One of my favorite gifts of all time was a quilt given to me by an aunt for my high school graduation. I still have it 8 years later and can honestly say I've used it almost every day since I've received it. It went to college with me, moved to Texas with me, and sits on my lap as I write this post.
Before we knew the gender of our baby, I knew I wanted to make a quilt for this future child, to hopefully cherish as I've cherished mine. When we found out our little baby was a girl, something clicked and made it all the more special for me. I grew up crafting, sewing, baking, and just being overall creative with my own mom, so maybe this is the start of being creative with my own daughter.
A mutual friend had posted her version of this pumpkin quilt on facebook and I reached out asking her if she would be willing to make one for me? She politely declined saying she didn't do pieces for others anymore but that she would be happy to put the materials and pattern together for me. I decided, 'well if I'm going to make it myself, then I'm truly going to do it myself from the beginning.'
I found the pattern here on Fig Tree and Co. The only other project I have sewn myself from start to finish was an apron that turned out absolutely atrocious. It does its job as far as an apron goes, but... yikes. This pattern was incredibly easy to follow. Very clear instructions and if something wasn't clear it was outlined somewhere else in the pattern. I went on down to Joann's to pick out all my fabrics and got to work!
I complete my first pumpkin square the same night I purchased all the fabrics, and I couldn't help but run to Weston, teary eyed, so proud of myself of the first piece I had completed for our child. There was no nursery plans at this point, not one thing had been registered or purchased because we still didn't know if we were having a boy or a girl.. but this was the first thing for our baby and I couldn't hold in my excitement.
As I started to get the hang of things the pumpkins started forming more and more quickly. It was all coming together. 🧡 I'm not going to lie, I did get to the point where it felt a little tedious. Each time my machine would get knotted up, or I would have done an entire run without any bobbin thread I would get so frustrated and on one occasion I definitely swore and stormed off to bed.
And then I blinked and I had finished the last stitch. That's a metaphor for pregnancy right? You spend 9 months crying tears of happiness, and frustration, and then all of a sudden it's done and you have this beautiful thing in front of you that YOU made. Believe it or not but I hadn't made that connection until this very moment.
I'm so grateful that my facebook friend doesn't make quilts for others anymore. I'm so glad I took a leap of faith and decided to take on this project myself for my daughter. I've been using it as much as I can to "break it in" before she gets here. I can already picture her snuggled in it at bedtime, or laid out for a picnic, or folded up in her trunk as she drives off to college.
Why did I just do that to myself... I'm teary eyed now.
I wrote those words a year ago. A year ago today exactly. I never published this post, and I'm not sure why.. self doubt.. format.. denial.. disbelief that maybe if I posted it, that would mean our baby would be here sooner than I was ready for? Looking back at pre-baby Michaela... I was always so worried about 'the next thing' the next project, the next social media post, etc. Now, a year later, 10 months of having our sweet little Scarlett, I have been grounded. I'm focusing on the now, the present. Staying home with our daughter has been the biggest blessing in the world. Of course I have found times where I'm looking forward to the next day, because her Gigi will be watching her and I get a day to myself. However, I am continuously reminding myself that.. these days are so numbered. Soon enough she'll be off on her own living her own life, and I'll be wishing I we could rewind the clock to the time we are in right now. "Well what about another baby?" Well.... what if we aren't blessed to be able to have another baby? I'm trying so hard to give her my all everyday, and it's hard, but she's so worth it.
I mean... look at her
