Well lookie here! Who's on a roll with blogging, eh? 

There is something to be said for teaching your new baby to nap on his own. I dragged my feet for two huge reasons:

1. I was scared he'd sleep less because he wasn't sleeping in my arms, and sleeping less equaled crying more and crying more equaled Crazy Mama. And no one likes Crazy Mama. 

2. I truly LOVE holding my sweet baby while he sleeps, and had a really bittersweet ache at the thought of losing that time with him. 

But there is a season for everything, and really, his season of being held for every nap was nearing its end. The itchy, restless part of me was beginning to emerge and the willing-to-put-everything-on-hold-for-a-baby-in-arms part of me was losing some of her hold. 

So Quinn naps twice or thrice a day in his rock-n-play in our room. A few times a week I'll scratch the morning nap routine and take him and Lucy somewhere, lulling him to sleep in the Moby wrap... so I still get some holding naps and that sweet snuggling fix. 

The rest of the time, I get at least a couple of small windows a day where my arms are free and I am able to begin inching forward with a few things in my life I've been missing. Really simple things, like tidying up the house. Sewing a little. Editing photos. Putting away laundry. Baking, maybe. Definitely more concentrated one-on-one time with Lucy or Noah. Naps of my own. 

And a wee bit of blogging. 

So. Here I am. Ready, (I think), to undertake a whole week of blogging in honor of my nearing completion of Quinn's baby quilt, which I began and nearly finished last week.

I'm relative new to quilting, and definitely a beginner with simple aspirations. But in the two years I've been doing it, I've managed to make 5-6 small quilts, and have never actually blogged about them. So with Quinn's quilt as the last post of this coming week, I am going to blog one quilt a day until then. Because I love them. I'm proud of them. And I actually think I can manage these small, mostly-photo posts this week.

So, up first--- one of my favorites. This is my StoryTime Quilt:

This fun lap-quilt is based off of an amazing quilt I saw on Pinterest right when I was first introduced to the site. It was the first "quilts I might be able to achieve" pin I pinned. The original quilter, Nettie of "A Quilt is Nice", talks about her version of this quilt here: http://aquiltisnice.blogspot.com/2011/03/storytime-baby-quilt.html. I am so enchanted with her version, all pink and rounded-corners and stripey edges. I still want one just like hers, even after making one of my own. 

The idea is that you gather bits of fabric with characters or images that can lend a starting point or plot point for a story, and you patchwork them together into one block. I did not have very many character fabrics, so I went to an old friend who adores vintage fabric and is a collector of amazing and rare fabrics, and begged for her help. (Thanks, Jaime! You're AMAZING.) 

I asked her for tiny bits of fabrics that might tell a story... I let her pick what she thought would work, and I offered to pay her for her time and her materials. She did not disappoint. Most of these darling little rectangles below are from her package she mailed me. (Opening that package was just about the most fun  I've ever had getting mail. I'm serious.)

Once the quilt is complete, you have a collection of "story starters" that you can run wild with. Ask your kiddo to choose one or two of the images, and begin weaving your own story from them. You can make up a new story every time, tell some beloved existing stories (there's a Princess and the Pea on here that I love, as well as a Red Riding Hood, some Hansel and Gretel, etc.) It is a neat way to spend quality time with your little ones, tucked under the blanket on your laps, using your imaginations.... I love this whole concept.   

 

As for that actual sewing of this project, I did not use a pattern or plan for my quilt blocks and I did not piece together story elements in any kind of organized way. I started just by trimming fabric into squares and rectangles that kept the characters/images intact with some extra for borders. I then worked to piece them together in long tall strips first. (You can see on the left, the first "strip" is the one with that red rooster next to a small princess/green polka dots. If you see green polka dots, you know that's where I filled in gaps where I didn't have a story swatch to fit.) (The second strip is the one with the soccer kickers and the green polka dots. Etc.)

I then trimmed and pieced together all the tall strips into this final rectangle. It's far from perfect. You can see on the bottom where I lost some of the image in many squares because I had to trim the whole thing up to be square. Oh well. It's close enough. 

As for the quilting part, I machine-quilted it. But since I still don't have a walking foot, I decided a "safe" and funky way to quilt it would be to stitch rays radiating out from the asymmetrically-placed story section. Working from the inside of the quilt to the edges, I was able to avoid any bunching or snagging underneath because I wasn't using a walking foot. And it all kinda fits together--- funky asymmetrical quilt lines with a funky asymmetrical quilt. 

It's backed in a fun stripe that pulls all the crazy colors on the front together, and then it's bound with a red swiss polka dot. I pretty much LOVE polka dots and they find their way into so many of my projects. 

And there it is. (I fancy that little girl putting on Daddy's shoes is Lucy. She LOVES shoes.) There's a fun blend of vintage and current fabrics. Some boyish elements and some girly elements. There are lots of actual characters, and some patterns that lend themselves to stories (rainbows, cherry blossoms, hearts, bubbles, etc.) 

Noah and Lucy got this quilt this past Christmas, and Quinn has even enjoyed it recently as a play quilt he can lie down on. I expect it will see lots of use and love as time goes by, and will get that loved-in look eventually. 

For now, it's still pretty fresh and new, and is easily one of my favorite sewing projects I've ever done. 

Up tomorrow--- I'll share Lucy's "soft blanket" I made her for her Christmas present... all girly with vintage sheets and pink minky backing. 

Til then.... happy Monday, happy May, and hooray for free hands!

*

Sweet Quinn: Newborn Photo Session(s)

My sweet Quinn was born January 18. I knew even before he was born that I would not have the stamina to attempt a "30 Days of Quinn" project like I did with Lucy. I did know, however, that I could not WAIT to get my hands on my baby boy, and newborn photos were most definitely still in my plans.  I shopped on Etsy in the months preceding his birth and commissioned a few special hats from talented friends, and by the time he came along, I had a good idea of what photos I'd want to try with my little one. I managed a few sessions in his first two weeks, and ended up with a very satisfying amount of newborn images for my third baby. Not feeling the pressure to get something done every single day, I mustered enough energy on the days I DID shoot to try a few more things, and it all evened out in the end. I even managed to go to a dear friends' home to shoot a set of these-- taking advantage of her marvelous home and natural light. 

And here we are... three months later. Life with Quinn added in is proving to be a supreme juggling act, and sitting to edit personal photos has not factored into that crazy dance much. I am just starting to see that it will come back, but initially, it's been more than enough to just remind myself that at least the photos got taken... and to let go of the frustration that editing and preparing them to share has not happened.

So while life marches on and this teeny little one in the following photos is now a strong, alert, smiling baby of nearly 4 months, I am so tickled at this gallery of my sweet Quinn, back when he was but 4 days, 5 days, 11, 12 and 13 days old. When we were just getting to know his spirit and his eyes and his fingers and his toes... 

Grab a cuppa... I didn't hold back for this post. There's a LOT of photos. I figure they will make it more worth the wait.

Session 1: 4 Days Old, in my dining room

 

Hat from the marvelous Etsy shop "BebeBeeCouture". I've used them lots and love their work). 

 

(Quinn really wanted to be awake that first day...So I let him do it his way, and made plans to try again the next day.)

Session 2: 5 Days Old, in my dining room

 

Another hat from the marvelous Etsy shop "BebeBeeCouture").

 (This next one is probably my all-time favorite of all of them. It will be a big print in my home for sure.)

(Next up, a baby snowman. :) He was a winter baby... so I kept trying to find ways to integrate that into his photos.  

Hat from the Etsy shop "LoveyChild".)

Session 5: 11 Days Old, Erin's house

(Session 3 was used for his birth announcements and Session 4 was with his daddy. I'm saving both for other posts.)

 

 (Hat from Sweet Pea Hats)

 (Sweet hat from my friend Heather of Woolywishes)

 (Hats from Erin's and my prop stash)

Session 6: 12 Days Old, in my sunroom

 

 (Hat from the Etsy shop "Zoik").

Session 7: 13 Days Old, a lightning-fast 4-minute shoot in my yard

I REALLY wanted a true winter image of the poor baby. He was fine and cozy, I promise!  

 (Cozy cocoon from my friend Heather of Woolywishes)

These comprise Quinn's first two weeks, all within the month of January. I actually have more images, from his next 2 weeks.... the February photos. Those will just have to happen when they happen..... Ack.

For now, I am content. I have peace in my restless heart for finally managing to not only edit January, but get it blogged. To see his sweet face as a fresh newborn again, and to be reminded how far we've come since these early days. There really is nothing like a newborn. I miss some parts of it... But I am not going to lie--- as we move towards month 4, and things get a little more predictable around here, I'm not at all eager to trade today's Quinn for that sweet newborn in these images. These photos will do nicely, thank you very much. 

Thanks for being with me on my journey.... And for letting me share things when I can... which isn't as often as it's been in the past. All in good time, yes?

Happy Sunday, tomorrow. 

♥