[Before I get started, and if you never saw THIS post from 2011, let me remind you that I really don't think there's anything she can't do. The following is a case in point...her first and only quilt ever.]
Back in September last year we gave granddaughter Hailey an indoors tent for her first birthday, picked from a list of gifts Mama Eva had given us. At that time, Astrid told Eva she would make a quilt and pillows for it to make it more cozy.
That project was started in January this year when Astrid first did a 7.5 x 10-inch mock-up of what she had in mind:
Finding the paper colors she wanted, she first cut out individual triangles to fit the pattern together.
I've discovered that this is almost always what she does before she starts a project!
She already had the silver, satiny fabric as the glue to hold everything together,
and then asked me to go with her to the fabric shop to pick out the hot pink and blackish fabrics,
having already calculated exactly how much she'd need of each.
Just like with her mock-up, she then cut out all the cloth triangles and placed them on the blanket
that had been Papa Jeroen's as a child (he's 31 now) and which would be the backing of her quilt.
Then she started stitching the triangles together, making squares...
...and then strips.
Of course, she was ironing everything as she went along...
until it was all stitched together and laid again on top of the blanket.
Yes, it fit exactly (of course)!
She then added a hot-pink border before attaching it to the blue border of the blanket,
and then top-stitched around every black piece to finish it off.
When you turn the quilt over, smack-dab in the center are these two tiny mice characters.
I made sure that Astrid used THIS blanket because of those mice. How endearing, right?!
And because the blanket was thick enough, no quilt batting was necessary.
The crowning touch: Oma Astrid 2020
As if all of that wasn't enough, the pillows!
Astrid made all of them with zippers so that Mama can wash them whenever.
Another crowning touch, with dear Hailey inside her tent in her play room upstairs.
THIS is what Astrid had pictured all along, finalized by the end of March.
Don't you just love it?!
[photos by Astrid; collages by moi]
Every stitch sewn with love! Such a treasure for your little sweetheart! Adorable.
ReplyDeleteIndeed so, Marie. Indeed so!
DeleteOh my! My heart feels full from all this love and stitching! Astrid really is incredibly talented. I love how it all came together. Brava!! No doubt Hailey loves it, especially how that satin feels on her skin. She'll enjoy it the rest of her life.
ReplyDeleteI knew you would love Astrid's handiwork, Ruth. And yes, knowing how Jeroen kept his blanket all these years (with Astrid's help, of course), I'd like to believe Hailey will, indeed, keep this labor of love for perhaps her own child one day in the years to come. Wouldn’t that be something!
DeleteThis was such a fun project to work on. I did have some help from Youtubes on the Internet and for the rest it is "breath in and breath out" and just do it. I am still surprised that it turned out the way it did. Having "something in the head" is not always what is will be in real life. I am happy to see that Hailey enjoys the tent, quilt and pillows. Thank you for making this post as a memory to keep. IHVJ.
ReplyDeleteThis post has been waiting in the wings for far too long, Astrid. I'm just glad I finally found my "Round Tuit!" :) Thank you for your labor of love and for letting me share all the excitement.
DeleteSensational!
ReplyDeleteTed.
Actually, from my perspective, Ted, it is. :) Thanks for your support.
DeleteWat GEWELDIG mooi heeft Astrid deze quilt gemaakt
ReplyDeleteTop en dan al die kussens erbij.
Echt héél mooi.
Je maatje kan echt `alles` maken :-)
She really is amazing, Marjolein. I wonder what she'll surprise me with next! :)
Delete