A Quilt for a Wee Friend

Friends of ours had their second baby recently. As a second child born to a family that was readily prepared with clothes, toys, love, and more, i thought a hand-made gift would be a good addition. It took a bit of thought to see what would be a good project.
I am wanting to challenge myself more with sewing these days and thought a small lap quilt would be a good idea. When i came across Purl Soho's April Quilt Challenge, i knew i found my project. Our friends, like us, love to garden, so a Vegetable Patch quilt was a good first real real quilting project for me. I've done simple quilt-like projects before (like my beloved blanket of vintage hankies) but this definitely was a bit more detailed.
Using the PS tutorial as a guide, i chose to make my quilt smaller - both for me and our new Wee Friend Ben. I am quite happy with how it turned out. I even personalized a bit with a little worm embroidered on with Ben's initials and some fun ribbons for him to grab at as he gets older. I love the red and white checkered backing, it reminds me of a picnic tablecloth too, which i thought was a fitting idea!

This project was such a good learning for me, as i know feel more confident to do the borders (a can fix the mistake i made with this, ahem, project. And i know just the quilt story i want to make for Li'l C!

Wedding Gifts and Wedding Trips

I'm off for wedding #2 of the summer tonight - did i mention it's in Mexico? I'm very excited to get away for a week, and have a beach vacation with my honey - we've never done this before. Besides spending time with friends, i also plan to take my very first surfing lesson, possibly swim with sea lions, and read a lot on the beach. I'm not sure what the food will be like (being vegan can be oh so challenging when away like this) - but i'm sure i'll get my fill of guacamole!

We finally gave our friends from wedding #1 their gift and i can share some photos with you now. I made a picnic blanket for them - and we found the cutest picnic basket to go with it. My friends are avid game players - from board games to scavenger hunts - so i thought a Twister-inspired quilt would be a perfect fit for them. I used vintage bed sheet fabric for the back, and i have to admit i think i like that side better.
Anyway, here are some photos of the quilt, and see you in a week, when i'm sure i'll post about my trip to Todos Santos, Baja, Mexico!