Baby Quilt

[Loki]

Hello, I'm a new quilter; completed two so far, and I like to give them as presents. My cousin's having a baby in the summer, and I want to know if it'd be okay to give a cathedral windows quilt as a baby quilt. I'm just not up on what baby quilts typically are. I'm not really feeling the urge to applique anything, and I like experimenting with different quilt styles.

 

[forward]

I don't know much about quilts, have only done the one (still at it), and it was ment to be unique, unlike any other.

But I'd love to see yours. Could you post pictures of them, please?

 

[judy]

I second the request for a picture. I love quilting, only started about 2 years ago when a co-worker informed me that I could make a quilt from start to finish without using a sewing machine. I hate sewing machines! Chalk it up to bad times in Home Ec class I guess.

Anyway, as far as your baby quilt, what pattern you use isn't as important as the colors. Any pattern looks good in either bright primary colors or pastels, IMHO. And those colors are always appropriate for baby quilts. You just don't want it to be too somber, but nice and cheerful.

Good luck, and let us know what you decide to do!

 

[forward]

I did some thinking on a biblical baby quilt, and got to agree on the colour sceme being important.

What you might consider is chosing a biblical story as a theme.
If the baby was a girl, the story of Ruth and Naomi might be a good one.
An oasis/dessert background, a well perhaps and the two ladies, in their oriental clothing, ... could look really nice.

Here in Germany, people often chose Noah's ark as a theme, and the chilren love all the animals on there.

Well, the possibilities are unlimited, start with the colours you want to work with and then with the "message" the quilt is to hold.

Good luck. I will post a photo of mine, when this board permits me to do so.

 

[Loki]

Doing a biblical theme would involve applique, I think. I've done it, and it's okay, but it's not my favorite part of quilting (Ironically, a cathedral windows quilt is technically not a quilt). I'll post pics as soon as I find 'em, and it'd be great if you guys posted pics, too. I love looking at people's creations.

I guess my main question with the cathedral windows is because it involves folding fabric, whether this would involve problems somehow with babies; baby vomit, harboring bad microbes, choking (Not sure, but babies can choke on anything), etc. I have a bunch of bright scraps that would make wonderful "stained glass" parts of the windows.

 

[Loki]

Hm. They seem to have disappeared, so I'll post pics as soon as I can get 'em scanned in.

 

[Crazy Liz]

No, a cathedral window quilt is not appropriate for a baby. There are "nooks and crannies" that can be dangerous if the baby gets twisted up in them or they hook onto an object. http://www.sewing.com/projects/cathedralwindow/index.shtml

If you stitch through all the layers so the back looks like this, it won't be as dangerous, but I stil don't think it's a good idea for a baby.

 

[judy]

I never thought about that safety aspect of cathedral quilts as baby quilts. It's been a while since my kids were babies. But that sounds like good advice.

Here's a quilt I recently finished for my 13 year old. I posted it before on this forum, but I'll post it again.

 

[forward]

That is a very nice quilt.

Mine is of a completely different style. It is made of velvet, silk and laces (some of which handmade for it). All in all it is rather heavy, and king-size.

Now, I can't post an image on here, not am I allowed to post a link to it, but I could attach my homepage to my profile (thanks to the 1000 blessings I was given. Thank you).
So, in case you are interested, on my homepage is a link to the left called "quilt". The 8th picutre I was going to link onto here.

Where there is a will, there is a way

 

[Loki]

Thanks, I was wondering precisely about the nooks and crannies. And my boyfriend pointed out another thing: since it's not technically a quilt, would it be warm enough?

Now, one more question; would a grandmother's fan quilt be appropriate for a pseudo-aunt to make? I love that pattern, and have a great quilting pattern for the non fan part of the square.

 

[judy]

Loki, that sounds like a good pattern, if it's the one I think it is. I haven't been brave enough yet to do any quilts with lots of curved pieces. I think the colors you use will make all the difference.

Your boyfriend is right, you should make your quilt as warm and cozy as possible for the baby.

 

[tulc]

Judy wrote: (#11)
"Your boyfriend is right, you should make your quilt as warm and cozy as possible for the baby."

.....and take lots of pictures!
tulc(who doesn't quilt but loves photos of other peoples art!)

 

[Loki]

Finally found the pic of my quilts; they were buried in obscurity in my bf's ftp. The purple and green one is my first attempt; I just did it to see if I could do it. It's hand quilted, just around the seams, and in squares in the white part. The red one is now a full sized queen bed quilt. It's 9x9 squares, but I had it folded up in the pic, and just turned back a corner to show the pattern. I gave it to my cousin for her wedding, cause she's been like a sister to me. (Apparently it made her cry, but in that good way.) I've got another in the works, which is a kaledaiscope quilt out of 50s and 60s fabrics my grandma gave to me. It's hers as soon as it's done.

I'd love to see pics of other people's work.

 

[Loki]

BTW, Judy, don't know how I missed it before, but I love that sampler you made.

 

[judy]

Hey Loki, that's a beautiful baby quilt you made! The other one is lovely too. I haven't done that pattern yet, but I plan to soon. You do meticulous work.



Here are a couple of other quilting projects that I dug out of my photo files. (Just ignore the utterly charming creatures who somehow got into the pictures .)

 

[judy]

BTW, Judy, don't know how I missed it before, but I love that sampler you made.

Thanks! It's fun to show off, especially to people who are also infected with the quilting bug!