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Friday, May 15

Quick Quilt in One Afternoon

This weekend, my daughter Alina graduates from Wake Forest Law School in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.  She's had an amazing three years there and we are so very proud of her, of how hard she worked, and all she accomplished!  One of her funniest accomplishments is that a judge there gave her the nickname "The Fist in a Velvet Glove".   

Alina (Bean) and her husband Gonzo moved to Winston-Salem so that they both could attend Wake Forest.  (Gonzo graduated last May with his MBA and we are very proud of him too!)   Soon though, they will be moving to Albany, NY ...which is Jim's and my old stomping grounds. This summer, Alina will be studying for and taking the NYS Bar Exam and then, in September, she will begin her job as the new Appellate Court Attorney from the New York State Supreme Court, 3rd Department.

I teased her that the next step up will be Daughter of the Fifth House, Holder of the Sacred Chalice of Rixx, and Heir to the Holy Rings of Betazed. (We are a family of Trekkie nerds, yes indeed.)  

This morning, our family members all began their travels to North Carolina and will spend the next few days with Bean & Gonzo celebrating.  Since I was unable to go with them, I thought I'd write a blog post celebrating Alina's first machine stitched quilt.  But first, a little backstory...


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A Friendship for Life 

When Bean was an undergrad, she studied abroad at Brighton University in England.  It was there that she met Misha and the two of them became instant bosom buddies.  The two new friends set off on adventures all over Europe, staying in youth hostels and taking advantage of very cheap travel rates for students.  They even went to Italy together - Twice!  

The girls together in Brighton - Misha (L) & Alina (R)

When the girls came back to the states, Misha became another daughter to us and for a few years was a part of every family Thanksgiving.  

Bean & Misha choosing Thanksgiving recipes to try... 
I have to wonder just what they were looking at here.  LOL

Misha married an incredible young man who is an officer in the US Navy.  They just recently became parents for the first time, but Jef has been stationed away and was not able to be with Misha for almost all of her pregnancy.  He was able to come ashore to watch his daughter's birth via skype.  (My how the world has changed.)  This separation has been very hard for both Misha and Jef, but soon they will be reunited.   

Around Christmastime, Misha was understandably feeling quite low.  It happened that Alina was home with us for Christmas and had one afternoon free of commitments.   She wanted to send Mish something handmade to help cheer her up, and decided to make a quilt for the new baby.  

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A Quick Quilt in One Afternoon

What kind of quilt can a brand new quilter make in one afternoon, quilting and binding included?  Well, one with very large strips of fabric did the trick.  Misha's nursery theme was Travel, and I had a some Feather River fabrics from Birch Organics, which were just perfect.  Alina was able to complete the quilt and ship it off to Misha the very next morning.  Misha was delighted with the surprise and the quilt!

We used painter's tape as guidelines so that Alina could do wavy line quilting with the walking foot.  
We laughed a lot because she kept forgetting to move her hand as the quilting moved along and would end up sprawled across the table.

Ahh - there now... that's better.

 
A Quick Quilt for a Dear Little One
         
It's pretty amazing how nicely this turned out. We both could see a child having fun with imaginative play on these fabric designs.  The campground, trees, and river fabrics really lend themselves to this kind of quilt.

All set to ship!
Do you have any really quick baby and toddler quilt patterns that you turn to when you need something in a jiffy?  I tend to overthink baby quilts and this quilt showed me how nice it could turn out to sew something simple.

I feel warm and glowing inside just from thinking about Alina & Misha's friendship. We are very thankful that they found each other!   In fact, Alina just returned from spending a week out in California, helping Misha adjust smoothly to being a new mother.  

Thanks for visiting, because...


Click on the pup to leave a comment...

28 comments:

  1. What a heart warming post! I'm sorry you aren't able to join your family. Congrats to you and your beautiful daughter. Such great accomplishments! And her quilt looks so wonderful!

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  2. Congratulations to your daughter. And what a wonderful gift for her friend. Do you think she'll be making any more quilts in the future?

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  3. Move over Sandra Day O'Connor! Congrats to your daughter. I'm like you. Baby quilts stress me out - I over think them. This isn't a one day quilt, but Wombat Quilts just posted a gorgeous baby quilt that pairs 4 complex blocks with a large grid of neutral squares. http://wombatquilts.com

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    1. Hee hee hee Thanks Colleen! I sure hope everyone goes and checks out your link because Cath's quilt is Phenomenal! So Please take look everyone! Also, it is a splendid low volume quilt!

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  4. Great story! Gorgeous quilt - you are right we can tend to overthink things! Congratulations to your daughter. How good that you had the right fabric sitting there! (Justifies having a stash doesn't it?!)

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  5. Great story! And what a cute quilt! I don't know why I don't do "easy" more.... or at all!! I guess I really enjoy the whole process, but easy would be good sometimes. Congratulations to Alina on this huge accomplishment. Happy studying to her as she prepares for the bar exam!

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  6. That is sweet! Perfect fabrics for baby quilt! I usually go with pouches or bags for gifts :)

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  7. Now you have me wanting to dig into my stash and just make a quilt like this.... What a sweet quilt! And the revealing of your family and adventures and friendships was a pleasure to read. Thanks so much for sharing, Lara!

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  8. Absolutely charming! The large scale fabric is fun and perfect for this type of quilt ... it's pretty amazing to be able to make a quilt in one afternoon isn't it? Well done Alina! :-)

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  9. Sweet quilt and what an awesome quilting job!

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  10. Such a sweet, sweet story. Thanks for sharing. Congrats to Bean & Gonzo! Looking forward to Misha & Jeff being reunited! Soon, I'm going to attempt a quick QAYG quilt as a gift for a baby shower which is May 30. It's the Queen Anne Steps pattern from a book called Quilt As You Go Made Modern. I'll let you know how quick it goes.

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  11. Congratulations to Alina! She is so talented and beautiful.... AND a quilter on top of that!!
    I really love your "quilt journey story"... Isn't that why we work so hard to make quilts as gifts?! They all have a story to tell! This Travel themed baby quilt is adorable and clever. How fun for you to guide Alina along making her first quilt!
    Susie

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  12. Wow, good coaching mama bear! That quilt is so special, and what a story to go with it, from their original friendship to the birth of a child miles apart physically but sharing it through Skype...my heart goes out to Misha. My congrats and wow! you go girl, go out to Alina on a job very well done. (ha I meant on her graduation from Law school, but it could also be on making such an adorable quilt) Exciting that they'll be closer to you now, right? John and Brandy live just an hour outside of Albany!

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  13. What a wonderful post Lara and congrats to your daughter!! The quilt she made is really neat and I like the idea of using the painters tape when doing the curves!! Very creative!

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  14. Congratulations! A new Wake Forest graduate. Currently I live in Winston Salem.
    Sweet quilt. I can see a little one pushing cars, boats and action figures around on this quilt. She did a great job.
    If I need a baby quilt FAST, I look for a panel to sandwich with some batting and a contrasting piece of backing. After quilting it all over with a loose free motion meander followed with some colorful binding, it's ready for gifting.

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  15. Congratulations to Alina on her graduation - you must be very proud. I'm sorry you couldn't make the trip to see her graduate. This is such a heartwarming story - sounds like these two are friends for life.

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  16. This is adorable! It reminds me that I often try to complicate things when simple is best.

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  17. Dear Lara you can be proud of your lovely daughter and her husband. Congratulations to them both on their success!
    What a sweet story and such a precious friendship between Alina and Misha. The present for her baby is just wonderful! Things do not need to be complicated to be beautiful... I would rather say it's the opposite! (I love the fabrics of this quilt).

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  18. Very sweet story! Life is always better with a great friend. The quilt is lovely!

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  19. Best wishes to your daughter as she enters this new phase in her career! May she be as good a lawyer as she is a friend...and quilter! (That was one adorable baby quilt!)

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  20. What a sweet friendship they have!

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  21. SO much to say about this post, Lara!! First, your daughter's first quilt is absolutely adorable and I laughed out loud when I saw the picture of her with her arm all the way out on the quilt - I have so been there done that!!! And congrats to Alina! What an awesome accomplishment!! And to have a job waiting for her - a true testament to her talents and skills! I worked as a paralegal for 20 years - being able to go directly into such a wonderful position after graduation is truly awesome! AND, OMG! My #1 fan lives in Winston-Salem!! I literally squealed when I read where she is graduating from! :D

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  22. Congratulations to Alina! Beautiful story and the quilt looks wonderful, Lara! Baby is going to have sweet dreams wrapped up in so much love :)

    -Soma

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  23. I too can see a little girl or boy playing on this quilt. With so many details in the camping fabrics (front and back are equally interesting), along with the fishes, baby's eyes will have a lot to look at. Excellent choices! Using a beautiful printed fabric is a effective way of making a baby quilt. And for a first quilt, it was done beautifully, even with the sprawling over the table (I also do that sometimes).

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  24. Congratulations to Alina and to you what a great accomplishment! The quilt is really beautiful.

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  25. So darling! I love the pictures you took while she was quilting. What a fun weekend project.

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  26. What a lovely quilt. I love all organic fabrics. I'm from the UK. Brighton is a wonderful place and how nice that your daughter got to see Europe as well.

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  27. Congratulations to your daughter, Alina! Brains, beauty, and creativity rolled into one. You did well, Mom and Dad!

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