Baby quilts 1

After months of productive serious artmaking, it was time for some mindless sewing, putting blocks together and quilting them up.  I've had this quilt top partially made, pinned up on the design wall for months and months; can't remember why it stalled, but then it got pinned over with other things.  I think it got started when I was still making rail fence quilts for my book (a long time ago).  But I hauled it out last week, decided it should go to Vivian, and finished it up.

I've labeled and headlined this as a baby quilt, even though the child is now three years old.  In my mind a baby quilt is first, small; second, meant specifically for a small person; third, meant to be washable, draggable in the dirt, sittable on the floor, usable for all purposes without parental permission or disapproval; and fourth, personalized if at all possible.

Strangely, I never made baby quilts for my own children, even though I did for almost all the other babies I've ever known, but I have always been fond of that size for myself.  I have three small quilts that hang around in our living room and bedroom, perfect in size for just a touch of warmth in a cool room.  Lately Vivian has been drawn to these quilts, carrying them around, carefully spreading them out on the floor to lie on, wrapping "presents" in them, and covering her animals and dolls when they need to go to sleep.

I think she'll be visiting next week, and it will be fun to give her this quilt to take home with her for her very own.