Saturday, May 11, 2013

Ducks in a Row.



I went to my first grown up baby shower on Saturday.

Before you make some comment about how that is odd for a grown woman, remember I am an archaeologist, I work with all men who are 10 years older than me (minimum), and I live in a college town with a whole bunch of friends who are not having babies.

Remember all of those things.

As I child, I dimly recall being escorted to baby showers by my mother. I remember cheezy games and advice that confused me.

This baby shower was for the wife of a coworker, whom I actually know on a personal level. They are having a much anticipated first baby. It was an all female thing (I guess this is normal?), so I, awkwardly, felt I needed to represent the men. Seriously, I talked about my (male) coworker (the father) and I think I ate more than anyone else there. I was also messier.

The advice still confuses me.

Because I am me and I honestly did not even know people set up registries for baby showers (was someone supposed to tell me that? is that in the handbook I forgot to read?), I made them a quilt.

I am calling it Ducks in a Row. Because that is what you do before a baby is born. I guess. Get your ducks in a row.

The nursery colors are blue, green, and orange. I played with half square triangle papers for this one and I guess it made HSTs faster, but I still had to trim them, and then they still needed to be sewn together. So maybe worth it if you get them from the free table at Sew South (where I got them)? You can buy rolls of the papers at the Fat Quarter Shop. Clearly, they are not paying for this endorsement.



Each of the finished triangles is 3.5 inches. Honestly, that is the size of the papers I had. I would have made them bigger if I was just making half square triangles normally.



I ended up quilting with a large loop. I was totally going to do straight lines on the diagonal. All my IG buddies suggested that. I made the quilt assuming that was how I would quilt it. Then I did three rows, and it looked terrible. I am happy with these somewhat random loops. Plus the finished quilt it super soft and snuggly. I bound it by machine (another first for me) for durability, using this tutorial. I need a bit more practice, but this attempt was acceptable.



I was the only homemade gift giver at the shower. But, I think they loved it.

Quilt Stats:
Ducks in a Row. Baby Quilt

Size: 45"x50"
Fabrics: Assorted Kona grays, some Summersville, the ducks are from Birch, and the foxes are Aneela Hoey, I have no idea what that robot print is called.
Binding: Another random Kona gray
Pattern: My own (if you can call it a pattern)
Finished: May 3, 2013



10 comments:

  1. Oooh! Love it! So fun! And the color palette is super yum!

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  2. How could they not love it? The palette is so appealing, and different for a nursery. I'm sort of glad you found the little HST papers not totally worth it. I'm a grouch, but it makes me cranky to think about paying for a thing to make the easiest and most versatile and most free quilt pattern ever. I had idly thought about trying them but I may skip it unless I come into some freebies.

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  3. It is so beautiful! I can totally understand you about your co-workers/colleagues not being in the baby-stage of life. But I have enough friends from church/undergrad that are having babies to keep me busy quilting. :)

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  4. Perfect story and very funny. I guess we automatically assume too much when it comes to baby showers. Since this was your first shower someone should have told you about the registry...but it's a good thing they didn't because your quilt was the perfect gift.

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  5. I'm sure they loved it. It'll be treasured for years.

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  6. Fabulous quilt! Lucky little baby! I always eat the most at celebrations too.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you for saying that Pam! This shower had really good cupcakes and I really wanted two, but it was clearly a no go... so I just got seconds (or thirds) from the cheese plate. I am classy like that. Thanks for the quilty love!

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  7. Love this quilt, and honestly it's way more meaningful than buying burp cloths from Target or a breast pump attachment (has been on several baby registries I've seen).

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  8. Your post made me laugh! I've found myself in demand with my daughters, making handmade gifts for the baby showers they go to. Judging from the response everyone loves an individual one-of-a-kind gift. Ducks in a Row is gorgeous, I love the colours and fabrics. Lucky little baby!

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