Patchwork at Play

It seems that I just cannot escape my love of patchwork.  Not yet, at least.  And so... this quilt is made with 320 adorable, little patches.  Let that sink in: three-hundred twenty.  (I did the math twice and double-checked with the husband.)  So...

Let's get straight down to business.  I'm starting the bids at $100 because (a quilt like this would cost at least $150 on Etsy and because) I am in love with this quilt.  Don't worry, the husband knows.  Even he said, "I like how you did the binding in orange."  (I did not know that he even knew the word "binding."  He sure knows how to woo, eh?)  And as for me, I've gone ahead and named it: "Patchwork at Play."  Yup, I really, really like it.

Why do I love this quilt?  Let me count the ways.  First, it is a mini version of the quilt I made for Henry's bed.  You see, I have two versions of my "how I got into quilting" story.  Here's version #1:

I started quilting because I couldn't find linens for Elyse (5) and Henry's (3) shared bedroom.  When we moved into this home about a year and a half ago, I started looking for bedspreads that were boyish and girlish but could go in the same room.  After scouring all my favorite catalogs, I came up with nothing.  Around the same time, one of my favorite illustrators/designers, Sarah Jane, came out with her first fabric line, Children at Play, and so began an ongoing obsession on my part.  I had a lightbulb moment, too: I would just make Elyse and Henry quilts for their beds, one from the girl fabrics and one from the boy fabrics.  And so I did.

One thing Tracy and I like to do is to find our kids in the prints.  For example, here is "Elyse" playing dollies...

...so I turned that patch of fabric into a wall-hanging for her.

Well, one of the most popular prints in this collection is the large scale, children's parade.

I liked it so much that I asked my mom to make Charlotte's curtains out of it. Didn't she do a great job?

In recent months, it has brought me comfort to look at this fabric and to know that one day, Charlotte will be fully-healed (here or in heaven), and she'll be in this (proverbial) parade.  The other night, it finally came to me which character Charlotte is in these illustrations.  So, I shared this with my little girl:  "Charlotte," I said,  "right now, you're the one riding the pink elephant..."

Charlotte in her wheelchair for the very first time: February 2012.
She is physically delayed because the tumor has paralyzed her arms.          

"But one day, baby, you'll be the little girl who is waving the flags with both arms up."

One day, baby, one day.

Now this little one that is up for auction today came about because I had quite a few squares left over from Henry's bed quilt.  However, when I laid them out to see if I could make a crib quilt out of them, I found that I had enough, but that those squares would be too big.  So after a little cutting here and a bit of sewing there and making a few new squares from scratch, we've got this lovely little ditty.

This has a very nice weight to it because of all the patchwork.  I've not yet washed it, so don't worry, it will get that good, crinkly look once you do.  Let me show you some close-ups of the patchwork. (These finished squares are just over 2-inches small - perfect for little people!)

Playing "Rocket Launch Club"

"How to make a paper hat"

Chasing paper airplanes, rocket and radio, bicycle built for two

Come on... how adorable are these fabrics?  Quintessential childhood...


Charlotte likes it.

But not too much.

She knows she's a lady, and this one is for a little gentleman.

Quilt stats:

Back of the quilt

-Measures: 36 x 44 inches
-Made by: Me
-Quilted by: Me
-Binding is machine-stitched for added durability
-Fabrics: From my stash (the white is Kona
  cotton, and the prints are Sarah Jane for   
   Michael Miller)
-Comes from a pet-free/smoke-free home

Auction details:
Please place a bid in the comment section below. If you are posting as "anonymous," please be sure to leave your name in your comment.
 - Starting bid: $100, increase by $5 (minimum)
      (100% of proceeds go toward brain cancer  
         research)
 - Auction ends: Wednesday, March 13,
                          at 8 pm EST.


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Coming up: we'll do another little girl quilt this Thursday, so please check back then.

Our first "grown-up" throw quilt will open for auction Monday, March 18, so don't go away.  Just to whet your palate a bit, the quilt came in the mail this week.  It's a beauty....