Ladybug Daydreams

quilts

New Quilts

Posted by Wendy on March 7, 2014 2 Comments

I haven’t done a crafting post in a while, so the time seems ripe. Actually, it’s because I hadn’t done much crafting, but now I have. A little bit, anyway. And since I’ve been really bad at taking pictures this week, I don’t have a Picture of the Week, either… So today’s all about quilts!

The older boys were both drastically outgrowing their quilts. Because they don’t have standard size beds, I make their quilts more to fit them than to fit the beds. (They have Ikea beds that are essentially extra-long toddler beds. They’ve had them for two years, and we love them!)

When I went to JoAnn’s a couple of weeks ago, I had a bit of money but no idea what to make or who to make it for. I found these flannel rolls for really cheap

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so I got three of them. When I got home, Munchkin loved the fabric prints, and since I’d been noticing that his quilts were much smaller than Seahawk’s (he is three years  younger, after all), he got a quilt first. I didn’t give him any choices in the fabric (since I bought it with no one in mind) or the design (as soon as I decided to make a quilt from these prints, I had the design in my head). But he loves it all the same.

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After Munchkin’s quilt was done, I started noticing that Seahawk was way too big for his blankets too! I thought his blanket that I’d made him a couple of years ago (actually, it’s been about 4 now that I think about it… where does the time go?!) was still okay, but seeing him trying to huddle underneath it while Munchkin was stretched out nice and warm under his flannel quilt made me see the old quilt for what it was… So the kids and I all went to the fabric store and Seahawk got to choose his own fabrics. And his own design. It might be a little unfair to Munchkin that Seahawk got to have his way with his new quilt, but Munchkin got his first, so it all evens out.

The day we went to get Seahawk’s fabric, the flannel was on sale for 60% off, so that was a huge win. It took him a long time to find exactly what he wanted, but as soon as he spotted these dinosaurs, he knew that they were it. I talked him into getting a plain color for the contrast so as not to take away from the dinosaurs, and he agreed. The brown was just perfect. (Have I ever mentioned that brown is one of my favorite colors? It is.) He had a blue picked out for the back that would have been awesome; it matched the blue dinosaurs perfectly, but there didn’t end up being enough of it, so we picked a grassy green instead. It worked out great.

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I got the quilt all done and quilted, ready for binding, and then horror of horrors, realized that it was too narrow. I should’ve figured it out before I quilted it – adding borders to make it bigger then would’ve been a snap – but I didn’t. So I had to do some intense research to figure out how to add quilted borders to a quilted-but-not-bound quilt. I found a YouTube video tutorial for a Quilt-As-You-Go quilt that turned out to be just perfect. Using her technique, I was able to make the quilt several inches wider before I put the binding on, and now the quilt is actually a good size for my son.

Both boys are in love with their new quilts. And because both are made of flannel, they’re crazy warm – which is good since my children are anti-pajamas.

I’ll have another quilt to show you guys in a couple of weeks. I’m having some trouble getting it just perfect, but once I do, it’s going to be gorgeous. I can’t wait to have it done and ready to show off!

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Posted in: quilting/sewing | Tagged: homemade, kids, quilt, quilts

Quilts for Kids

Posted by Wendy on June 19, 2013 2 Comments

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I’ve never blogged about Munchkin’s heavy medical issues from when he was younger – they all took place long before I started this venture – so with what I have to share today, the timing is right now.

About two weeks before he turned 3, he and Seahawk (who was 5 at the time) were playing; I was in the other room sewing. I suddenly heard a thump, followed by screaming. Seahawk came rushing into my room telling me that Munchkin had fallen off the top bunk (we’ve since gotten rid of the bunk beds – even now that they’re older, I don’t trust the safety of stacked beds). As I was hurrying down the hall to the kids’ room, I asked Seahawk if Munchkin was bleeding. He replied, “I don’t think so.” To this day I don’t know if he was lying to avoid punishment (it came out later that he was at fault in the fall – they were playing pirates, Munchkin was at the top of the ladder, Seahawk said “reach for the sky!”, and Munchkin did) or if he’d come to get me before the bleeding started. in any event, by the time I got there ten seconds later, his nose was hugely swollen and his face very bloody. Without further hesitation, I loaded the kids into the car and drove to the ER. Hubs was at a book signing that day; thankfully I’d driven him, so I had the car.

At the hospital, they decided to do a CT scan to make sure he hadn’t done any brain damage in the fall. The scan was inconclusive. There was a shadow there that they couldn’t identify. No one was sure whether it was bleeding on the brain or something less sinister. To be safe, they took us by ambulance to Doernbecher Children’s Hospital in Portland for an MRI. I called my mom to come get Seahawk so I could focus on Munchkin. I also put in a call to my in-laws so they could pick hubby up and bring him to the hospital. As we were loading into the ambulance, the local hospital gifted Munchkin with a quilt.

Two MRIs, an angiogram, and four days later, Munchkin was diagnosed with an arteriovenous malformation, or AVM. basically, he had a clump of “extra” blood vessels in his brain. Eventually, they would have caused him to stroke.

There was a question with the insurance we had to resolve before we could schedule the corrective surgery. The only doctor in the state who was qualified to perform the surgery (he actually invented the procedure!) wasn’t covered under our plan. Dr. Barnwell and his staff took care of talking to the insurance company for us to explain the severity of the situation. The surgery, with the right doctor, was approved. The initial fall had taken place September 5, 2009. His surgery was October 21, 2009.

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This is his “after” MRI. I wish I could’ve found the “before” one at the time of this post; the difference is astounding. In the before shot, those white coils on the left side of the image (which is actually the right side of his brain) were a black muddle of misdirected blood.

So…

How does this relate to “quilts for kids”? That quilt we received as we were getting in the ambulance really stuck me, even though it hasn’t really stuck with Munchkin. Because of someone’s generosity, he received a lovely gift. I want to pay it forward, so to speak. I was given a bunch of quilting materials by a friend of my mom’s a few weeks ago, so I’ve used them to put together these 5 quilts. There’s enough for one or two more. When I get them all done, I’ll take them to the hospital for them to pass out as they deem necessary.

I won’t ever see the kids who receive them, and I’m okay with that. I just want the quilts to be a blessing for them as the one we got was for Munchkin.

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Posted in: Other, parenting, quilting/sewing | Tagged: charity, hospital, kids, quilts

Northwest Quilt Expo

Posted by Wendy on April 22, 2013 2 Comments

As promised, I’m talking about the quilt show we went to last weekend. There were hundreds of quilts on display and dozens of vendors. A quilter’s dream :).

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We started and ended with vendors simply because of the way the place was laid out. This was the most memorable shop of them all. If you look carefully, you’ll see that each of the three appliques are a single piece. Typically, an applique is multiple pieces of different fabrics (like the Sunbonnet Sues I’m making and will share another day). Because this technique struck me as so different, I snapped a picture of her “how-to” and of an example. This pic is the example one.

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I noticed that owls were a common theme throughout several quilts. This made me reflect on my late grandmother (she passed away less than a year after I got married, long before I had kids). She was an avid quilter and also a collector of owls. Seeing the owl quilts and remembering her love of the night birds made me wonder if owl lovers also tend to be quilters or the other way round. Or if it’s just coincidence.

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Hubby and I were struck by the simplicity of this one. Very little color, as it’s mostly white, but very beautiful all the same.

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This one was Munchkin’s favorite quilt. He really liked the dragons. I’m not sure it was my favorite, but I did really like it.

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Both of the older kids got to have a lesson in yarn making. This woman was so nice to teach them. And she let them keep the piece of yarn that they made as well as a piece of “raw” wool to compare what they started with to what they ended up with.

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This one was neat. I liked the reflection of the buildings in the water. Upon closer look, you could see that it was accomplished not only with different fabrics but also by layering a kind of netting material over the lower half to mute the colors further.

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I loved the decorative stitching on this one. And the colors :).

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Here’s Seahawk with the block he designed. You’ll recall that Munchkin’s was Picture of the Week last Friday.

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The kids also got to learn the proper technique for tying a quilt (as opposed to sewing the layers together). That’s something I’ve never learned. And I spent the time they were doing that feeding Small Fry, so I still don’t know how!

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These two were very similar in their construction: both were composed of hundreds of tiny (probably 2×2 or 3×3 inch) squares. The red and yellow one was hubby’s favorite of the day and my second favorite. If I remember correctly, it was the blue ribbon winner in the pieced quilt category. Rightly so!

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These are just several that caught my eye, in no particular order.

And finally, my favorite:

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Look carefully and you’ll see carrots and a beet under the ground (that’s my favorite feature of this quilt) and all sorts of other features that cross the framing barriers.

Which one is your favorite?

–Wendy

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Posted in: quilting/sewing | Tagged: nw quilt expo, portland oregon, quilts

Quilts, Quilts, and More Quilts!

Posted by Wendy on April 9, 2013 4 Comments

Okay, just two quilts, actually.

I typically make a blanket of some kind whenever we have a new niece or nephew. So far, we have 4 nieces and 3 nephews. All but one have gotten quilts and the last nephew (born last September) got a crocheted blanket. Well, all but two… Our two-year-old niece (her birthday was April 1st – no foolin’!) somehow got looked over when she was born. Bad auntie! So I’ve made her this quilt featuring Sunbonnet Sue flying a kite. I was able to give it to her on Sunday, and her reaction was priceless. She immediately just wanted her mom to cuddle her up in it. What a way to warm my heart 🙂

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This quilt was my first time using a free-form quilting style, and I must say: I loved it! Because there was no overlapping stitches, it was much easier to keep the fabric from bunching. I definitely see myself using this style again.

The second quilt I want to talk about today is my first attempt at a rag quilt. This one was made using some of Small Fry’s outgrown baby clothes. I seem to have forgotten to take a picture of the quilt by itself, but you can still see it in this picture.

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My favorite block is underneath Seahawk’s foot, and it’s an emblem from one of Small Fry’s newborn shirts that says “Little Brother” baseball-jersey style. I put it in the center so it would have a place of prominence. My second favorite is the one right next to Seahawk’s knee. It’s a pair of Small Fry’s pants that he wore for months. It was really sad when I finally had to admit that they didn’t fit him anymore! They’re camouflage and oh-so-cute.

I just got this book from JoAnn a few days ago, and I seriously can’t wait to make these blocks!

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There are 12, one representing each month of the year. I’ll definitely blog about them when I get started.

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Posted in: quilting/sewing | Tagged: free form quilting, quilts, rag quilt, sunbonnet sue

Welcome!

Welcome to Ladybug Daydreams! My name is Wendy, and I’m glad you’re here. I am a homeschooling mom to 5 boys. I write about homeschooling, homeschool curriculum, yarn (both knitting and crochet), and more! I hope you enjoy what you read.

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