Let me just warn you - this post is very picture-heavy! I started Britton's third birthday quilt before she turned two years old, and it has taken me over a year to complete it. I thought I could get it finished before her birthday, but the hotel room proved to be too tight a space to even pull out my sewing machine. This week I vowed that the quilt would be finished. As soon as I found the November block, which went missing!
I don't know where I got the idea for this quilt, because I haven't ever seen a calendar quilt before. But I think it began when Memaw and I were browsing Jo-Anns one day, and remarked on the holiday-specific fabric. As a rule, the holiday fabric tends to be over-the-top and gaudy, but I had an idea of making each block with holiday fabric related to that month. I was also looking to try my hand at a sampler, where each block of the quilt is a different pattern. Hence, Britton's calendar quilt! And I started it with August, since that is her birthday month.
The backing fabric - just adorable. Of course, it wasn't wide enough, so I tacked on some blue plaid I had found at an antiques mall.
This binding color was my third choice. The first choice turned out to be too busy, the second was too dark, and then I remembered this orange flowered fabric I had picked up from Wal-Mart on clearance months ago for $3 per yard. It just worked!
Now for the blocks! Each block is a different pattern, but I have no idea what the name of any of the patterns is! I just wanted each to be different, and of course it had to be a nine-patch pattern so I'd have the white middle square for the month name. The months are just stitched on with cross-stitching embroidery floss, and admittedly I had no idea what I was doing so they are a little wonky and uneven. Adds to the charm!
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| August - Britton's birthday month |
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| September - apples for school beginning again (even though Britton isn't in school yet!), and Mickey Mouse ears because our annual Disney trip is in September |
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| October - Halloween! My favorite holiday! |
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| November - I'll admit it - it's hard to find cute Thanksgiving fabric. |
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| December - my lighting is bad in this photo because the fabrics are cream, not yellow. Love the vintage Santas and Christmas light strands! |
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| January - snow flakes |
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| February - both fabrics look like dots, but are actually tiny hearts |
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| March - shamrocks for St. Patty's Day |
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| April showers - the fabric with the little kids and umbrellas is one of my all-time favorite fabrics |
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| Bring May flowers - the hardest, most time-consuming block of the lot. I will never do this pattern again ever. |
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| June - hard because there isn't a holiday, so I went with watermelon because Britton can eat her weight in watermelon |
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| July 4th! |
I gave the quilt to Britton today, and she loved all the colors. I think she was still on belated birthday overload from the playset, so I didn't push her to listen to me explain all the details. She's three years old, so it's not like she's going to understand all the emotional significance yet. Sadie has been plotting all day about stealing the quilt for herself! It was a fun quilt to make, and shopping for fabrics each month was new to me. Fabric stores never put out all holidays at once, so tackling this quilt meant that there wasn't a finish line to race to - it forced me to take my time.
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