Taylor’s Baby Quilt

About two and a half years after Kenzie was born, Taylor came along. Many things were different. The kids were back in the states. We knew, this time, that Kelly was expecting a girl. I’d learned more about quilting. And my mom died about 4 months before Taylor was born.

Mom, who was a talented knitter, had made lots of sweaters and blankets and booties before Kenzie was born. She had a blast. When I knit, I do very simple, back and forth projects like prayer shawls. It’s a meditation thing for me. Mom liked complicated patterns to count and keep track of. She said it gave her something to think about. She did know Taylor was on the way and made one little sweater for her.

I think we were all feeling bad that Great Grammy wasn’t there to welcome this new little one with all kinds of things put together with love. Then I had an idea and the kids agreed. This little lap quilt I’d made for my mom became Taylor’s first quilt.

It’s a traditional pinwheel pattern I made in a class taught by Debbi Kratovil. Debbi is a genius at plotting out construction tips like which way to iron which seams and how to piece the blocks that make quilt construction much easier. I chose some of the Kaffe prints I love in colors closer to the 50’s quilts Mom was more familiar with. (She was not so much a liberated quilt sort of person!)

There are actually three borders on this quilt. A narrow, inner border in the aqua floral, a very narrow yellow border, and then a wider border and binding of the same aqua floral. I think there’s a madras plaid on the back and my usual thin cotton batting. I did the machine quilting, shadowing the pinwheel shapes. Finished, it’s about 45” square.

I remember Taylor having tummy time one day when she was quite small. She just patted the surface of the quilt like you would a dog, tiny fingers playing in the vintage-y wrinkles I love.

Taylor’s real love, though, has always been a bwankie that Mom knit before Kenzie was born. It’s a delicate, off white pattern with several types of openwork. Just the thing you want a kid to drag everywhere! Bwankie has a tendency to bweak and it’s my job to try to crochet and weave the openwork back together. I’m concerned that I’ve patched it about as much as possible and am keeping my fingers crossed. I think Great Grammy is probably laughing at me somewhere!