Tuesday 17 December 2013

My one and only handmade Christmas present

I'm cutting it a bit fine admittedly, but I've finally finished my one and only handmade Christmas present. It's a quilt for my younger son Charlie, who's shockingly difficult to buy for. I was beginning to think he'd have nothing but a pile of DVDs to open on Christmas day (which I'm sure he wouldn't complain about!) when I noticed how much he liked snuggling under his brother Louis' quilt. Eureka - I'd make him a quilt of his own! When I made Louis' quilt almost a year ago, he was very involved in choosing fabrics and had a clear idea about how he wanted the quilt to look. In stark contrast, Charlie really didn't give a monkeys, he just wanted something to crawl under. I did manage to get out of him that he wanted it to be blue…with giraffes on it….OK.


The giraffe fabric was in fact the only fabric for the quilt top I ended up buying, I managed to eek the rest of it out of stash fabric which was supremely satisfying. The two solid blues were from my craft fair fabrics stash, the blue polka dot fabric was left over from my Jubilee Dress and the red and white striped fabric was kindly gifted to me by Amy after she won my Banksia top in a giveaway. I like the fact that the giraffe fabric has a pop of yellow on it to give the quilt a bit contrast colour.


This quilt is the same size as Louis' quilt (approx 40" by 60") so quite small, but still large enough to curl up on the sofa underneath. I used a navy cotton sheet as backing and bound it with this lovely striped bias binding from Frumble Fabrics. It didn't actually take that long to make as I knew what I was doing this time (sort of). I used all the same layouts and tutorials as I did last time, except for the actual quilting. I quilted just to the side of the seams rather than diagonally across and this saved a lot of time ruling lines etc.


Making this quilt has made me realise that I'll never be a passionate quilter. I'm just not meticulous enough or patient enough to concentrate on complicated designs and patterns. But I can turn my hand to simple quilting and pull off a reasonable quilt when required, which I'm happy about. I think Charlie will like it anyway, which is the main thing.


Talking of Charlie, I also managed to fashion a new flannel coat for Raggy, which is becoming something of an annual tradition. Last year's effort was beginning to look pretty grim and I was forever stitching up his rips.

Raggy's coat: before….

….and after!
I used exactly the same strategy as last year and Charlie accepted the new coat without a qualm. He's come on so much recently and has passed a couple of developmental milestones that are actually life changing for our family. In short, he's a rock star and we're so, so lucky to have him as our son. Happy Christmas darling Charlie, I hope you enjoy your quilt!

Charlie the rock star




19 comments:

  1. Beautiful quilt and every year I wait to see raggy sew-lift .... Merry Christmas Charlie.

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  2. Your corners look pretty meticulous to me! Lovely gift for Charlie, I am sure it will get lots of love and cuddles!

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  3. Lovely 'boy' quilt, beautifully finished. My heart went out to Raggy as my son has blankie to soothe him whenever he needed it.

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  4. So lovely! I'm a big fan of quick and easy quilts - I've done an applique one for friends' newborns on a couple of occasions and it's pretty much an evening's work. Result!

    http://cashmerette.blogspot.com/2011/12/whats-better-than-polka-dot-bunting.html

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  5. It's beautiful! I just love simple quilts and I'm sure it will be well-loved.

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  6. Oh, what a lovely post! I think your quilt is gorgeous - as is Charlie.

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  7. Hi Jane I have never made a quilt myself ever but my resolution for next year is to make just one - yours looks perfect to me and if I could make one half as good as yours then I will be supremely happy! Big Christmas hug
    Dorothy
    :-)xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

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  8. Raggy is so cool!

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  9. What a beautiful post! So glad Charlie is doing so well, and I'm sure he'll love his quilt. Merry Christmas! x

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  10. That giraffe fabric is super cute - and I love the fact that your son wanted giraffes in his quilt. Your finished quilt looks lovely Jane (as does Raggy's new fancy coat) and how precious that both your sons will now have their own heirloom blankies.

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  11. Oh that's just gorgeous! You've taken such care with it, for not a passionate quilter! I LOVE the idea of sewing quilts, but start them and never finish... One day.

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  12. Well done! It looks really lovely, I'm sure he will love it.

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  13. Hello so happy to have found your sewing blog....I am drifting back to my sewing roots and slowly gathering new sewing blogs to read!
    yours is fab..
    Although i am definitely not a quilter i admire your 'Christmas quilt make' too...
    bestest daisy j

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  14. What a beautiful quilt and raggy has got quite the makeover! Wonderful news about Charlie too. Yay for Charlie! Xxx

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  15. Awww, what a lovely quilt! And Raggy with his new jacket. Charlie is such a peach, and you're a wonderful mom! Merry Christmas!

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  16. I'm not surprised you only sewed one gift, your quilt looks like it would take ages. I'm like you, I don't have the patience or eye for detail that quilters seem to have but you've done a sterling job. It looks great and so does Charlie

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  17. Brilliant quilt Jane and fab to hear how C's doing, love his cheery smile in the photo. Hope all your Christmas plans are going well. Bethx

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  18. Great quilt Jane - you must be so proud of your quilt - and your boys!
    ( I read back at the previous quilt and Raggy posts - brought a lump to my throat and a smile to my face) Tell Charlie that an ancient Rock Chick thinks he looks cool in his tshirt
    Happy Christmas xx

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