When You Need a Little Babying....

I believe that there is nothing more uplifting than doing for another...and as I like to say...with the hands and from the heart. I'd heard about a young couple expecting their first child....and in financial crisis at the same time. I'd already started my 'Be of Service Day' baby quilt, but this couple are expecting a baby girl....and those browns were wonderfully scrappy....but not very feminine!

Luckily, my' hand-me-down stash' from a friend included a sweet fabric panel of abc's and little baby animals and that with its inclusion of lots of pink...plus finding some additional pink fabric and creating ruffles.....made a great baby girl quilt in a hurry.

Well, almost in a hurry...if you've ever done ruffles and ruffling, you know the simplest thing can turn into gathering trouble....especially if your math skills are ...ahem....deficient

I remembered to use crochet thread (with an overlapping zigzag stitch) as my gathering thread and that was beyond phenomenal, especially when compared to my old days of ruffled baby comforters.... or my clothing construction days of gathered skirts and velvet Shakespeare costuming!

So, if you need to make a gathering thread...use crochet cotton as if you were adding trim and zigzag a little 'casing' over it and it pulls to gather like a dream!

I added a little matching pillowcase...for mama, and I was happy with the comfy, cozy, and relatively quick and easy gift. And best of all, I don't even need wrapping paper for the gift. Fold up the baby comforter, place it inside the co-ordinating pillowcase and it's a great gift all ready to go to a new home!