Handmade Holiday Week: Day 3 - New Projects for Newborns

I'm at the age where my friends and family are constantly presenting me with new babies to coo over and cuddle. They're the easiest group to stitch for but alongside the squishy toys and soft rattles I tried a couple of new projects for Christmas.

1. My First Quilt!

It's amazing what you can learn on the internet. I was so clueless about quilting that I had to look up tutorials for pretty much every step - I even had to find pictures to work out how on earth to attach the walking foot to my machine. I was very relieved and proud that I managed to pull it all together well enough to be worthy of gifting to the intended recipient - my cousin's new baby Joseph.

The prints are all by Michael Miller and I have plenty left for some small projects so they'll definitely be appearing again. I love them all, particularly the bicycles on the back.

2. Quilting Second Round

My second quilt is destined for the new baby girl of a very dear friend of mine. I'm a little conflicted about the choice of colors as the orange feels very bold but it's so soft and snuggly and technically it came together well so I've still sent this off to her. The stripey pattern was inspired by a pillow I saw in a Crate & Barrel catalogue, and the colors all came from the print I used on the back.

How adorable are the little girl and the bunny hanging on to the balloons? You can see that I haven't attempted any quilting beyond stitching in the ditch. I'm going to experiment with some smaller projects first before getting adventurous on a quilt.

3. Baby Booties

Maybe these were a little more complicated than I'm used to but I found the instructions for this pattern to be an absolute pain to follow! I'm happy with the finished product - after all, who doesn't love mini baby booties? - so I'll still try a couple more of the projects from this book before I have to return it. My crafty partner in crime, B, lent me Amy Butler's "Little Stitches for Little Ones" and it does have some adorable ideas. However, I know I'm not the first to find her directions laborious. There are some odd mistakes in the dress pattern for which B actually had to find an explanation online. Given how popular Amy Butler products are, you'd think she could get hold of a decent editor.

Even so, I'm excited to gift these - they're destined for the new little daughter of my very oldest friend; I've known her for nearly 30 years now!