Nothing is more of an honour than being asked to help create a nursery for a new person on the way. I am a firm believer that creating a space for baby is psychologically important for everyone and adds nothing but excitement. A nursery doesn’t have to be fancy and worth thousands of dollars, it just needs to be filled with things chosen in love and gratitude. That said though – a handmade nursery is next level! Something uniquely created just for you and baby is so incredibly special and when I get asked to be part of that I can honestly tell you my excitement is real!
In January 2015 I had the incredible pleasure of working with Mandy to create Brayden’s custom nursery set. Mandy is an extremely talented sewist herself and she knew exactly what she wanted. We worked in a navy and white palate with a foxy theme – oh how cute it was! And let’s be honest, Mandy makes some pretty damn cute babies too!
Fast forward a couple of years and it was time for Brayden to get a larger quilt. Mandy wanted something that could be used in the car, on picnics, basically everywhere a toddler can be. She decided on a rainbow theme and we set about to create a modern quilt that was bold, bright and super fun. I really think we pulled it off!
We decided on a chevron theme with Riley Blake Crayola solids for the rainbow and then a patterned monochrome fabric for the rest of the quilt. It subtly adds texture without taking away from the gorgeous detail. Mandy sent me a rainbow stripe from her own stash for the binding which was perfect!
You can see in the picture just how big it is! It isn’t quite single bed size but very very close. Perfectly practical.
Now for the sad part. I had great ideas of heading out on a cloudy day to get some shots of the quilt at the beach. I wanted to be all arty and creative but you know best laid plans and all that!
The day we set out to photo was a crazy busy one. I was literally a headless chicken and my time was limited to crazy windows. So when I had the clouds I only had Cooper and Hannah with me for photos. Now 11 year olds and 8 year olds can do many things but holding a quilt nearly twice their size in wind and rain was definitely not one of them. Little cherubs did their best to help and I managed a couple of quick shots. The next day the quilt was wrapped and posted because realistically the customer needs to get their order asap. That is always the priority.
I do love seeing Hannah’s hands and feet sticking out the side though – she manages to photo bomb most of my planned shoots so this seemed perfect for this one as well.
Anyway the good news is that despite the disappointing photos it is undeniable that this is one awesome modern rainbow quilt! I’m tempted to make one for my kids now actually because you can never really have enough rainbows in your day.
Mandy sent me this photo on the day the quilt arrived – I think it looks right at home on Brayden’s bed with all his special things. And I love that his name pillow is still in use – piccolo pretties are meant to be used and loved for many many years.
xxx Sarah
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