Holly's Quilt

I started this quilt sometime in 2005, when I was pregnant with Holly & Lexi.

  I loved the Amy Butler Ginger Bliss line of fabric, so I bought lots of different coordinating prints--in both blue and pink--as we had decided not to find out the sex(es) of our babies.  When I was nearly 24wks pregnant, I left the house in a hurry for a routine appointment, with fabric for this quilt (and many other projects) laid out all over our basement.  I had been feeling great, and was shocked to find out that I was in pre-term labor.  I was immediately admitted to the hospital and started on multiple drugs to slow down my contractions.  It was a very scary and frustrating time.  I spent the next 2+ months in the hospital, and (finally) delivered two healthy baby girls at 34 weeks.  

We were in the process of moving at the time, so my aunt and sister-in-law lovingly packed up everything in our basement (my beautiful quilt squares!) and moved it to our new house.

 Sadly, I never did get to make baby quilts for my little girls.

But it was all worth it.   I love them more than anything!

When the girls were a little older, I started quilting again.

Mostly at naptime, sometimes after their bedtime.

And even on a couple of occasions with one of them in a Baby Bjorn, asleep!  

After we moved again, (back to St. Paul), I found all of these beautiful Amy Butler fabrics and quilt blocks, and decided to put them together into a full sized quilt for Holly's "big girl" bed.  Lexi likes red, not the pastels in these fabrics, so she has a different quilt for her bed (see this post).  

So several years later, the quilt is finally finished!

I used a pattern written by the ladies at Quilter's Courtyard (local quilt shop, it has since closed).  For the quilting I did a loopy, swirly design, my second try at free motion quilting. 

Holly loves it.