This Baby Quilt is Already Nearly 35 Years Old

One of the great perks of the quilt repair biz is taking in quilts that come with great stories.  Here's one.

This quilt was begun nearly 35 years ago, in 1980.  A woman started making it for her godson, but never quite got it finished.  All quilters know what that is like, right?  Over the years, it traveled with her on many, many cross-country moves.

Now, her 35-year-old godson is about to become a father.  She brought the quilt to me for completion.

She had completed all the appliqué and embroidered her godson's name in the top border.  She had layered the quilt and stitched around the edges.  She had done a bit of the quilting, by machine.

What was left was to close up the open edge where she had turned the quilt and to complete the machine quilting.

Also, she asked me to embroider the new baby's name on a separate piece of new fabric and add it to the bottom border.

I found a font very similar to the one she had used for her godson's name and made a few alterations to it.  I printed out the name and traced the letters onto the fabric.  I posted about that technique when I added a dedication to a vintage snowflake quilt.  (While you're checking out the technique, you might also want to go to read the story of that quilt - it's amazing.)

I quilted parallel lines in the borders and outlined the appliqué shapes.  I traced one of the heart appliqués and used that as a template for more quilting in the blue gingham background.

It's really a sweet design, isn't it?  I especially like use of eyelet fabric and lace for the lamb's fluffy fur.  I also like that the butterflies are made from hearts.  And yes, those ears and the tail are 3-D.

And I like that it's a family heirloom right from the start!

p.s.  A month or so after finishing this quilt, I found the pattern at an estate sale!  Here's the info on that.