Sew Saturday ~ Emily's Garden

EDIT-  You can now vote for my quilt in the MSQ Iron Quilter 2 challenge by clicking on the link and LIKE the picture.  :)  Thank you.  CLICKY



Last Saturday I showed you the Tic Tac Toddler quilt I made for Hopeful Thread's November challenge to make baby quilts for Tennessee Children's Hospital.  Today I will show you the baby girl quilt I've been working on.

My first experience with the NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit) back when I was in the 8th or 9th grade, came when my mom's best friend gave birth to little Emily.   Being 4 months premature she weighed just 2 pounds 2 ounces.  Such a tiny little peanut.   I remember the routine we had to go through just to step into the NICU.  Hands and arms had to be scrubbed, including under the fingernails.  Clothing, hair, and shoes had to be covered.  Only 1 person was allowed in to see Emily with her mom or dad, so I waited my turn while mom went in first with "Aunt" Debbie.

Holding Emily for the first time was the most amazing, terrifying experience of my life.  I was afraid I might hurt her just by touching her.  When the nurse put her in my arms she hardly weighed anything.  I'm pretty sure the blanket covering her and the tubes coming out of her weighed more.  Instantly I fell in love with my new little "niece" in a way I've never felt before.

As exhilarating as that experience was, there is another memory emblazoned on my soul, that of leaving the hospital without her.  The hospital was 2 hours from where we lived so Debby had to get rides to and from the hospital.  She couldn't afford to stay in a nearby hotel so she had to leave her every time.  I can still hear Debby's sobs as we pulled out of the parking lot.

Thankfully Emily survived and came home to spend many weekends at auntie's house.  She would often stay in my room at night once she was a little bigger and I would get up with her if she needed a bottle or a diaper change.  I loved taking care of her  She was one of our flower girls when we got married.  She is married herself now and lives in Australia with her military husband.  Her life started in the NICU and that is why I made my girl quilt for a smaller crib at the Children's hospital.

As I designed and stitched this quilt I was often reminded of Emily.  I spent many hours praying for the baby this quilt would go to and her for her parents, as well as extended family and friends.  My heart longs to bring comfort not only to the baby this quilt will wrap around but the mommy standing beside her bed and having to leave her side at night.  I pray the angels will watch over her sweet body and that the doctors and nurses caring for her will have the strength & wisdom they need to care for all the babies.  Most of all I pray for healing and peace for this baby I have never met and will likely never know.

My hope and prayer is that one day the baby will get to go home with her new "lovey" and that it will bring comfort and joy to her for years to come.

Now on to how the quilt is made.  I have to give a shout out her to my Sistah's at StampNation who helped me when I couldn't decide where to place all the hexies.  Hopefully you ladies like the finished project.  Thanks for giving me the confidence to finish it.

Each of the hexagons are English Paper Pieced.  I hand sewed the larger hexagons together and then sewed the hexagons on to my quilt top.  (Moda Ombre Grey fabric... I LOVE it!)  Although I wish I could have found a purple ombre instead for this baby quilt.

My friend, Melissa, from Sew BitterSweet designs got me hooked on paper piecing hexies.  I can't seem to stop!  For the fabric I chose to use the Lovely Charm Pack by RJR.   Missouri Star Quilt company is offering these charm packss for $3.95 to go along with their Iron Quilter contest.  I decided this would be a great combo.  Lovely flowers for a baby girl.  One charm pack gave me ALL these hexies and more.

To do the quilting I followed the hexagon lines and created this fun chevron pattern.  It turned out great, considering my low skill level when it comes to quilting.   The binding was cut from yardage in the Lovely line.   I used Jenny Doan's youtube tutorial to attach my binding.  I've discovered that I LOVE hand sewing my binding on.  It's so relaxing!

If you would like to learn more about Hopeful Threads click on the picture below.  Thank you again, Kristy, for giving me an opportunity to give to such a wonderful cause!

Hopeful Threads

If you would like to learn more about the Iron Quilter challenge through Missouri Star Quilt Company click the picture below.  (and don't forget to check out their daily deal!)

This is also part of my personal challenge for A Lovely Year of Finishes with Melissa and Shanna.

ALYOF November

Creative Blessings,
Heather North

Sew Saturday ~Tic Tac Toddler

I've been waiting all month to show you this post.  Yesterday I finished hand stitching the binding on my baby quilt for Hopeful Threads and took some pictures to share.

Hopeful Threads

Hopeful Threads was asking for baby blankets to send to a Children's Hospital in need.  This touched my heart and gave me the opportunity to give back and pay it forward.  Let me give you the backstory.  Our son Tyler was born pigeon toed with club feet.

Tyler and Daddy 1 day old

From the time he was a few days old he began being casted to correct his feet.  This is one of the only pictures I have of his feet.  I used to bring his baby shampoo and everything I needed to bathe him to the doctor's office so I could give him a bath once a week between having his casts removed and new ones put on.   This was in the days before digital cameras and cell phones that took pictures.  It never occurred to me to bring my camera with me.

When he was less than 2 months old we found at that our insurance was not going to cover his treatment.  They said it was a pre-existing condition.  WHAT?!  We were a young couple without a lot of money and our son needed the treatment to be able to walk and run and play like all the other kids.   Thankfully my grandpa told me about Shriner's hospital and wrote a letter to get Tyler in.

 

Shriner's hospital took amazing care of our son.  We had one of the top pediatric surgeons in the country perform surgery on his tendons when he was just 8 months old.  That was followed with more casting and eventually braces.  All of this without any cost to us.  Believe me, I was beyond blessed by the generosity of Shriner's hospital.  One day we were at Shriner's in their new facility in Sacramento, CA for a check up when some ladies came in with quilts their group had made for the children.  They gave us one, and I almost didn't take it because I felt like we had been given so much already.  They insisted and I'm so glad they did.  This quilt has always been a symbol of kindness, generosity and hope.  Every baby who has been in our home, including our puppies have been comforted, wrapped or played on this quilt.

Tic Tac Toddler

That is probably where the quilting bug first bit me.  Knowing that these ladies made quilts for the kids with disabilities, burns and birth defects warmed my heart.  They never got to see the kids faces as they snuggled up with their new loveys.  They didn't see how the quilts wrapped those babies in comfort as they sat on their mom's laps while the doctor manipulated their tender feet.  They didn't know how much it meant to the mommies and daddies that somebody cared for their little one.  Or perhaps, they did.

When Hopeful Threads put out the call I was so excited because I finally feel like my quilting is at a level that I can give it away to strangers.  I was thrilled that it would be going to a baby, toddler or preschooler that could use comfort while in the hospital.   I was happy that they might never know who sent it because they would get to experience the kindness of strangers.  Most of all I was humbled by the opportunity to have Tyler's quilt come full circle.

Tyler at 17

Since it was going to charity I decided to use the Riley Blake fabric that was given to us through the Modern Quilt Guild for the Riley Blake challenge.   Thank you Melissa and Kristy for this opportunity.  I'm working on finishing up another quilt for a little girl.

I'm linking up with ALYOF and #mqgrileyblakechallenge.



ALYOF November


Creative Blessings,
Heather North