operation hush hush is complete

When I make something for someone, a particular person, I always find it quite hard, simply because I worry about if it will work properly, if they will like it, will it simply be good enough.

So when I found out that our best friends were expecting their first baby last December, I knew that I had to make something for their baby, that would be for the baby, and would last, and was useful. So here I was, at the point that I needed to decide what I was going to make.

So a quilt, a quilt that could be used in a cot, in a buggy, to lay on, and to lay the other way round on a single bed. Sounds so simple, but then I had to decide on the fabric, very hard.

In the end I decided to go for Aneela Hoey designed fabrics, which I managed to get from a selection of online fabric shops : ) Also to contrast the patterns I use some lovely cotton solids and some beautifully soft grey and red needlecord. I decided to back it with a wonderful Robert Kaufman flannel, soft and warm. The binding, well I was to worry about that later!

So I had my fat quarters, and now to work on the design, I’m not going to bore you, but I wanted to have a simple design, so I went for a 2.5″ square design, with longer strips running within the squares!

It went really well, cutting and pinning and then stitching, so then, I had to baste it with madly expensive safety pins (really, how much can they charge for putting a bit more of a bend in them!), and then quilt it. I used Warm and Natural as the middle, and it was lovely to work with.

It was at this point that I was really worried, because if I cocked it up this time, I would have to start all over again. As I had gone for straight lines of fabric, I decided to go for stitched circles for the quilting, and it worked! Honestly I was shocked that it went so well!

So then I had to trim, and then bind. I couldn’t find the right sort of ready to use binding, so based on other peoples fantastic tutorials I was able to make my own binding and bind it, really easily! Just for info I used cotton voile, double thickness, lovely to use!

I enjoyed the hand sewing of the binding too, it was gentle and therapeutic : )

So all make, then to wash and dry, the last place where it could let me down, where it could fall apart, it didn’t, and I was so proud of myself, that I had managed to make something that was out of my comfort zone, and had to be perfect.

Today I met baby Ella, only just 24 hours old, she was beautiful, and I felt so lucky that I was able to make something for her. I hope that maybe I can make something else for her, and that I really need to make the cover for her Mummy’s wireless keyboard!

I would also like to say thank to Manda and Katy, their help and advice really helped me more than I can thank them for, when I panicked, they were there, thank you xx

(ps the final size was approx. 33″ x 39″)