Daughter #1. Hard to imagine that this little cherub is all grown up, with two children of her own.
When Drew (grandson #1) was born, he used this quilt, too. Caleb (grandson #2) has it now, and he takes it along with him everywhere he goes. It's a bit threadbare now .... the fact that Caleb picks at it has accelerated the decline.
This picture is about two years old. The old quilt is a lot more worn right now.
Because the old quilt is now little more than a rag, I decided to make a new quilt for Caleb for Christmas. Like the original, I wanted it to be simple ... shouldn't take too long to make a small quilt like I had in mind. A quick trip to the fabric store, and this is what I decided ...
Rainbow colors, in a mix of patterns ...
Six-inch squares, with a diagonal pattern, and half squares on the border.
As with most important projects, I had help.
Dorothy holds down the layers, as I sandwich the top, batting, and backing.
Pinning the layers, with Maggie's help.
I used yarn to tie the layers together, just like I did with the original.
Alice and Maggie supervise while I mark where the yarn ties will go.
Four knots per square.
A quilt hoop helps hold the layers straight while I tie them.
With all the ties in place, I trimmed the batting and backing, then used the sewing machine to attach the binding.
It took a couple of hours to carefully fold the binding to the back and stitch it in place by hand. Dorothy kept me company while I worked.
After a quick trip through the washer and dryer, the quilt was finished.
24 hours, start to finish. I even surprised myself with how well this came together and how little time it took to make it.
I know that Caleb will love it ... but I don't hold any hope that he will agree to replace his old quilt with this one. My vote is that he will now carry both quilts wherever he goes.