September 03, 2018

My most recent finish: the purple Ombre Gingham Quilt. 

THE BACKSTORY

When I was pregnant with my daughter, I made her a purple gingham quilt. Her nursery theme was owls. I used the perfect purple fabric that had lighter purple owls outlined on it for the darker purple and backed it with a gray flannel with purple/pink owls. That quilt could not have turned out any better. 


The original.

I should also mention that I am a firm believer in quilts being used. I had no worries about taking the quilt out and about. Well, maybe I should have been a little more concerned because some time in January of this year, the quilt disappeared. 

If I had to guess, my daughter kicked it out of her stroller on a run, or I left it at the park after a Stroller Mom workout. There is no telling where it is, but I can tell you where it’s not: in my house. I tore my house and my car apart looking for it. I called the park. I called my husband who had just left on a 9 month deployment (maybe he packed it? I was desperate). I put a call out on my neighborhood facebook group. Nothing. The quilt never turned up. 


Ready for a run! 

Still though, I held out hope that I would randomly come across it somewhere in the house. Well. Seven months later, and that quilt still hasn’t turned up. I know my daughter will never remember that first quilt, but it still hurt my heart to know it was gone. 

I vaguely thought I would make her a new one at some point. Maybe when she was old enough to tell me what colors she wanted. But, I wasn’t too concerned about it, or in a rush to get one made for her. 

GINGHAM QUILT 2.0

Then, as I was putting away the excess backing fabric from my Sienna Burst, the image of the ombre gingham quilt popped into my head – with the backing fabric as the lighter/blender color. I had previously purchased a Kona Cottons purple FQ bundle for a different project that never got made, so I already had everything I needed. I sketched out the idea in Illustrator, auditioned fabrics, and got started. While I couldn’t find more of the original purple owl fabric I used, I was able to get more of the flannel I used for the backing. 

A month or so ago, I had been laughing with a friend about how I am going “full Georgia” with my daughters wardrobe. I put her in pretty smocked dresses and bows any chance I get. Anyway, I was telling this friend about the matching seersucker backpack and lunchbox I bought my daughter for preschool, and how I was getting it monogramed with her initials. She joked that she drew the line at putting a monogram on a quilt. So what did I do? I added my daughters monogram to the quilt. 

OMBRE GINGHAM QUILT STATS

I love this new quilt so much. Its Gingham Quilt 2.0. While I will always have a soft spot for that original quilt, seeing how great this one turned out is so pleasing. It’s a little bigger, a little brighter, and little better. I couldn’t be happier with it. I’m still a firm believer in quilts being used, but this one will only be used in the house for now. 

My mom (a photographer) was here last week so we tried to get some pictures of my daughter with the quilt. She wasn’t having it, but it was fun to make her try. Enjoy the pictures! Some were taken with my iPhone and some with her nice camera. Can you tell which is which? 

I've written this free pattern! Click here to get it. :)