A new baby quilt and baby knits

I belong to two quilt guilds and during the pandemic, the meetings have been online. Both guilds have kits that members can take and make into quilts which are then given to various charities. The quilts vary in size. Even though I had my own quilts to make, I decided to take on a baby quilt. The fabrics in the kit were all bright and it was fun thinking about what pattern I could use for the fabrics.

I quilted it in my new kitchen since I had the room and knew that it wouldn't take too long.

There was enough of the yellow fabric to bind the quilt.

I happened to have some fabric that was perfect for the backing.

This is a little hat that I managed to knit. It didn't turn out as I had hoped.

Here's the latest rainbow blanket. I used a light gray for the background this time and I think it's quite delicate looking.

Needlework - needlepoint from long ago

My mom grew up on a farm in a part of Finland that now belongs to Russia. She came to Canada after the second world war. 

This is a needlepoint that my mom did in school. I don't know anything more about it. It has travelled through time and distance. I keep it in my linen closet. It has a backing that my mom put on it when I was a teen because I recognise the fabric. It is stitched with the threads going up and down instead of a half cross stitch or tent stitch as it's called.

I love this needlepoint. My mom taught me how to do needlepoint and we worked on this together. She bought the canvas and tapestry yarns and perhaps she was hoping I would love needlepoint as much as she obviously did. I think that she framed it herself. The glass is now cracked and I will get it reframed - perhaps with a darker frame so that the needlepoint takes priority.

This is another one that we stitched together. Initially, the lady at the department store where we purchased the canvas and yarns chose a reddy-orange colour for the cheek highlight that was a match for the colour legend. Once it was stitched, my mom disliked it. She ended up taking that section out and replacing it with a more suitable, lighter shade. I remember when we went to get it framed, she let me choose the frame and this is the one I picked. I wanted something that looked like driftwood. 

For anyone who has ever done needlepoint, it can be a very expensive hobby. The canvas is hand painted ($$), the yarns are wool ($$) and the framing costs quite a lot too. My mom raised my brother and me on her own after my dad passed away when I was just 13. She cleaned houses for a living and didn't make much at all but she was frugal. This was one thing she did spend money on. Later, she stitched more. Each of my three daughters was given a pillow that she stitched and a foot stool had a new cover that I remember. It had African violets on a black background. A smaller stitched floral canvas was framed and my middle daughter has it in her home now. I do love needlepoint and have recently purchased kits and canvases. It goes quicker than cross stitch and I just need to find the time. I prefer stitching with wool yarn as opposed to embroidery floss. I have seen the needlepoint of today and they are sometimes done with silk thread or cotton and the stitches are quite different and elaborate. I'm fairly 'old school' and prefer using just the tent stitch.

Needlework - embroidery

I'm lucky to have the knowledge to do many different needle crafts that I enjoy doing. My mom taught me to knit as a child and when I was a teen, working as an usherette in a theatre, I learned, along with my fellow usherettes how to crochet. I remember looking in a book and following the steps. I'm pretty sure my mom helped along the way with that too. 

In home economics, in grade 6 or 7, I remember that the first project we did was Swedish Huck embroidery on a towel. I found this in my linen cupboard and the colours I used were purple and green. 

I enjoyed doing it.

There are a few stains where the fold is so I should probably soak it in some Oxy.

It appears as if I still use that combination of colours. 

When my son's twins were born, we didn't know the gender and so I made a cross stitched card with those colours (which are really a lot brighter than the photo.)

More quilts

Spring has arrived. Some days it feels like it but other days it's cold, windy and feels like winter will never leave. 

My hall quilt has changed with the change of season. Bob the Snowman has been replaced with this. It's a quilt called Flowers and was a BOM in 2011 by Diana Schmitz. She had a few BOMs that incorporated embroidery, applique and piecing.

This is a quilt that my daughter brought back with her from her visit to her father-in-law. Whenever she visits me, she takes her two sons to visit their grandpapa about 4 hours north of us. She was given this quilt that was made by her mother-in-law who passed away a few years ago of Parkinsons. I thought it was lovely and delicate. I took a look at it while it was here and I think it was made by the old apartment style or quilt as you go method and machine quilted.

New quilt

I've had my eldest daughter and her two sons visiting so I haven't been doing much sewing or doing any other needle craft lately. I managed to get a few repair jobs completed after they went home and one day, while they were out visiting, I cut and sewed this little baby quilt.

These fabrics were in a kit that one of my guilds put together for charity. The suggestion was to make either a baby or child's quilt. I stuck with a baby size and this is one of my easy, go-to patterns for a baby quilt. It's a free pattern called Star Bright Quilt from Swim, Bike, Quilt. In the same package was also solid black yardage and another piece with bright prints on a black background. I don't do black and especially not for babies or children. I plan on giving that back when someone comes to collect this quilt after it's been quilted. I am hoping to get it up on the frame soon so I can finish it and get on with other things.