Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Twin Quilts

My dear dear friends gave birth to twins on August 1, 2011. Two of the sweetest tinniest little girls I have ever seen. When they told us on New Year's Eve that they were having twins I went into planning mode. I knew I would make two quilts but I didn't know the sexes yet so I had to go slowly making sure what I made would work for either sex. In March when I learned it was going to be two girls I was so excited. One because I have two boys and I always wanted a girl. But more importantly the quilts I had started to make were mostly pink. Then life got busy and I was not sure I would finish in time. I sort of knew the due date but I was also moving at a slow pace. So last Saturday I dared to ask the due date hoping I would have lots of time left. August 12 I was told. Great. Plenty of time. Well as often goes with babies, and especially with twins, those little girls decided August 1 would be their birthday. OMG. I sewed feverishly for two straight day, finishing 2 hours before they were born!!! Today I brought the quilts to the proud parents.

The quilts look the same but they are really different. If you look closely they have different patterns. I am a firm believer that twins should be treated separately and should have their own things. So I did not want two make identical quilts.


I used a Moda jelly roll that I had received in a trade. Using the pattern Summer in the Park I found at Missouri Star Quilt Co. I made triangle after triangle. Then I sewed those triangles into squares and then into blocks. The more blocks I sewed the more beautiful the quilts appeared.


I chose this sweet pink gingham fabric for the back. Both quilts have the same back. I like that the back is calmer then the front so you can use both sides depending on your mood.


Of course I had to get my twins to model the quilts. They knew about the babies and were excited to hear that they were born. They also knew the quilts were for these babies and when I brought the finished quilts into them they said "We know you want us to hold them up for a photo."


But they wouldn't stand still so I had to shoot most of the photos while they danced around the room.


I also made the new mamma a nursing cover. I was so excited when I gave it to her and she exclaimed "I just bought one of these and I am going to return it now!" I know she will get a lot of use our of this. I followed a pattern I found on a blog and used boning for the first time in my sewing career. This was actually super easy to make and I made another one for my sister who gave birth to her fifth child on July 14, 2011.

Lastly I had to make my signature burp cloths. These match the nursing cover. I love the polka dots. And the gingham is so dainty and sweet. I had a lot of fun making these items. It was great to work on something that was such a sweet surprise for the recipients. It was a very long and detailed project. These quilts are the most intricate ones I have ever made. But was it worth it? Yes, totally. Knowing that these sweet babies are going to lie on my quilts for tummy time was worth all the hard work.