Monday, April 29, 2013

Modern Baby: Shapes Sampler quilt and giveaway

I'm very excited and honoured to be hosting a stop on the Modern Baby blog tour today.



If its your first time visiting me here at FairyFace Designs, I'd like to extend a huge big Irish welcome to you. I hope it won't be your last visit! My quilt design was for this Modern Shapes Sampler, pictured in a baby girl's colourway here.



The theme for this book and the tour is Baby Shower. Now, baby showers are only starting to make an appearance in Ireland, so I've never been to one! But new babies are cerainly showered with gifts and since I started knitting and sewing back a few years ago, pretty much every baby that has arrived in my family and circle of friends has received a handmade gift from me as part (or all) of their baby gift. There's something amazingly special about making a gift for a brand new baby!

When I came to designing this quilt, the starting point was in my (overflowing) playroom. Its not the first time I've been inspired by classic baby toys in quilt design, and for this one, it was this simple but classic toy that inspired me: the humble shape sorter.


The various shapes appealed to my quilting eye - I love simple geometric shapes in my piecing and am drawn to how they let the fabric and colour shine through.


When it came to colour and fabric choice, my approach was simple. I only took up quilting after my 2nd child was born, and never had the opportunity to make a baby quilt for one of my own kids, so I imagined the sort of quilt I would love to make were I to have a new baby girl. For this very special quilt, I chose vibrant colours and beautiful fabrics and mixed solids with prints which were perfect for fussy cutting.

 

It turned out exactly how I imagined it. Babies were definitely on my mind, and shortly after I submitted my finished quilt, I found out I was expecting my third baby, who was born at the start of January this year - a beautiful baby girl, who has been lucky enough to receive a wealth of handmade gifts from my friends and who I have been busy making blankets, quilts and clothes for. I can't wait to get this quilt back, when it has finished its touring with Martingale, to put on her cot.

This quilt design will, however, work really well with different colour schemes and approaches. I did a couple of other colour mock-ups so you can see, not having had time to make an alternative colourway with the pregnancy and new baby. All white solid background in the blocks will give the shapes a floating effect.


And a boys solid colour scheme would work wonderfully.



If I make this quilt again, I will definitely make the shapes in a wonky, improv style which I think would work really well.

Moderrn Baby is packed full of wonderful baby quilt projects, with tonnes of inspiration. And to celebrate its publication, I have an eBook copy to giveaway! To be in with a chance to win, just leave a comment on this post telling me your favourite baby name. Please leave your email address in your comment so I can contact you. I'll choose a random winner next Monday. If I cannot contact the winner, I will redraw.

Don't forget to check out the other great designers who contributed quilt patterns for additional chances to win copies of the book - the full blog tour schedule is here:

April 18, Thursday Jenny, StitchThis! http://blog.shopmartingale.com/
April 19, Friday Shea Henderson, http://emptybobbinsewing.com
April 22, Monday Jake Finch, http://generationqmagazine.com/
April 23, Tuesday Audrie Bidwell, http://blueisbleu.blogspot.com/
April 24, Wed Carolyn Friedlander, http://carolynfriedlander.com/blog/
April 25, Thursday Melissa Corry, http://happyquiltingmelissa.blogspot.com/
April 26, Friday Jen Eskridge, http://reannalilydesigns.com/blog/
April 29, Monday Sarah Flynn, http://fairyfacedesigns.blogspot.com/
April 30, Tuesday Dana Bolyard, http://oldredbarnco.blogspot.com/
May 1, Wednesday Amy Smart, http://www.diaryofaquilter.com/
May 2, Thursday Carrie Bloomston, http://suchitysuch.blogspot.com/
May 3, Fri Victoria Findlay Wolfe, http://www.bumblebeansinc.blogspot.com/
May 6, Monday Lindsey Rhodes, http://lrstitched.com/
May 7, Tuesday Pippa Eccles Armbrester,http://www.pippapatchwork.com/blog/

Thanks for stopping by!

118 comments:

Helen said... 1

My Dad is called Jack; when my older nephews were born they called him Jack but as he has got older and littler ones have started to arrive he prefers them to call him Grandad but I think there should always be a Jack in the family!

louoflynn said... 2

I have a Ruby and I love it. She's my precious jewel :)

Unknown said... 3

Other than my children's names I love Sebastian for a boy and Bethlyn for a girl.

Canadian Abroad said... 4

I always knew if I had a baby girl I was going to call her Zoe. Imagine my shock and horror to find out that husband got a say and he didn't like that name!

Wild Irish said... 5

Rose is my favourite name and I'm biased as it is my own, but what made me truly appreciate how beautiful it is was when my best friend named my gorgeous goddaughter after me. I've now grown to love it more.


happitots@gmail.com

DeborahGun said... 6

I love your quilt and this looks like such a fun book! Lucky we didn't have a girl because my hubby and I couldn't agree on a name - I always liked Sophie, but it was ruled out!

Fran said... 7

Love your baby quilt, very sweet! My daughter's name is Sophie & it's my favourite baby name. Thanks for the chance to win.

Lisa said... 8

Oooh what a lovely prize! My favourite name is definitely Alannah, I love it.

Ellee said... 9

My favorite baby name is Daniel. -- soparkaveataoldotcom

Lisa England said... 10

Well, I had only one baby and named him Kevin, so that is my favorite baby name!

Aideen said... 11

Paddy and Odhran are my favourite baby boys names :)

Lucy | Charm About You said... 12

Oh I love your quilt!! The inspiration is brilliant!
I love my kids names but if Lois had been a boy we would have called her Stan, which I love too :)

Worshipper said... 13

Hi - your quilt is wonderful!! As soon as I saw it I thought about that baby toy - I can't address favorite baby names
without naming Sherry or Beth. My faves -
forever!!

B Greene said... 14

I would have named a little girl "Anna" if I had had the chance. Love your quilt and its inspiration! Thanks for sharing and for the chance to win!

Janina said... 15

What a beautiful quilt. I actually have 4 favorite baby names...Sophia,Dominic Reid and Adler. And Yes those are our grandchild tens names! Thanks for the chance to win this book.

Lisa PL said... 16

My current favorites are Olivia and John. I have the pleasure of making a baby quilt this month, I want to thank you for the inspiration! Ravenroadquilts@yahoo.com

Allison C said... 17

I like the name Zeek. It is unusual and his nickname could be "Z".

alibear167 at gmail

EmileeHope said... 18

Found you thru the blog hop with this book! I like your quilting style. Love the baby quilt you designed! I have always loved the name Elizabeth-so classic & beautiful!

miriamka said... 19

My favorite baby name is Sasha. miriamka@mail.ru

Anonymous said... 20

I love ALL of my childrens names.but especially love Charlotte ! my first born name. Im pregnant now with my 4th and well ive used all my favourite names so hopefully by the time bubby is due we would have settled on a name?!
hugs xo
p.s love your quilt.

Lisa said... 21

My favorite name is "Zoey" because that is my grand daughters name. My grandson is "David". Named after my father so I love traditional too! Really would love a copy of this book!

Tean Porteus said... 22

My favourite baby name is my daughter's name Scarlet. She had this toy and I would love to make the quilt to remind me of when she was a baby.

Edna Mather said... 23

Opps I'll say again my favourite baby name is lucy!
Not sure about posting my email for all to see but here goes
edna@ednamather.me.uk

Rozz01 said... 24

My fav baby name is Elizabeth which is my mother and my daughters name. rozz01@cox.net

Debbie said... 25

Very clever and it turned out darling!

needle and nest said... 26

I've always loved Amelia for a baby's name. :) Your quilt is lovely, by the way. I adore all of those fussy cuts!

Nancy said... 27

I like the old names, lots of Irish ancestors to choose from but right now Sophia is in my mind. My son and his wife expect a new baby, gender as yet unknown, in late November and Sophia popped into my mind when I was thinking about the quilt I might make for this baby. That was an exciting thought for me...........we'll have to wait and see!

Cecilia said... 28

I love your quilt! My favorite name is Elise, which is my oldest daughter's middle name. Thanks for the chance to win a copy of this book. It looks great.

Katarina said... 29

As we're going to have a baby in few months my thoughts are all about baby names :) For now I like Mia for a girl and Gael for a boy :) It would be great to win this book!

Lou said... 30

My favorite baby name is Hayden... esp since that is my grand daughters name:)
Love teh quilt!

Katherine McNeese said... 31

This would be cool in wonky shapes and primary colors!

Gill said... 32

I've never been to a baby shower either! My niece is expecting her first baby so this book would be perfect!
Favourite name?? Rory!

Miggsie said... 33

My favorite baby girl name is Lauren. I love your quilt pattern, especially the boy version done in solids -super cute!

Annabella said... 34

My favourite baby name is Zaki ;) but if we had a girl I would love to call her Sofia as it works both here (being an Arabic name) and back in England. It's a beautiful quilt Sarah and congrats again on being published :)

KatieQ said... 35

I really like the quilt you chose to make. It's perfect for a little girl. My children are named Patricia and Matthew and they remain my favorite names.
katiequilts at gmail.com

Tamie said... 36

Congratulations on the new baby and being included in the book. I had three girls- Lauren, Hannah and Madison and now my oldest and her husband are expecting a girl whose name will be Margaret.

ritainalaska said... 37

congrats on the new baby and your baby quilt! love the shapes and how you got your inspiration. my fav baby names: melissa and michael.

Cindy said... 38

You know I think your quilt is pretty, but I really dig the boy version too. Great designs, my dear.

Oh my...baby girl names. I love Aoife. It's new to me and it catches me every time I hear it.

Kathy in GA said... 39

Favorite baby name, that's tough, shouldn't it be my 3 kids' names??? Or my 2 granddaughters??? Or perhaps it should be my brand new greatnephew...Jack, not short for anything. I love the shape sorter quilt - they are my favorite baby toy! Ksoppelt at aol dot com

Rebeckah Austin said... 40

I have always been partial to 'James' :) Though 'Philip' is getting up there too.

Anonymous said... 41

I love your quilt especially the baby boy version. Congratulations on your new baby. My favorite baby names are my daughters' names Miranda, Mariah and Mehera

Susan said... 42

My first born got my favorite name....Sarah

Deb said... 43

Oh my....so many good names. I think I like Sarah the best.

Jess said... 44

Ellie, after the character from the movie UP, is easily my favorite. I also really like the name Aziza. It's not common, but I read it in a book and can't get it out of my head!

Debi Hassler said... 45

Daniel is my favorite boy's name. Love the quilt!
kafleezer@hotmail.com

Debbie said... 46

I'm partial to Jessica for a girl. It's my daughter's name!

Anonymous said... 47

bobbini@sc.rr.com

I had two boys, but if I'd had a girl I wanted to name her Miranda Marie. My husband said kids would call her M&Ms. I disagreed. Now we'll never know.

mamasem said... 48

Cecilija -and that's my daughter's name.

cheeky monkey said... 49

I love the shapes and there are so many possibilities to play with fabrics! Great

Joan H. said... 50

My favorite girls names just happen to be my daughters' names--Beth, Mary and Jean. Favorite boy's name is Peter.

Mrs Flying Blind... said... 51

Oh you are so clever! xxxxxxxxxxx

Jennifer D said... 52

My favorite baby name? Well, we are expecting baby #8 this August, and that's our very problem! Mr. What's-his-name is running out of time (or so it seems so to me!). I really want to name his "Samuel", but my husband doesn't care for that name much. So we'll see!!

Congrats on your new little girl!

Marcia W. said... 53

Emma Grace
with nickname of either Em or Emmie

or
Ellie Lou
with nickname of El

Celine said... 54

Lovely idea for your quilt. My favorite baby names are my 3 children's name of course. And if that wasn't enough, they are called all sort of sweet names like teddy bear, bunny or kitten - all in French. Thanks for the giveaway

Unknown said... 55

I love your blog and your quilts. I cannot afford to buy any more crafting books right now so would love to win this instead!

My gorgeous boys are called Oscar, Dylan and Max but I always wanted a Daisy...

Jennie (cheekyhandmades.co.uk), a fellow quilter

Pearl said... 56

When selecting a name for our only child, my husband and I had a few rules: it had to be a name that the child would go by (my parents both went by their middle names and it was very confusing at times) and you had to be able to stand in the doorway and call the name out loud, as if calling the child home for dinner, without laughing (that ruled out more options than you might think)!

Leanne said... 57

It is so exciting to see your quilt in a book, congratulations.

barbara woods said... 58

With 24grandkids and9 great grand kids, I better not say my favourite name. Some one feeling would get hurt

Unknown said... 59

I really like your quilt and also how it looks in different colors. I like the name Taryn for a girl.

Shar said... 60

I love this quilt design. There are so many ways you can make this quilt. What a great idea. It is hard for me to pick a baby name that I like. But right now I guess I would have to choose Katie

Anita said... 61

Love your quilt! My favorite baby name is Elizabeth for a girl and Michael for a boy.

Beth said... 62

Cora is my favorite baby name.

sue said... 63

I really like the name Madison, and is nice shortened to Maddie

Keela said... 64

My favourite baby name is my daughter's name 'Keela' it means "so beautiful only poets can describe". From Susangrier@hotmail.com

Silvia LGD (Little Green Doll) said... 65

It's a wonderful quilt! The idea is very original! Thanks for this opportunity :)

quilary said... 66

Such a great inspiration for a quilt! After Hannah, Jessica, Alexander, Caitlin, Madeleine and Bethany, if I'd had another boy I would have named him Hugh or another girl, Emily :)

Bettina Groh said... 67

Love to win this book!! My niece is having a baby this summer... wouldn't it be great to welcome the new baby with a quilt from the book!!

Vicki in MN said... 68

Brevon and Bryson are my fav names for boys-my grandsons names, LOL
Love your inspiration for your awesome quilt!!

Betsy Grey Crafts said... 69

apart from my kids' names I love the name Darcey for a girl, and Ben for a boy

Jessica said... 70

My favorite boys name is Alexander William. I hope my next is a boy so I can use it! A girl would be Hazel Grace. :)

Cherieish at gmail dot com

SewLindaAnn said... 71

My fave baby name is Holden for a boy and Sarah for a girl.

Bethany said... 72

so much fun..I love you quilt!

Linda Christianson said... 73

Modern Baby is different and neat Idea. I love the name Mike, after my first love kiss. lkcquilts@hotmail.com

Rebecca said... 74

We chose girly names - Elayna, Chantel, and Alyssa. And a classic name for our boy - Justin. My other favorites are Chelsea and Derek.

This book looks so fun! THANKS for the chance!
ourbusylittlebunch(at)hotmail(dot)com

Chris said... 75

We have 2 children, but if we were to have any more, I like the names William and Isabel-those are family names of my grand parents.

www.randomthoughtsdoordi.com said... 76

your inspiration was very clever and you did a beautiful job on this quilt.

bee said... 77

i love the name Luke :)

Anonymous said... 78

I love love the name Rose for a girl but unfortunately it doesn't go with my husband's surname.

Ann
oceanian[at]lycos[dot]com

Emily said... 79

I love traditional names, ones that instantly tell if the baby is a boy or a girl. Eliza, Matthew, Sophia, etc. I'm not really into ambiguous/gender neutral names. BTW - I am new to your blog thru the blog tour, but I'll be coming back again.

jenni said... 80

Oh that is difficult! My oldest is Brianne and we call her B, after my great grandma Beatrice.

Kelly said... 81

I have six little boys, so I would be hard pressed to say which boy name is my favorite. But if I'd had a little girl, I think I would have named her Emma. So sweet!

thepaulsons(at)gmail(dot)com

MuzikalMama said... 82

Love your quilt! I would love to try the design on all white/light for the "floating" effect. Also love your inspiration for the design!

Favorite name? Wow...hard to choose, but I'll go with the unfortunate middle child - Diana Leigh. Both my late husband and I independently started calling her Ana Leigh before we left the hospital!

muzikaluone at hotmail dot com

Carla G said... 83

What a cool quilt! My favorite name is Zara, but neither of my twins was a girl... :)

Vicki H said... 84

I like Emma for a baby name. Thanks for the chance to win.

Lisas Mom said... 85

Lisa of course and for a boy Ethan. Luv your quilt.

annemarie said... 86

I love Kate for a girl - Michael for a boy.

giddy99 said... 87

My favorite baby name is Penelope!

Cindy said... 88

My favorite baby name is Emma- after my adorable niece! I love your quilt- very unique!

birdWatcher said... 89

Emily is a favorite girl's name. Would really enjoy winning the book. Hoping for a grandbaby someday!

Katelyn said... 90

I'd like to continue the -lyn tradition my family has followed so I like Evelyn or Evalyn to vary it up a bit! Thanks for the giveaway, this book looks fabulous!

Hannah said... 91

Eden is my favorite baby name. It's my little girl's name and I'd love to make her one of these quilts!

quick dot hannah at gmail dot com

Nancy said... 92

Favorite names - wow - that's hard! I really like unusual names, but not wacko. I really like Constance, after my grandmother, and the shorter version Connie...

Anonymous said... 93

I like unusual but not weird names. One of my daughters is named Zara Gwynne. Though I must admit it never occurred to me people would not pronounce it correctly - rhymes with Sarah.

Pat S. said... 94

What a sweet quilt! I can just picture a child learning his/her shapes from this quilt. Thanks sew much for this chance to win :-D

Trina said... 95

Ava -it's so popular, but it's one of my favs.

Heather B said... 96

My favorite baby name is Addison. My husband and I had talked about that name yeears before we even decided to have a baby. We thought we were going to have a boy first and we love the name Miles, but we have our sweet girl. Another name we were considering is Aria but our families said things like how am I going to rememeber how to spell that name. lol Thanks for the chance to win!
mrs(dot)hbraun(at)gmail(dot)com

Jacklynn Grimm said... 97

Gosh - favorite baby name??? I don't have any children, but if I did I would want it to be unique. One of my co-workers named her daughter Isla...a pretty name! Thanks for the give away!

Lisa said... 98

My favorite name would be Adam, I never had a boy but if I had his name would have been Adam!

Unknown said... 99

My favorite baby's names are Jillian and Michael.

Sandra Cooper said... 100

My favorite baby names are those of my children - Sara, Aron and Seth.
sscooper60@gmail.com

Anonymous said... 101

Your quilt reminds me of my kid's favorite toy from many, many years ago. I have a beautiful granddaughter named Maisie.

Rosy Sews said... 102

It would have to be Alex who is my one and only boy (but he would have been Amy if he was a girl)

Clare Mansell said... 103

I'd love to win this, my email is claremansell AT mac.com

Nancy said... 104

Sorry forgot the email! Njmontg@gmail.com

Unknown said... 105

I have to say my favorite girl's name is still my 21 yo daughter's Hannah Colleen ( yes, we're Irish American lol ) Thx for the opportunity!

Angie said... 106

I love the quilt you designed for the book...such a cool inspiration...the shape sorter! :) I like your mock up of the white background one too. Other than my daughter's name, Laney, I like Harper for a girl, and Luke for a boy....as well as about 100 other names! So fun to think about baby names. :)
amhalverson(at)gmail(dot)com

Jo said... 107

Loving this book. We have a Tilly and love it.

Anonymous said... 108

Hi Sarah, love your blog and would love to win the modern baby book! My favourite are Lillian Rose after my mum. I never realised what beautiful names they were until she was no longer around.
Janet.powell@sky.com

tubilinha tiacarminha said... 109

Gosto de Maria Rita e Tobias.Obrigada.tiacarminhapezzuto@gmail.com

Mary Ann said... 110

My favorite baby name? Emmett, named after my grandfather, he is 6 months old and asleep on my chest right now.

scottylover said... 111

I work in the benefits department entering enrollment changes and get to see lots of interesting baby names. My favorite at the moment for a boy is Jonathan and for a girl is Kathryn. It's nice to see some of the more traditional names making a come back!
Congratulations on the new little one and on getting the quilt in the book!
Sandy A

Lisa E said... 112

Of course my kid's names are my favorites. Besides those, I would pick Riley. Can be used for a girl or a boy.

Jodie said... 113

Well, I like Charlotte, but my husband doesn't. He likes weird names no one's ever heard of.

sigsbee00 said... 114

Before I had kids, my favorite boy names were Milo and Sebastian and my favorite girl name was Chris(tina). My husband didn't like any of those names. I love my kids and I don't think we could have picked any better names that what we finally decided.

Jodi - usairdoll said... 115

Looks like a super book! Three of my favorite names are Shawna, Alex and Jayden.

Thank you for an awesome giveaway and a chance to win.

usairdoll(at)gmail(dot)com

Anonymous said... 116

We love the name Hudson for a boy! Too many girl names to list, lol. I love the fussy cut Russian stacking doll in your quilt. What line is that?
Liked your Facebook page.
Jmoore.ia@hormail.com
Thank you for the drawing! Jewell

Red Red Completely Red said... 117

I bet children will love matching the shapes in this as they get older. Lovely design.

Stephanie @ Quarter Incher said... 118

Well, I love the name I chose for my daughter...Charlie!