The Best Baby Shower Gifts
Quilts are what most people are familiar with, I won't say everyone because there's always someone who is the exception to the rule, and most likely you have one or more quilts on your bed right now.
Blanket Quilt Another way to preserve memories is to make a memory quilt. A memory quilt can be a blanket or a wall hanging. You collect items of clothing as your child outgrows them. You cut the clothes into squares of the same size and save your collection until you have enough to make a blanket or wall-hanging. You can also use pieces of blankets or sheets. Be sure you cut a sample that is not worn thin. On blankets and sheets the outside edges are usually in the best shape. For clothing you would avoid the area covering the knees or the seat of the pants.
For each block you want to make also cut a five-sided piece of solid fabric. Make the sides angular, not parallel. Don't make it too big or too small roughly about a ninth of the block (like a tic tac toe pattern on the muslin foundation square). It will serve as your crazy, off center middle of your design.
String quilts made by women in Gee's Bend, Alabama, and Mid-western Amish communities, have become an art form. Their stringed blocks are often square in shape or close to it, with one above the other. Sometimes sashing strips divide the blocks. The Amish string quilts can look like stacks of small squares. This pattern is named Coins.
Place a few straight pins at random places on the surface of the quilt. (Anywhere but on the lines.) This will keep the pieces from shifting during sewing.
Making a quilt takes some time and effort. You may want to get started as soon as you find out your loved one is having a baby. This will leave you plenty of time to get the quilt done, and contact other family members who want to be involved in the project.
The size of blanket that you will give will have to depend on the recipient. Smaller blankets are ideal for kids while large ones will be more appropriate for adults that usually have king size beds. Materials that are best for blankets are fleece, alpaca, merino wool, and cotton, to name a few.
