September 30, 2010

One Little Monkey

My brother had a baby girl this month! I decided to make a different version of the original 9-monkey quilt... a cute little quilt with only one monkey. I made one like it a few years back which was mostly tied but thought I could improve upon it. Instead of really basic quilting and tying, I free-motion quilted a flower into the centre of each square and quilted the words "one little monkey jumping on the bed" around the border. I really love the border but next time I think I will quilt bananas into the squares!



As you can see the border changed for the better with my husband's valued opinion! The rusty red border really was too dark...



I also tried something I never thought of doing on a pillow-cased (no binding) quilt before. I sprayed 505 on the batting and stuck the backing to it. I still pinned it but it was much easier to quilt and I didn't get any puckers at all! I also thought I would hate the stained office carpet in my new craftroom, but laying the batting on it and sandwiching the quilt was a breeze. I just stuck my cutting mat under the edge where I pinned.



Here is the finished quilt top on a sunny day hanging from my clothesline on my back porch...




And here are some details of the finished "One Little Monkey" quilt...





For the backing, I used brown flannel with a stripe made of little squares of all the fabrics used for the flower blocks on the front of the quilt! I really liked the added interest :o) Pieced backs are becoming much more popular in the revived modern quilting movement (if that's what it's called)!




Here is the original version with the nine monkeys that was published in "Quilts, BABY!"...



And this was the first single monkey quilt that was mostly tied.



I will be making another one this weekend when I go to my first full-weekend quilting retreat! It is the first annual Quilter's Connection Magazine weekend retreat. I am quite excited about sewing for a full weekend without interruptions! I think I have packed way too many projects and supplies but I usually work on whatever tickles my fancy at that moment. I really need to catch up on my long list of baby gifts though ;o)


Enjoy your afternoon tea & quilted crafts :o)

38 comments :

  1. OMGosh, too cute for words!! Love it!
    Paulette

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  2. Absolutely monkey-lishous!! I love the quilting - you are so adventurous with the worded quilting; and the applique detail is stunning! What a beautiful gift for your new nephew! :-)

    A weekend of quilting sounds like pure bliss! Like a kid in a candy store!!!

    Hugs! Vikki :-)

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  3. This is delightful. I really like the way you are able to free motion quilt the words - that's quite a skill!

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  4. I just adore your cute little monkeys!! Wish I was coming along this weekend - enjoy the amazing food and beautiful setting at Edenvale...and you can never pack too much for a retreat!! Have a great time.

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  5. Great! Wonderful work!

    liebe Grüße
    agnes

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  6. It is adorable Laurraine!!! I love the colour combination you choose (*applause* to you husband!).

    I also love seeing a bit of the process and your beautiful back yard!

    Hope everything is good with you and the family and that you have seddled down after the move.

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  7. Soooo cute! I love the bac too! I wish I have enough time to quilt!

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  8. What a lucky baby to have a heirloom as beautiful as that
    Kindest Regards Linda

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  9. How adorable! I love your choice of fabrics and your quilting! Simple shapes with a enormous effect!

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  10. Perfect as always. Beautiful set of colours. Love those :)
    Jo&cats

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  11. All the quilts are gorgeous but I like this new one the best. The lighter border was such a good decision. I'm impressed with your free motion flowers - they are so even!

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  12. Ah, this baby quilt is so cute, your niece will love it,

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  13. Happy baby, who gets such a quilt! Thank you for inspirtaion!
    Holly.

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  14. What a sweet monkey! Lovely :)

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  15. Molto, molto simpatica la scimmietta!
    Ciao dall'Italia
    Domenica

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  16. Precioso quilt. Felicidades!!

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  17. I love this little quilt, and your quilting is perfect! I bet it was really well received!
    I'm sure you are going to have a blast this weekend, and knowing you, you'll be super productive, getting everything you took done!

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  18. Muy lindo te quedo. Me gusta la idea de solo hacer un animal. También me gusto el acolchado de bananas del quilt original.
    Saludos,
    Yasmin

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  19. Such a cute monkey quilt! Great work!

    Best wishes,
    Tatyana

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  20. Dear Laurraine,
    Let me tell you how inlove I am about your work.
    It's incredible!

    I was talking to my "hubby" and I was telling him about how exited I was while I was passing page after page of your blog.

    It's 2 am here in Argentina, so that's the only thing that avoid me to go to a shop and start buying things to quit or sew.

    I'm 25, and I'm getting married next april.. I'd love to decorate my home with some of your beautiful things.. And of course I'd love to try some of your desings.

    First of all, I'm sorry for my english. Spanish is my native language.
    Second, now you have a big FAN in Argentina.
    Third, I'll tell all my friends about your blog.

    Congrats!
    All your work seems to have love everywhere.

    Hope you're doing great.

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  21. cute..cute..and super cute! Love love it!!

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  22. Maria,

    Thank you for your lovely message on my blog! I could not reply to you directly and I'm not certain if you will see my reply. If you could e-mail me directly that would be great!

    Hugs, Laurraine

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  23. How cute is this monkey?
    I just came around and love your blog.
    Trillian

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  24. je suis amoureuse de ce petit singe ! sur mon blog chaque jour il y a un singe !
    j'adore votre blog !

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  25. I love it! You are very talented! Your monkey quilts are so adorable!

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  26. Simply adorable - the monkey is so cute!! Love this baby quilt... maybe one day I'll make one!

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  27. Oh its just so wonderful! Made me smile :0)

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  28. It,s lovely I like it better than the 9 monkeys quilt

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  29. Where would I find the monkey pattern. Thanks

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  30. So sweet! Just love it. Wish I could find the pattern.

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  31. Thank you for the sweet inspiration. I made a quilt with this monkey applique on it and my cousin loved it for his new baby girl.

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