Pages

Friday, April 26, 2024

Sea Turtles for Damien

My great nephew Damien didn't get a baby quilt. I knew when his mom was expecting his older sister, so I made one for her, but since I'm not on FB, I didn't know about my niece's second pregnancy. They live near Miami, so I don't see them often. Recent family events brought us together, and - surprise - my niece has a little boy Damien who's about 18 months old now. 

Obviously he needs a quilt. After all, his big sister has one, so he deserves one too. Making the quilt is not a surprise for his mom, so I asked her what theme Damien might like. After some discussion about tropical animals (we ruled out anything with alligators!!!) we decided on sea turtles. 

I found a sea turtle panel and built the quilt around the motifs. It was one of the projects I worked on at retreat earlier this month. Now it's been quilted and bound, and just needs the label. 

The upper panel: 

The lower panel: 

Pieced fish: I embroidered the eyes with French knots. I would have liked googly eyes but I think Damien is still too young. 

The backing is all turtles:

The quilt measures 41" x 58", long for its width, but I think it'll be fine for him to drag around. I very seldom work with panels. The two motifs were side-by-side on the panel and I knew I didn't want that layout, and I wanted it to be narrow enough for one WOF backing. So it was a challenge to figure out what to do with it and this is the best layout I came up with. 

I'll see my niece later in may for another family event, and I'll give her the quilt then. I hope she - and Damien - like it. 


Linking up with Alycia Quilts and TGIFF



7 comments:

  1. Oh, the pieced fish are a nice addition and I think you are right that the French knots are a better thank googly eyes for him right now (but maybe his mom can add them later??). Smart to keep the quilt narrow enough for a single WOF backing, and the narrow shape will be perfect for all kinds of uses. I remember making a LOT of blanket forts when I was little.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Oh, I think you did a great job with the panels, Jan :). I really like the patterns on the turtle shells and you found terrific turtle complementary fabric to go with the theme.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Very cute! Love the little fishes on the sides of the panels. A very happy quilt.

    ReplyDelete
  4. That's a great quilt for a young boy - one that he won't outgrow any time soon!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Looks great Jan!! Love the offset panels with the fish - super cute!

    ReplyDelete