Making the Sandwich

So, I last told about getting the top of Eli's quilt pieced and ready for the quilting process. First, the back had to be finished and this is where I found a home for the gray and black striped blocks that didn't fit on the front. Again, I sewed pieces together; cut them up and resewed them in a new way. The back looks like this:

Even the "gate" from my backyard made it into the back! It strikes me as a place a little boy might play with cars on an imaginary road. The pieced strip was set into flannel for a cozy blanket! Now it's time to make the sandwich. For those who don't quilt, the top, batting,and backing are the "sandwich". It's those three elements which make a quilt a quilt! 

I decided to quilt the top as a sampler in the blocks surrounding the face. I drew lines, circles, echoes, and even some vines with my sewing machine. In the center, I created a face with curly hair, flower eyes, full lips, freckles and even a nose! I found several areas to use "Eli" as the quilting motif! At the bottom, in the white flower block, I wrote the quilts data: the name, the maker, the date, and the owner.

Once the quilting was complete, I added a tiny (1/8") inner border of golden yellow and black binding.

And here is our new little guy with his quilt. I think he wears it well!

In the end, Eli's quilt, "New Face", measures 48" x 57". It took approximately 60 hours to construct, not including fabric dyeing. With the exception of the black fabric, all the remaining fabric was hand-dyed by me. I like the continuity of using "orphan" blocks in my baby quilts; Eli's quilt has blocks from the wedding quilt I gave his parents, blocks from original patterns I used in quilts for Dennis and myself, and even a few pieces from the quilt I created for Eli's semi-cousin, Logan. I like those connections. I like the good memories and feelings that are linked!