Olivia's quilt

As soon as I learned I was pregnant, I began scheming to make a quilt for my first child. Since baby quilts only last a few years, I have decided to make twin-size quilts for each child that I have. JB's mom did the same for him, and we are still using the quilt, nearly 30 years later!

I spent nearly nine months picking out a pattern, resizing it for a twin bed, picking out fabrics, etc. The doc said I was probably having a girl, but since they did not guarantee it, I did not want to really start working on the quilt until the baby arrived. I would be a bit frustrated if I made this beautiful girl's quilt, only to have a boy shoot out from between my legs.

Happily, I DID have a girl, so I didn't have to go fabric shopping all over again. (Though let's be honest: a true quilter would never gripe about having to shop for fabric!)

A couple of months ago I finished piecing the quilt, called "Little Dutch Windmills" from Tammy Tadd's book, Tadpole Quilts for Baby. I am generally not a fan of baby quilts. A lot of them seem quite juvenile--I know, I know, it's a BABY quilt. That's just not my style. I'm not a cutsie person. But this pattern was classy, and since Olivia is part Dutch, and my husband picked out the pattern, I ran with it.

Here is a shot of it right before I pin-basted it. If you look closely, you can see the swirls marked in blue. I machine quilted the windmills, and am in the process of hand quilting spirals in the squares in between each windmill. A larger swirl pattern marks the sides, which I can't wait to get to, because it's so pretty!

It's my second time machine and hand quilting. I am getting better results this time, as I read zero instructions the first time I did this on other quilts. It seems that doing one's homework really pays off in the realm of sewing. Though I still have a way to go, I admit.

There are 12 fabrics that comprise the windmills, many from Sandi Henderson's Ginger Blossom line (which I am obsessed with, and want a bolt in several of those fabrics!), Amy Butler's Midwest Modern, and a couple Kaffe Fassetts. The corner pinwheels are also Kaffe.