Made with Love

I like to give handmade baby gifts and when a close friend gave birth to a baby girl recently, she also gave me the inspiration for her gift. The baby was named for my friend's grandmother who had been a seamstress when she was alive. I remembered a little "made by" personalized tag that my friend had kept from her grandmother's things, a little red and white tag, the kind you sew into items you've made. That also inspired the color scheme.

Now, I don't do a whole lot of sewing. I can do the basics, but I'm certainly not an accomplished seamstress, so I tried to stay within my comfort zone but challenge myself as well. I started with some familiar projects - baby shoes for the fall, taken directly from my book, B is for Baby, paper and button covered hangers (also from my book), and two onesies. Then finally, a patchwork quilted blanket. The blanket was the challenge and I tried some new techniques and made my own binding for the first time. It's not perfect, but I think it's still charming and I hope Grandma Sadie would be happy knowing that I gave it my best shot. It definitely inspired me to get better and I'm already thinking about making something for my own bed or a quilt for my son. Next time, hand quilting! (I will probably go blind from the effort, but what a wonderful heirloom.)

To wrap it all up, I uncovered some red and white tape measure ribbon. The baby "card" will be a strip of paper wrapped around a vintage wooden spool. A few things made with love, to honor someone who was well-loved by those whose lives she touched, and to welcome the new life whose journey has just begun.

I made these shoes from wool felt. It's durable and easy to shape and has a nice weight to it. I reinforced the holes with eyelets to allow for frequent ribbon changes. I wrapped some additional, complementary ribbons around embroidery thread cards and attached them with a ring.

I used vintage fabric inspired scrapbook paper from Making Memories to decoupage child size wooden hangers.

I designed this decal using the font Quicksand (Dash), which reminded me of stitching with its dashed letters. I then flipped the image and printed it out on iron-on transfer paper. You can download this design (for personal use ONLY!) below.

I fused fabric scraps to pieces of iron-on adhesive, then cut flower shapes (using craft punches to create templates). I peeled off the backing, layered the pieces, then ironed them on at one time.

Inspiration for this quilted blanket came from the large floral and oversized polka dot prints. Both were cotton dishtowels I had purchased a few years back. The top is pieced together with the dishtowels and other cotton prints. The backing is a soft white linen. I quilted the squares, but also used the tying off technique in the middle of each square. I used a surgeon's knot for extra security.

Download Made with Love Decal