Baby Connor Had A Farm…

“Life is no brief candle to me. It is a sort of splendid torch which I have got a hold of for the moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations.” — George Bernard Shaw

Sydney is having a baby!! Of course a baby quilt needed to be made! I asked her if she had a theme for the baby’s room, and she said, farm animals. I thought it would be so easy to find a cute pattern for a farm animal quilt online. It seemed like a popular theme, but I was wrong!

Everywhere I looked there were patterns but none that were cute, or easily accessible! I bought one pattern book online thinking it had paper piecing patterns in it. Much to my dismay it was a very intricate pattern which would take months!

Then I remembered I had this pattern for a mobile and bumper pads. They now say that crib bumper pads are dangerous, but not in 1980!

The back of the pattern sleeve showed me something that gave me an idea! It was a wall hanging that would match the bumper pads. I decided to use the pattern and make it into a quilt!

I got the pattern pieces for the “wall hanging” out. The whole thing was to be stuffed and fluffy. I didn’t want it to look like that. I used the pattern to cut out the pieces to build the quilt, but decided to do my own thing to assemble it.

This is a picture of the cloud fabric, pinned and ready to be cut.

I had to make sure that the pieces were laid out just right and marked for stitching. This is the sun pinned on like crazy! I used a zig zag stitch around all of the edges to stitch it down. When the quilt is washed some of the edges will fray, but I thought it would be ok, and add a rustic look to the quilt.

Sun and hill were stitched down. Next was the cloud. It looks wrinkled, but don’t worry, I’ve got this!

Pinning down the pond. It wasn’t going to shift on me!

Next I had to pin the “grass” area onto the quilt front. I was really afraid that this much fabric might shift so I over pinned it!

Separately I had to add the window and doors to the barn.

Once the barn was stitched on it was ready to be quilted. Now, I don’t know how the Amish do it, but I use painters tape to hold down the backing fabric to the floor. I then lay out the batting and the quilt top. I baste it by using curved safety pins.

It was time to hand quilt!

I decided to use embroidery thread to quilt it, thinking that the chunky stitches would add to the rustic look I was going for. I hand quilted along the outside and inside of each fabric piece.

You can’t tell very well in this picture, but I quilted the cloud with silver. Since every cloud has a silver lining, right?

For the backing fabric I chose this cute farm fabric. I used the colors in it to pick the colors of the farm scene that I had pieced together. You can also see the chunky quilt stitches that I was making.

I folded the backing fabric to the front to make the quilt border once all of the quilting was finished.

I needed to make the farm animal and add them by hand. For the cow I had already decided to use Grandma Joyce’s black and white striped shirt for the cow’s spots.

Here’s Grandma Joyce in her shirt.

Then right in the middle of my quilt making something terrible happened. Jacob’s Grandmother passed away. I wrestled with an idea for about a week, I didn’t want to bother anyone is such a hard time. But then I decided to reach out to Jacob’s sister. I told her about the quilt I was making, and explained that I still had chickens to make. Could I have a shirt of their grandmother’s to use to make some chickens? She said of course, and got some “chicken” looking shirts to me right away!

Here is Jacob’s beautiful Grandmother, Judy Ball.

So I started making chickens out of her shirts and getting them placed onto the quilt. Joining Grandma Joyce’s cow in the barn yard.

To complete the quilt I added a little tag. I often forget to, but am trying to get better about putting tags on things.

The quilt was complete and given to Sydney and Jacob!

I guess a quilt is like a person, made up of lots of different pieces that make you who you are!

I can not wait to meet baby Connor, and spoil him with love, and of course, home sewn goodies!

As for me, onto the next!

P.S. This is the project that has consumed lots of my time, a labor of love! ❤️