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Monday, November 21, 2011

Mother-daughter quilt collaborations

I was thinking that I would make Last But Not Least a doll quilt for Christmas, using the design she drew as she was so excited about it. But, seeing as my kids have the attention span of goldfish and in 6 weeks she would likely not even remember, I thought I would instead make this a "together" project that we could work on over the weekend, between ballet, tap, hockey and several hundred loads of laundry. You know, life.

So we started by pulling fabrics to represent her purple, pink and yellow color scheme- I love how well the Anna Maria Horner print goes with the Hope Valley! We chose some Erin McMorris that I have been hoarding for 2 years for the back.


Next, I made a quilt sandwich and bound it up with some of my favorite yellow seed stitch fabric. Then I ironed some Heat and Bond to the back of strips of fabric, and then had the girls cut them up into nice wonky squares, just like in the "design"!

Last But Not Least then used her drawing as a guide and instructed her sister as to where the squares should be placed. I gave them a press and then sewed them onto the sandwich, ticker tape style.

Voila! A completed doll quilt. Smiles are free.

When asked if she was happy with the quilt she designed and help to make, her answer was, "It's nice and all, but I think my picture looks MUCH better." Can't win 'em all. To be fair, she was cranky and suffering from separation anxiety from Kitty, who was in the wash due to an unfortunate swim in the toilet at some point in the midst of all this fun. Life.

Well, for those of you who have more than one child, you know what comes next.

The Middle Child announces, "Don't I get to make a quilt?"

Of course you do. Fair is fair.

She is all about princesses and puppies, and since I have a huge stack of Heather Ross FFA2 that I am still planning to use to make a quilt for her bed (eventually), I suggested we start there. She selected the fabrics she wanted and got to work making a design of her own. But don't forget the pink puppies, Mom! Out comes the Pips.


I made this one wonky long cabin style, kind of like the blocks I had started with the Ghastlies. I must have been in a wordy mood that day as I chose another text print for the binding here, by Sweetwater (though I am too lazy to get up and go look at which one). For quilting, I just did some straight line quilting around the edges, because, let's face it, at this point it was time to make supper already.


The Middle Child was very pleased with the result (no critiques at all this time!).

So, my friends, that is the tale of 2 minis, made with my daughters, on a sunny and crispy cold Saturday afternoon. Probably the most fun I have had quilting in a very long time. And that's what it's all about!

Linking up at Canoe Ridge Creations and Quilt Story.

37 comments:

  1. How fun!!! I wish my kids could cooperate through all that sewing...maybe when Penny is a little older.

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  2. I didn't know you did tap and ballet. What level are you on?

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  3. Love it. I am not sure if I have the patience to do that with my two. Maybe though I will try it.

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  4. So so fun! I need to do that with my daughter. I think she would love it.

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  5. Love the quilts and the idea. Awesome way to make some great memories. You rock mom!

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  6. Kristie those are soooo wonderful!!!! You inspire me to want to sew more with my girls! I'm certain these little quilts will be loved for years to come and serve as a reminder to your girls of a special day when mommy shared something she loves doing with them! Awwww...I better stop....I'm gonna get all teary! The quilts are beautiful and the way you captured their drawings is wonderful!!! What an awesome mama you are! :) Glad kitty survived the fun too! ;)

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  7. Oh those quilts are adorable!!!!! I wish my mom did stuff like that with me when I was little!!!! Your daughters are very talented =D

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  8. What fun! You have two little designers already!

    Jennifer :)

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  9. What a wonderful memory the 3 of you created. It's so sweet that they helped eachother...love the mini's and especially the smiles!
    Smiles~Beth

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  10. How AWESOME! Both quilts (and both girls) are adorable.

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  11. This reminds me of how my children would paint in the "paint with water" books while I painted. (Years ago when they were small) It's so much fun to include the kids in these types of projects. I hope I can do the same as you did with my grandson and any future grandbabies I might be blessed with. Thank you for sharing that adventure!

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  12. The quilts look so pretty! I'm sure you had lots of fun.

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  13. Sounds like a great afternoon. Think I will try this with my kids during the holidays - just let them go crazy with my scraps and see what they come up with.

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  14. Great job ladies!!!! The ticker tape was a stroke of genius for sure and it looks perfect! What a great sense of accomplishment for your junior designers, and YOU to complete two projects in one afternoon. Wow!

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  15. This is perfect! I love the minis you and your girls made, and LBNL cracks me up. Of course she thinks hers is the best. She's an artist!

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  16. I'm a bit jealous (in a positive way), because I can't wait until my daughter will be such a big quilter like your daughters:)

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  17. Talk about fabulous. Both those quilts are so stinking cute!

    Just think of all the memories you created in one short afternoon with your girls.

    I want Little P to grow up now so I can do it with him!

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  18. What a lovely post, such a fun way to spend time with family doing something creative.

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  19. Those are so sweet!! What a great project to do with your kids.

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  20. They look so proud! My daughters love designing little projects too and they always help pick out fabric combinations when I make gifts for their friends.

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  21. This is so awesome! What a wonderful weekend activity. The girls designed beautiful quilts!

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  22. That is, indeed, what it's all about. I love collaborations with my DD - and she's 25!

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  23. Those came out SO well! Adorable!! :D I'm so glad you decided to turn the drawing into the real deal. Love it. :)

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  24. What an awesome idea Kristie! They look super happy with themselves and their creations :)

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  25. That is indeed what it's all about! Love these minis!

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  26. Wow! I'm impressed with both your daughters' design skills AND their patience and cooperation through the whole sewing process! Those quilts turned out beautifully!

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  27. Aww! That is so stinkin cute mate!!!

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  28. Kristie,
    This is one of my all time favorite posts! I love that your girls each designed their own quilts! What a treasure! You all look so sweet in the last photo too :)

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  29. That is such a great idea. I've seen others do a similar thing taking a picture drawn and turning into a pillow, etc w/ applique (simplifying the drawing).
    Sew cute!

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  30. This post is so adorable--they did a great job!

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  31. Both minis are super cute! And I love that you helped them turn their drawings into quilts. How fun is that??

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  32. so ridiculously cute! What a great idea! :)

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Your comments make my day! Sharing projects with others makes it all the more fun. Thanks for your kind words!