James' Baby Quilt

These blocks were made for the first quilt class I ever taught. Each block demonstrates a different hand sewing technique: piecing, curved piecing, set-in seams and appliqué. The blocks also illustrate particular quilting techniques: outline quilting, stitching in the ditch, cross hatching, hanging diamonds, echo quilting, stippling and all over designs like spider web and baptist fan.

Click to enlarge

I figured if I made each block from coordinating fabric, by the end of class, I'd have enough blocks for a quilt, rather than just a pile of random samples. Obviously, I chose fabrics with a baby in mind, covering both bases by including pink and blue.

When James was born, we hung the quilt on the wall above his crib. I continued to use it as a class sample, for years. It really was a good way to illustrate a variety of sewing techniques.

This picture? Just because.

December Quilts

Do you “deck the halls” for Christmas just as soon as your Thanksgiving dishes are washed? I envy them using the long weekend to pull out the Christmas decorations and That’s not the custom in our home though, because sandwiched between Thanksgiving and Christmas is a very special birthday.

As anyone with a December birth will tell you, it’s easy to feel shortchanged by all the holiday hoopla. One way to make James’s day special was to hold off on putting up the Christmas tree until after his birthday celebration. Since this is James' birthday month, let me share some of his quilts with you. 


This Bear Paw quilt was made for James by my Elmhurst quilt friends. They worked on it in secret, choosing fabric, stitching blocks, and passing it around for hand quilting at our weekly gatherings. They're a stealthy bunch - I never had a clue.

They wanted to make "the kind of quilt I wouldn’t make myself." "Hmmm, I wonder what that means?" Perhaps they thought bright colors were out of character for me. But I love the 1980’s vintage calicoes they used.

Maybe they were referring to this humility block. Deliberate error or not, this bear paw, with its twisted toes just adds charm to the quilt.

Whatever their intention was, James and I were thrilled by his baby quilt. To this day, it's one of my favorites, because it's bright, cheerful, charming, and from the best of friends.