollow said...

Darling baby and quilt ;)
Glad you had some away time, too. I need my life to quiet done a bit, too. Enjoy your summer!!

Sue SA said...

Congratulations on your new granddaughter. Love her quilt, especially the name on the back!

Monique said...

Yay for new grandbabies! And I love the quilt you made. Congratulations!

jody said...

A beautiful new baby! I love her name! Congratulations! And what a perfect big brother! Love her quilt and you do a beautiful job quilting it! Enjoy your day Gayle

The Wool Cupboard said...

Such an adorable picture of Tyce and Nora! Nora's quilt is beautiful and with her name so cleverly added to the back what a wonderful keepsake from Grandma!

Congratulations on the new addition to your family.

Your trip to the midwest placed you fairly close to where I live...would have been nice to meet you, Gayle...maybe on your next trip!!

Rugs and Pugs said...

Gayle ~
Congrats on the new addition to the family. What a sweet picture with her big brother!
LOVE you quilt.
Hugs :)
Lauren

Cheryl said...

Congratulations!! and the feathering is lovely.

Mimi Sue said...

Congrats on the new grand girl Gayle! She's a cutie! Mimi

woolwoman said...

beautiful new baby and the quilt is so pretty. Glad you had a nice time on vacation. Had to look up Nauvoo - I love all the history in Mississippi. Hope your summer is quiet and peaceful. Melody

moosecraft said...

Awww... Nora looks so cute! She's lucky to have a big brother to watch over her.
Love the little quilt you made for her! I'm liking the name on the back for baby quilts too!

whitey said...

Your summer sounds like it has been very busy. We need to get together I have been out of the loop for awhile.