This quilt!
I had more fun making this quilt than any other. And that's saying something!
This baby's parents are book worms. For the shower they asked only for books. Not just baby books but to please bring your favorite book. They started a lifetime library before they met their little one.
There are several fun book related quilt patterns out there but when I saw a few Tall Tales blocks popping up on my Instagram feed I went straight to Kate Basti's Craftsy shop and downloaded her free pattern.
Then I rummaged through my scrap bins finding fabrics that related to favorite books of mine and classics that everyone loves. (Baby's initials are on Little Red Riding Hood.)
Some of these books I can't think of an actual title to match but maybe they can. Or perhaps one hasn't been written yet but will be in Baby's lifetime. (Oh look, a Scouting Handbook!)
Can you read my quilting?
I thought long and hard about how to quilt these books. I originally decided to challenge myself and quilt classic first lines. I spent an evening Googling "first lines" and quickly realized determining spacing would overwhelm me.
In that search I was reminded of this perfect poem from Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein.
I divided Invitation into 10 lines and quilted 2 lines per row.
I was going for a subtle look but I may have taken that a little too far. The quilting looks more like loops and lines than words but I'm okay with it. My quilting cursive didn't ruin the overall project (and I didn't have to un-sew any of it!)
These glasses have been sitting in my stash for a few years now. Aren't they perfect here? The binding is from Denyse Schmidt's Hope Valley collection. I picked it up in someone's destash awhile ago. I used Quilter's Dream Cotton Request loft batting and Aurifil 2021 50wt thread for piecing and quilting.
Here are just a few favorites from my book shelves. I'd love for you to leave a comment telling me yours!
Linking up this Finish with:
Oh my, this is absolutely wonderful. In fact, as soon as you mentioned the free pattern I went to print it off before even finishing the blog post. This is the most perfect quilt ever for a reader. I love the book themed baby shower idea too. x
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Kay. I hear Kate Basti is updating the pattern with a few more sizes so keep an eye out for that, too. It made my day to hear how quickly you downloaded the pattern and I'm glad you came back to finish reading about the quilt. Have a great week!
DeleteOoo. This is just the cutest quilt, Karen. I mean, it's perfect for baby AND book-loving parents! You went to so much effort to make it just right, and I admire you for that. What an extravagant gift! My favorite baby books are drawn by Gyo Fujikawa. They're the hard board books with charming drawings and very little text. "Sleepytime,"Let's Eat," and "Millie's Secret" are a few favorite. Though Ms. Fujisawa is deceased, it's apparent she was extremely skilled. At one time she was an artist with Walt Disney. (By the way, if you've reset your email address, I sure hope you receive comment notification from me.)
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Linda. Your kind words mean a lot to me and give me encouragement. I have just re-set my email settings and I think it's working me - still not sure about the cookie notice but Google said they are taking care of that so I'm counting on that working too.
DeleteWe are kindred souls...I love books illustrated by Gyo Fujikawa, too! We have Sleepy Time and The Night Before Christmas over here. I read them over and over to my girls and am now reading them again with my grandchildren. (We read The Night Before Christmas in December!)
Timeless!
I absolutely love this quilt! It is perfect for the baby in a family of book lovers. My favorite has remained the same since high school, Pride and Prejudice (I know the title should be in italics, but couldn't find it in my email toolbar). I also love, Call of the Wild, To Kill A Mockingbird, Number the Stars, The Bridge to Terabithia, The Runaway Bunny, The Little House, The Snowy Day, and Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel. I am a retired nursery school teacher so most of my favorite books are written for readers under 4 feet tall.
ReplyDeleteThank you! For the quilt kudos and for sharing your favorites. I forgot about Call of the Wild. An elementary school teacher read that to us. I loved it, too! Thanks for stopping by.
DeleteA more perfect quilt for the new baby and family, I cannot imagine! What a thoughtful, well-crafted, special gift!
ReplyDeleteWow! it is really nice! Thank you for sharing the location of this free pattern. The fabric you choose for book covers are also great.
ReplyDeleteA perfect quilt for that family.
Thank you, Marie. I was surprised how much of my fabric stash reminded me of some of my favorite books.
Deletesuch beautiful quilt and I love how each books has letter print on it. Simply perfect! Thank you for linking up!
ReplyDeleteThis is so sweet!! What is the finished size of this quilt?
ReplyDeleteThank you Kate! The "baby" this quilt was made for is now 4 years old. I recently got to watch her playing soccer. So fun! I can't remember exactly the finished size but I'm thinking the blocks finished at 8"x10" so the quilt is in the 40"x50" range. Hope that helps.
DeleteI love your quilt! What size did you make the borders around the books, please?
ReplyDeleteThanks Aimee! I never made note of it so can't be sure exactly. I like baby quilts to finish about 40"x50" so probably cut these borders 2.5 inches. That means they would finish at 2" and the blocks would be 8"x10". Hope that helps.
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