Sewing Projects Part 2: Quilts

Before Christmas last year I got the brilliant idea to take all of the girls' flannel baby blankets and re-purpose them into new quilts. Baby blankets were one thing that we received several of when the girls were babies. I didn't want to just get rid of them because all of the flannel ones were hand-made by friends and family, but the girls were too big for them and we had so many. Plus, they didn't have any normal-sized blankets or quilts for their beds, just the little baby blankets. Using the old flannel blankets to make new, bigger quilts was probably the best idea I've ever had, because I wouldn't have to spend more money on new quilts, and I wouldn't have to get rid of any blankets. 

A few of the blankets we used in the quilts. I really loved having these for my girls when they were babies, especially since I knew they were made with love!

I couldn't get the quilts done by Christmas because there was just so much going on, so I started them in January. I borrowed my mom's cutting mat and rotary cutter to cut the blankets into pieces. I figured out pretty quickly that between the 5 flannel blankets I would be using, there wasn't quite enough material for two quilts. We took the girls to the store and let them both pick out a yard of new flannel we could add to the quilts so they would each be similar, but slightly different. Lia immediately chose a pretty purple floral flannel. Eleanor liked every fabric she saw, so we helped her narrow it down to one that would look cute with the other quilt fabrics.

I decided to just to rag quilts because I have never quilted before and I know I am not a great seamstress. If I tried anything different, I knew I'd be mad when it wasn't perfect. Rag quilts have a lot of wiggle room so there wasn't as much pressure to be perfect!

I worked hard on the quilts for a few weeks and got the fabric cut into squares, laid out just the right way, and sewed into strips. Then....I lost steam. I didn't do much on the quilts for months. Finally last week, in the middle of my skirt-sewing kick, I decided to finish them. 

It didn't take long at all and finally last night I got the quilts finished! The girls love them and so do I. I know it's not nice to brag, but I am dang proud of myself for thinking of a frugal, sentimental way to make something special for my daughters. When I was a teenager my mom hand-made all of her kids a warm, fuzzy quilt for Christmas. She told us that every time we wrapped ourselves up in the quilt, she wanted us to think of her and how much she loved us. I love that quilt from my mom, and I am really happy that I have done the same for my girls. And, I'm glad they turned out so cute! 

Oh, and in case you were wondering, we still have half a dozen baby blankets we can use when another little Penman comes along some day!

Pictures!

Eleanor's quilt

Lia's quilt

Close-up of Eleanor's. The flannel she picked is in the bottom right, with the little birdies on it.

Close-up of Lia's. She picked out the purple, which I think looks so darling with the other fabrics.

Oh, a note about rag quilts. I knew they are supposed to "fray," but I didn't realize how much! These quilts are constantly shedding little threads and the dryer lint catcher was completely full after I washed and dried them. I think I'll run them through the dryer a couple more times!