All white and dark red pieces are from Sherri's wedding dress.
Ever since my sister's friend Sherri got married, she has been asking me to make a baby quilt from her wedding dress. I have known Sherri and her family for longer than I can even remember. So after many years of patiently waiting, Sherri and her Husband Dan were finally expecting! I, of course, was so excited when I heard the great news. I was looking forward to making a quilt for their new baby girl.
Sherri let me have complete control of the design and fabric selection for the quilt. Her only request was that her new daughter's name, Realla-June, be stitched somewhere on the quilt. She didn't even want to see the quilt until it was finished. So what do you make when the sky's the limit? It is surprisingly a hard choice.
One element that helped me make the decision is that Sherri's wedding dress was white and red. I wanted to select fabrics that complimented the red. I knew almost immediately that I wanted to use Moda's Miss Kate by Bonnie and Camille. I've used this fabric line before and with red and aqua, it really is the sweetest.
For the pattern I adapted the blocks used in Thimble Blossoms "A Piece of Cake" pattern. I wanted to add a band of wedding dress white and applique Realla-June's name in bold fabric letters to the quilt about 3/4's of the way down the quilt top. I was having trouble finding the perfect font to use for the applique, when I had a great idea. What better font than a Mother's own handwriting? I asked Sherri to write the baby's name on a piece of paper and take a photo of it. From there I blew up the photo, traced it on the fabric and then satin-stitched the name onto the wedding dress.
Sherri let me have complete control of the design and fabric selection for the quilt. Her only request was that her new daughter's name, Realla-June, be stitched somewhere on the quilt. She didn't even want to see the quilt until it was finished. So what do you make when the sky's the limit? It is surprisingly a hard choice.
One element that helped me make the decision is that Sherri's wedding dress was white and red. I wanted to select fabrics that complimented the red. I knew almost immediately that I wanted to use Moda's Miss Kate by Bonnie and Camille. I've used this fabric line before and with red and aqua, it really is the sweetest.
For the pattern I adapted the blocks used in Thimble Blossoms "A Piece of Cake" pattern. I wanted to add a band of wedding dress white and applique Realla-June's name in bold fabric letters to the quilt about 3/4's of the way down the quilt top. I was having trouble finding the perfect font to use for the applique, when I had a great idea. What better font than a Mother's own handwriting? I asked Sherri to write the baby's name on a piece of paper and take a photo of it. From there I blew up the photo, traced it on the fabric and then satin-stitched the name onto the wedding dress.
For the quilting, I quilted free motion quilted daisies around Realla-June's name. The goal was to make the daisies look like a doodle. For the patterned part of the quilt, I used loop-the-loops.
The back of the quilt is an aqua flannel to make the quilt extra cuddly. This was my first time using flannel as a backing. At first, I did find it a bit difficult to move; but it didn't take me too long to get used to it.
The back of the quilt is an aqua flannel to make the quilt extra cuddly. This was my first time using flannel as a backing. At first, I did find it a bit difficult to move; but it didn't take me too long to get used to it.
As a special surprise, I used the tulle from Sherri's dress to make a little tutu for Realla-June. The ribbon in the tutu was also made for the wedding dress. Isn't it sweet?
Thank you so much Sherri and Dan for entrusting me to create such a special memory for your family!
Thank you so much Sherri and Dan for entrusting me to create such a special memory for your family!
