pretty patchwork | a quilt for Nola

Sometimes it's difficult for me to articulate why I feel compelled to make quilts for certain people. Recently I posted Rory's birth story on my blog and linked to it on instagram and on facebook. My friend's sister (who I've never met) commented, thanking me for sharing my story. It was similar in some ways to the birth of her daughter, her first child, who's only a month or so older than Rory. I had left her a voicemail in the days leading up to her due date at my friend's request because she was scheduled to be induced and looking for encouragement. She's still accepting her birth experience, working through it and processing the details. So I did what any quilter does when someone needs a bit of comfort - I started making this quilt for her daughter on Sunday night and I mailed it to them today. We'll probably never meet (they live in PA and I'm in RI), but I wanted to do something for her. Growing and birthing a baby and being born as a mother yourself can be challenging, and I guess this quilt is my way of saying I understand and it matters and I'm here. I hope Sara, Frank, and little Nola accept it in the spirit in which it is given. 

P.S. Rounded corners are so sweet (and easy!), I don't know why I don't do them more often.

cloudy skies | a quilt for Luke

One of my friends from high school recently gave birth to her second baby and my friend Ari and I made a quilt for him. We knew his nursery was gray, white, and yellow and there was a vague cloud theme going on, and we knew we wanted to keep it classic and simple. Ari had the idea to make a herringbone quilt so we got to work making half square triangles, and I found the perfect teal cloud fabric for the back. I quilted it with simple straight lines and bound it in a mustardy yellow. I was about to say simple quilts are always the best, but then I realized crazy quilts are sometimes the best. Either way, I love the simplicity of this one and most of all I loved working on it with Ari. We hope Luke loves it too!

neutral patchwork | a quilt for Noah

The colors in these photos aren't true to life at all, but they'll have to do because I don't feel like editing them, nor do I have the time. This is a super simple quilt that I made for the baby boy of a friend. We're not close friends, and I usually only make quilts for people I'm close to, but sometimes I feel like making a quilt anyway. Do you ever feel like that? I thought they would appreciate the gesture, and of course quilts are useful so hopefully it will be well received! I used part of a charm pack and some fat quarters and half yards that I don't love. I'm happy with how it turned out, simple as it is.