Pinkety pinkness.

Bella is often the last person to benefit from my work (apart from the presents my earnings buy her!). Actually that's not true. Thinking about it,  Jim is the absolute last person to benefit from my work, followed swiftly by my mother and then Bella. Which I guess means that it just doesn't pay off to be related to me!
However, some kind of early nesting urge has taken over, and I'm determined at the moment that my family and house should benefit from knowing me. Which is why I decided last week, amidst everything else that needs to be done, to make Bella her new quilt.

It's the first quilt that I've made for her since this  one, and I have to say that it's been a big success so far.
I don't know if it's the fact that it's pink (duh) or the fact that I made it just for her, but she's refusing to sleep under anything else and it's one of the very few handmade things that she's consented to be photographed with.

I've been choosing fabric for this quilt since my trip to New York back in the Spring, when I fell in love with the deep pink of Amy Butler's Coriander print and the pinky/orange of Anna Griffin's Evelyn print.
The fact that Bella is so deeply fond of pink is not something that has sat easily with me in the past. The closest that I got to girly pink when she was a baby, was dressing her in red. But as she's grown it has become more and more apparent that my little girl not only has a mind of her own, but she has one that's coloured pink.
Also, although I work with pink a lot, it is not a colour that I dress myself or my home in. So when I had to face the obvious fact that a quilt in anything other than pink would not be appreciated (her first quilt in red and white actually sits in the front room rather than Bella's bedroom), I struggled with coming up with a colour combination  that would appease both of us (I spend a lot of my waking hours coming up with ways to satisfy both of our determined senses of style!).

I knew that Barbie pink was out and that I didn't want anything with an overtly girly print such as ballerina's. And of course nothing commercial because although a quilt made purely from Cinderella fabric really would have made her happier than anything else in the world, we all have a line that we just can't cross, not even for our children (at least until their screams are louder than mine!). But other than that, I was kind of lost with where to start.
And yet slowly I realised that my stash was getting pinkier and pinkier and that it wasn't just out of love for my daughter, but that I was in fact starting to really like the colour myself. And so when it came to starting the quilt last week, instead of feeling a small sense of dread at  making something pink that would have to live and be used in my home, I actually enjoyed sorting through the different shades and prints of pink fabrics that I've amassed over the last 6 months.

Because I wanted to use two particular prints that work best on a larger scale (the gorgeous Starburst print  and a Liberty print that you can just see in the picture above on the right) I decided to create a pattern that combined both 6" squares and 11.5"  squares. This kept it nice and simple and meant that I wasn't using up too much of some of the prints that I don't have a lot of (mainly the pink Kincaid print by Liberty).

I chose the backing for a couple of reasons. I really would have liked to back it with more of the Coriander print but that would have meant waiting another couple of weeks before finishing it and these days I have to strike while the iron's hot or it never gets finished. So I chose an orange print that picks out the orange highlights in the Starburst print, the Anna Griffin print and the two floral Liberty prints. And in all honesty I had a couple of yards of it and it was big enough to cover the back of the quilt!

I kept the quilting really simple so that I could finish it in one sitting and used a favourite red and white spot  for the binding.

The whole thing took me a couple of days and I really am pleased with it. And really pleased that Bella likes it so much.
It's spurred me on to not only finally finish Bella's room - I had a huge clear out, rearrange and tidy up of her room last weekend - but also to make another quilt for our front room. I really want to be able to snuggle under a quilt over Christmas (I'm always cold when I'm pregnant).

When Bella saw me photographing the quilt this morning she insisted on sitting with it - however, she's unfortunately going through the stage of posing for pictures, so I ended up with a ton of pictures that look absolutely nothing like Bella!

And we both agreed that her beloved Pumpkin should get in on the act as well.

And finally, Bella had to take some photo's of me and the quilt..

(I don't care that it's blurred, I just love the fact that she's kind of made me look thin!).

Comments

[linda t]

What a lovely quilt for your sweet Bella!!
I am loving your color combinations too. Sooo inspiring!
I am so drawn to pinks and what I call raspberry reds... and now will look for the oranges that you used.
Are we blessed with yummy fabrics or what!

[Lilbird]

Beautiful - I love the dotty print for the binding! Perfect touch.

[Lina]

It's definitely pinkalicious. I love that you've avoided the ghastly barbie pink, the fabric is all gorgeous.

[Kate]

Oh wow I love it. My daughter loves pink also. Her birthday is the end of next week and now I want to make one for her. I guess that I really need to get to work. I love the colors of your's

[Joan Gibb]

Manda, the quilt is just lovely. I really like using the big prints in a larger block the way you did here. The starburst is awesome!
Bella looks darling and so do you.
Joan

[judi]

I absolutely adore her grin! She's so proud isn't she?

And for you..... I think you're looking great for being half way finished! I blew up like a whale with my three........ my nose took on most of the weight, poor thing.... you would have thought it would have gotten the stretch marks!

I also have to say that I'm working on Amelia's quilt and deciding on the colors has been the toughest part. I love the way you chose to quilt it.... I may have to follow your lead! Just a really fun quilt!

[lera]

Lovely.

[Louise]

I know my girls would just adore this quilt. It's just beautiful and a wonderful mix a colour and pattern!

[Alex]

Nicely done.

[Rachel]

That quilt is terrific! My daughter is pink obsessed as well, despite my attempts to steer her to robins egg and orange.

[paula]

The quilt is so gorgeous! You've done an amazing job pleasing both Bella and your own sense of style.

[kali]

ah, beautiful as always, and I'm loving the colour combos.
Little Miss is growing up so fast ~ she's a adorable.

[Dallas]

Oh, the quilt turned out wonderful. I really like the starbursts in it.

[Kristi W]

I love the quilt. My daughter also loves pink but I really don't object. I still have her quilt folded up in a bag waiting for a border, batting, back, quilting and binding. I guess I should get on that sometime.

[Heidi]

That quilt is lovely! I love the square pattern you used for the quilting. Very nice!

[emily]

it is absolutely beautiful!! i have a bella myself . . . and she is quite the poser too!

making a quilt for each of my 3 girls is on my to do list!!

[Cathy]

That quilt is beautiful - the pinks and oranges work really well together. I wasn't hugely into pink when I first had Grace, but as the years have gone on we have more and more of it around. Our house has become such a girly haven that people ask if I am a single parent! There is hardly a sign of Andy in the place! It's amazing what having girls can do to change your style.
Cathy X

[Kristy]

Pink is a bit like that it creeps in slowly and takes a hold of your heart. After 12 years of it's charms I even wear pink myself!
That quilt is just adorable and just look at Bellas face! Priceless. xxx

[Levineke]

i can fully understand your issue with pink - it's my son's (yes thats right, son's) favourite colour. he also likes to wear dresses and skirts and loves handbags and beads - i think he hangs out with his two older cousins (23 & 19) too much???? my friends assure me it's a cute stage he's going through and that he will grow out of it. but it's kind of hard when your out shopping for shoes and he wants to get pink sandals - i try to be flexible but i draw the line at pink barbie sandals!!!
love the quilt
i'm sure louis would too - lol
cheers
l
x

[Sue]

Ooh maybe I need my daughter to take pics of me to make me look thinner. Do you think it would work. I have to say that Bella's quilt is absolutely beautiful and one of the nicest things you have made (and you make a lot of wonderful things too). I was never a fan of pink until I had my daughter, but I am surpised now as Isabelle's color choices have changed and she prefers blues now.

[Di]

Pink or not that is one fabulous quilt! Your daughter is lucky to have someone who is so loving, oh and talented, for a mum!! And you do look thin in that photo!!!!

[rachel]

Manda.....your quilts are so beautiful....I would love to have a go at making one but am just so overwhelmed with what looks like a lot of calculations.....arranging......perfect machine stitching.......binding and so on......BIG SIGH!!!....oh well, maybe one day

Rachel x

[Concha]

The quilt looks absolutely beautiful! I cannot stop looking at it :) What joy it must be to make something so "grand" for your eldest daughter, something she'll treasure for the rest of her life! Congratulations!

[Qalballah]

It's the Prints Charming things that really pulls that quilt together isn't it? It really works well.

Lovely. Well done girl. You done good.

[zoe]

Beautiful quilt - love the pumpkin shot!