Wednesday, September 1, 2010

The Monkey Quilt



(Above: D is super cute even when preggo! Below: She really liked her quilt!)
In April, we learned that our great friends, Diana and Kevin, are having a baby boy! He's due to arrive in October and we are still eagerly awaiting the birth announcement and the great news. For a while, I've wanted to try my hand at a quilt. Melissa Wheeler (yep you Melissa!) inspired me with her quilt way back in Savannah, and so I have been churning little ideas around in my head for nearly 2 years! In addition, my friend, Diana, is a pro when it comes to knitting sweaters and gifts. She's made me some of the most beautiful things that I have in my closet, so I wanted to make her something super special too!

This summer, I had my chance to put my sewing machine where my mouth was! Diana and Kevin decorated their nursery with a jungle theme, and they've been referring to their little boy as their little monkey.... hence the little monkey quilt. I poked around online and found a few cute monkey quilts and fabrics. I ordered some Moda sock-monkey fabric from fabric.com, and then added in other patterns and colors as needed. For the back of the quilt I used a soft light green minky fabric. The best part was piecing together a happy little monkey on the front. I used remnants from my fabric tote and came up with a silly but super-cute monkey with his arms raised. Unfortunately, I didn't take a close-up picture of the monkey--- but you can still see it in the pictures.


The quilt took me FOREVER, but it was a joy to make and it was so fun to complete. I didn't know how to bind a quilt, so I stitched the front and back together like a pillow, turned them inside out and then top-stitched around the border. It's not a perfect quilt, but it's a quilt made with love and made to be loved! Enjoy!

4 comments:

Melissa said...

i absolutely LOVE that quilt!!! so precious. is there anything you CAN'T do katie!?! you impress me beyond words!

Katie said...

yes... I can't do physics or calculus :-) Thank you though! You're the same way Melissa! (and you can probably do physics and calc too)

Melissa said...

Katie, I am so happy my quilt was an inspiration!!! I finished one for my sister in August, but forgot to take pics before sending it away. I'll have to have her take some so I can share it with you.

Your monkey quilt is ADORABLE! I love how you used the monkey socks fabric and appliqued a monkey on the front. What a special SPECIAL gift for your friend. I'm sure her new little boy will put it to good use. Soren has formed an attachment to the baby blankets my family made for him. I hope that happens with your quilt.

Katie said...

Thanks Melissa W! I hope so too! That's really neat that Scott grew up at the base of Mt. Diablo... what a small world it is! Where is Mt. Diablo?