New Year New Life

Welcome to our first post in 2014! It is going to be a stunning year...As I revealed in a previous entry not only do I turn 50 this year but a new baby Dallman will arrive in early spring-I can't wait to meet our first grandchild! On New Year's Day, Eileen and our daughter Virginia hosted a baby shower for James and Amanda. My amazing family and friends were all so very generous with gifts and many good wishes for the parents to be.
I created a quilt for the baby and I am sharing it here because many of the elements in this baby quilt will be a part of my 50th year project as well...When I am designing a quilt I always start with a "Big Idea." Over Thanksgiving Amanda shared with me her vision for the nursery. She wanted an untraditional nursery with a "woodland creatures." theme. She found a hand crafted mobile on ETSY which I wanted to somehow tie into the quilt. That was my starting point. I also wanted to create a universal theme of the circle of life-so I knew I had to include the 4 seasons and I depicted those with the changing branches of a tree. I machine appliqued a mix of my hand dyed fabrics and commercially created fabric and this is what transpired....

 

                                      This is the adorable mobile which will hang over the baby's crib.

 

Hearts and swirls seem to be a recurring  images in much of my creative work. I think it is all of my yoga training which makes me want to promote those images!

I also created this "inside out" squirrel and hedgehog for the nursery.

 

 Each animal is tucked within the other. It is 2 toys in one!

The party was a huge success thanks to Eileen hosting in her beautiful home. She is here posing with my mom the "great grandma" to be!

The party would not have happened if it were not for my husband and I starting our family 26 years ago!

from left to right: husband Billy, Virginia our daughter standing, seated Amanda and James, Me (Lucy) and our youngest son George.

This has absolutely nothing to do with the shower/party, BUT I had to include it in the New Year's post. These are toilet paper roll creations made by one of Eileen's boys. She displays them each year with the standard pre-school made toilet paper roll crèches. AND if it were up to our son James the nursery would be a Batman theme. They received a board book entitled "MY first Batman book." James claims he is reading it to the baby every night! His daughter will be well versed in super hero lore-

OH BOY-2014 is going to be a great adventure....

Lucy