Baby Blankies & Nostalgia

While visiting a post Mindy over at In the Loop was doing on baby blankets, I remember the baby quilt my mother had done for our firstborn child.  At the time she started, we didn't know the sex of the baby, our choice, and were strong on the color yellow. So my mom appliqued a bear with balloons onto a white and yellow field, and finished it off with darling white and yellow triangle edges.

Looking at the triangles, it looks like they were folded and folded again for a clean edge, then lined up before being sewed onto the edges.  Yes, the work is machine done instead of hand sewed, and I believe she may have had someone else possessing a quilting machine do the finishing quilting, though I don't know that for sure.  I'm still in awe at the work and time she put into this, it is a very sweet blanket, and one I intend to pass on when my daughters start having their babies.

  My mom lived in Missouri where I lived till I moved at 18, while myself and my husband lived in California.  Money was always an issue for the both of us, so we didn't get to see each other on a regular basis, but around the time I delivered a baby girl, a large box arrived in the mail.  This quilt was in that box, along with myriad baby dresses and hats and other little items, many of which I believe she found at yard sales.  One of the items was another blanket, this gay green number.

It's a printed cotton design, I believe one of those preprinted articles you buy off the bolt at a fabric store and stitch up yourself.  Someone stitched that edging by hand, but not my mom.  I know this because when I pulled it out of the box, it still had a piece of masking tape stuck in one corner with 75 cents printed on it, tee hee.  This blanket was in both my baby girls' constant company. It was great for throwing on the floor when they were first starting to crawl around, the bright scenery gave them something to examine when they were still getting enough strength to keep their heads from wobbling, and later when they moved from their bellies to their knees.  It was great to throw over your shoulder for instant burping or swaddling, and went with us to picnics at the beach and park.  It was washed probably twice a week before the kids outran its functionability and the material is worn smooth and thin, and there is a hole in one side. But it too will be handed down for grandkids to learn to crawl on.  Which is fortunate, since I do have the two daughters. *smiles*

My mother passed away about 12 years ago.  She never got to see my daughters in person, which we all regret.  I do hope that my girls can continue to enjoy her gifts for a long while.