Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Baby Julia

I finished the gift for baby Julia, with plenty of time as we haven't been able to go meet her yet. I decided on this sweet hat pattern from the book One Skein by Leigh Radford. I used the softest bamboo yarn (on clearance at my LYS.) It turned out cute, but super tiny. I'm going to have to give it to her quick so she gets a chance to wear it. The first 18 rows of this hat look like a jumbled mess until you get done with them, but then they pretty design finally shows up and it all seems worth it. The rest of the hat is a breeze. I also made this very simple baby quilt. It's about 40 inches square, made with simple fabric from JoAnn's with a vintage chenille bedspread backing. With the heavier than usual backing and the batting in the middle, the quilt turned out pretty thick and heavy - perfect for a play mat I think.

Gift giving is one area that I try really hard to stay on budget mostly by using what I already have to make something. I bought all the fabric for the top specifically for this project instead of using my stash though (just nothing baby-ish in there.) But, I bought enough fabric for 2 baby quilts, and used a coupon so the total cost per quilt was around $6 since I already had the batting and the chenille on hand. I already pieced the other top, so it will be a quick finish when the next baby girl comes around. I think it turned out to be a special gift at a great price.

4 comments:

Katherine said...

I adore handmade gifts and you have a great combination here, Roxanne. Sweet little hat and a lovely baby quilt.

Clever you for making all this handmade goodness and getting sale prices on the materials!

maggiegracecreates said...

How cute - love the little hat.

Anonymous said...

That hat is a delight and looks like the sweetest thing to top a darling baby girl. I look good in pink, too. I'm just saying.

Amanda Jean said...

i love the little quilt. and what a great bargain you got on all the materials. you go, girl! the hat is so sweet, too. i love that one skein book so much!