Autumn Stars for Noah - A Finish

In a recent post I mentioned that my newest grandbaby was born before I attached the binding to this quilt.  Now it's finished.

I began this quilt in September and finished it in November this year!  That's really speedy work for me considering that it's hand quilted.  The stars finish at 12" and are an enlarged adaptation of Kim Diehl's Barn Stars.  I find the pattern positively charming.  Surprisingly, not a single piece of fabric in this quilt was a scrap!  (But now I have lots of scraps in autumn colors.)

The batting I used is Soft 'n' Crafty, an 80% cotton/20% poly blend.  It's not super thick but it's great for hand quilting and makes a warm quilt.

The top finished at 48½" x 60½".  After quilting, binding, washing, and drying it measured at 46¼" x 57½".  It's perhaps a little large for a baby quilt but I say, better too large than too small.     

Here's the little fellow who now owns the quilt nestled beside his sister.  She's a great helper to her mom.

Sadly, I did not get a photo of him on the quilt or with it wrapped around him.  I had forgotten how very tiny babies are, even ones that weigh nearly 8 pounds!  And they keep their little legs pulled up for a few weeks so seem even smaller and shorter than they are.  As a two-week-old in his nearly-fetal position, I know he could have fit into one of the stars!  He'll grow into it.

I'm linking this post to
> Finished or Not Friday at Busy Hands Quilts
> TGIFF at SummerLee Quilts
> Can I get a Whoop Whoop? at Confessions of a Fabric Addict
> finish it up Friday at crazy mom quilts
Thanks for hosting, ladies.

--Nancy.

The Binding and the Baby

I finished quilting the Barn Stars baby quilt last Thursday.  I knew I was in good time to finish it by Monday, the baby's due date.  On Friday I auditioned several possible binding fabrics but by Friday night I knew I didn't have enough of any one fabric.  Normally, I would have just pulled some similar-colored fabrics but since this quilt doesn't have the least bit of scrappiness to it, I didn't want to add scrappy for the binding.

When I awoke Saturday morning my first thought was getting to the fabric store to buy a yard of my chosen binding fabric.

And then I noticed I had two text messages.  The first came from my daughter, sent at 7:28 a.m. and said, "Headed to hospital."  The second, sent at 9:17 a.m., said,  "Baby boy born 8:39 this morning."   It was accompanied by a photo.

We're welcoming little Noah, the newest sprout on our family tree.  My daughter tells me he's a serious sleeper -- during the day -- but not so much at night.

If Noah and I had been in a race, his arrival before the quilt was finished, or vice versa, he won!  But there's no race here, just joy in welcoming a wonderful new baby.  My daughter has help staying just now so we'll travel to visit in a few days.  It's hard to wait to hold and hug a new grandbaby.

After conversations and congratulations and welcomes and virtual kisses and hugs, I went to the fabric store.  Sadly, the fabric I thought I bought there was either sold out or I bought it at a different shop.  I had to choose the next best fabric.

My auditions suggested that a dark, dark brown would be best, almost acting like a neutral.  Even though the print on the red border and backing fabric is black, I didn't want a black border.  This brown with black print, light brown, and small green stars is the best fabric I found.

The binding is stitched about half way around the quilt.  I hope to finish in the next day or two so it's ready to travel with us to its new home.

I'm off to stitch binding and think about my One Monthly Goal for November.

--Nancy.
.