Wednesday, January 17, 2007

Natural Hessian it is then

Meggie commented on my last post suggesting that maybe my brother and sister in law were joking about the choice of colour for the nursery.

Sadly the answer is no - they're serious. This is the couple I made the celtic knotwork cushions for Christmas. The whole house is decorated in nondescript putty colours. The wedding quilt I made them with pastel coloured background and cream knotwork is hidden away in a cupboard as it doesn't match the colour scheme (Blogger won't let me post a link to this but you can look back at it if you so choose in last May's old postings under 'My biggest quilt')

So here is the start of their baby quilt.

I've used a similar 'star in a star' to the cushion I made for us just before Christmas

They come out at 12" square so I shall do 6 of them (3 x 2) and then put 2" cream sashings with 'hessian' cornerstones which should appear to float. Then I'll complete it with a wider cream border. The abundance of cream will hopefully dilute the strange hessian colour. Then I can play with some more freehand feathers or something in the large cream areas as I quilt it. Finally a 'hessian' binding should finish it off.

I'm not a fan of two colour quilts of any colour combination and I could only find one fabric in my stash that seemed to fit the 'natural hessian' bill - even then I had to use the back of the fabric

I hope they like it because I can't say I'm keen - but it is their choice.

On a slightly related topic Nigel's cousin's wife gave birth to their second son yesterday at around 24 weeks gestation. Matthew John Bebbington weighed in at a miniscule 1lb 7ozs and was immediately rushed from the local hospital in Lancaster to the neo-natal ICU in Manchester a good hour's drive away. He's fighting for his tiny little life and who knows what the outcome will be. Because Cath's waters broke a week or two ago she has been given lots of steroids to hopefully give his tiny little lungs a fighting chance. We're all just holding our breath and waiting now to see what happens. Part of me wants to get a congratulations card and send it up to them to celebrate and acknowledge his arrival, the other part is reluctant to do so just in case he doesn't survive those first crucial few hours/days and the receipt of a card would just add to their sorrow.

He is of course in God's hands and I pray that he will survive and develop into a healthy little chap like his big brother Andrew. Only time will tell.

11 comments:

jodie said...

My prayers are with Matthew John Bebbington. Such a lovely strong name, I hope he has a strong fighting spirit to match.

Jodie

Mrs. Goodneedle said...

I didn't even know what hessian was until I read this! I scrolled through some of your posts, the stars and hearts quilt is stunning! Great job!! Prayers for the little, tiny baby.

Sew Create It - Jane said...

My thoughts are with you and your family. I hope Matthew John gets stronger each day.

Jane

The Calico Cat said...

We'll keep that tiny baby in our thoughts...

Doodlebug Gail said...

I'll keep Matthew John in my prayers. I love that quilt that is now hidden in a cupboard - I remember being amazed at all those celtic knots on it.

I'm sure that they'll be happy with the baby quilt - the colours you've chosen to work with look really nice.

Feeling Simply Quilty said...

Thanks for leaving a comment on my blog. I don't understand these blah colors for a nursery!! Camouflage is what I'm working into a baby quilt. The baby is a future hunter, I'm sure, but let the kid grow up first! I'd never heard of the color hessian-I think it looks like it sounds...smile.

His Office, My Studio said...

My thoughts and prayers are with Matthew, his parents and all of the family. I had two son born early spent time in the NICU and miracles do happen.

Anonymous said...

Prayers for the tiny babe. My granddaughter was born at 25 weeks weighing 790g and although has chronic lung disease requiring oxygen and still in hospital after 3.5 months, she is a little fighter and gorgeous to boot. I hope he'll be all right and go from strength to strength.

Shelina said...

My prayers are for his health too.
I didn't know what hessian was either!

I have a friend who is like this - all the colors in her house are shades of brown and green. So I made her a brown and green quilt, but apparently it isn't the right shade, so it is put away too. She wanted something brighter for the baby. So I bought her some fabric for her to make her own quilt, yes brown and green, but they are apparently too bright for her.

Libby said...

Prayers for little Matthew and all of his family, too.

Lily Mulholland said...

Goodness me Anne - that is indeed tiny. I hope for the best for him.

Love that you had to use the back of the fabric to get your putty/hessian shade right!