Last year when we found out that my son and his wife were expecting a baby, I embarked on a quilt once we knew that it was a little boy that I would be sewing for.
I started quilting many years ago and back then I did all of my quilts completely by hand. I always thought machine quilting was cheating, but I have since found out that it is so much more challenging getting everything square on a sewing machine as the machine is not quite as forgiving as hand stitching, but I love the challenge. This quilt is the first one I have worked on in almost a year, so it was a whole new learning curve again for me. No, the points are not perfect and my long arm stitching could be a bit better, but it was made with love and is finished. All good things, right?
The backing for the quilt is this scrumptiously soft fabric called Minky. It's not the easiest fabric to work with, but I love how soft it is. If there are going to be problems on a machine stitched quilt, it will be on the back, so to be safe I used a soft gray thread. Surprisingly the thread behaved with the backing, which was a very nice surprise indeed. The quilt stitch I used was a very open stipple stitch, which kept the quilt soft and not too dense.
Wanting to tuck a little something extra to make it special for a special little boy I quilted his name in the bottom corner. I really do enjoy working on the long arm machine because it's so easy to be creative, but I know I need to use it a lot more to get more proficient on it. I made sure to load another quilt right on it while I still have the memory of what to do fresh in my mind.
Little baby Finley had his first haircut last week when he turned 6 months old. His dad wouldn't let it be clipped until the Bruin's hockey season came to an end. He loved his little guy's messy hockey hair…haha!
It makes me chuckle as my children never had this much hair until they were at least a year old, let alone need a hair cut.
We had Finley here Sunday and Monday while his parents went to wedding, so I had a chance to snap off some pictures. This one is my favorite….babies are just so dear. We really enjoyed having this little guy stay with us!
The Woolen Rabbit 
Your quilt is gorgeous! And Finley – so adorable!
LikeLike
The quilt is gorgeous! The backing looks very soft. Little Finley is so cute!
LikeLike
Echoing the “gorgeous” on Finley’s quilt! He is absolutely adorable! Those cheeks, eyelashes, eyes …… swoon worthy.
LikeLike
Beautiful, I went from hand quilting (family thing) to machine quilting on my regular machine. It sure is fun and different…who says 74 is to old to learn new things….blessings to you for sharing! Sharyll Stevenson, UP of Michigan.
LikeLike
That quilt is fantastic! I love that you put his name in the corner, I always like doing that, too. How fun that he stayed with you for a couple of days – I bet he had you hopping!
LikeLike
Love the quilt and little Finley is just precious, Kim!!!
LikeLike
Beautiful Kim! And oh…that baby boy. Adorable!
LikeLike
Your little guy is beyond cute! The quilt is gorgeous–I can’t see anything to criticize. You are definitely multi-talented.
LikeLike
Finley will have his quilt with him forever. You did a fabulous job. Finley’s as cute as they come.
LikeLike
Love that quilt! And OMG Finley is so cute!!! Those blue eyes……
LikeLike
I’m sure the quilt is just perfect! He’s such a cutie pie.
LikeLike
Beautiful quilt, and Finley is adorable. My 7-month-old needs a haircut (definitely getting to the hockey hair stage), but I can’t bear to do it yet.
LikeLike
Kim, that is BEAUTIFUL! I love Finley’s name in quilting at the corner. Very nicely done.
LikeLike
What a precious little guy!
LikeLike
What an absolutely beautiful little boy! Entirely worthy of that beautiful quilt.
LikeLike
I started quilting by putting it together by machine and doing the actual quilting by hand – I used to feel like “machines” were cheating…not so much anymore, LOL Finley is beautiful! I’m sorry the Bruins season ended when it did but I’m glad Finley could at least get a hair cut out of it!
LikeLike
That is a gorgeous baby boy. And I know babies!
LikeLike