Not so long ago one of my very best friends, Tiffany, called to tell me she was pregnant. Saying I was overly excited for her would be an understatement. I was absolutely ecstatic that an adorable baby would soon make it's way into the world and be part of such a wonderful family. Tiffany kept me posted all throughout her pregnancy with pictures, face time chats, and texts. With too many states between us I longed for afternoon chats, dinners, games and the thought provoking conversations of days when the distance was the width of the parking lot.
I knew that I wanted to make a special blanket to welcome Tiffany's baby. The tricky part for me was that the gender of the baby wasn't going to be revealed until he or she was born. I thought for weeks and months about what kind of quilt I would make. I looked everywhere for ideas and never found something gender neutral that I was in love with.
So, I anxiously awaited baby Nay's arrival so I could get to work.
After much anticipation, guessing, and wagers baby Nay came and it was a BOY! Adorable sweet little Eames was here and I knew a snuggly blanket needed to be sent his way! I firmly believe in the power of a good snuggle blanket. Growing up I had my favorite ABC pink blanket given to me at infancy. That thing was tucked in with me every night, without fail. After years of sleeping on a trundle bed, my poor blanket was ripped and torn. The day bed my trundle went under had springs that snagged and tore my poor blankey. Mom knew how much my blanket meant to me and set to work mending it the best she could. When she was done it wasn't necessarily pretty, but to me it was as good as new! After a whole lot of snuggling and loving, my childhood blanket has become an object associated with sweet memories of bed time routines, night time chatting with my sister, and regular leg wars between beds. Now blankey is kept in a special place in an effort to hold on and cherish the nostalgic days of years gone by. With best effort mends and really worn fabric, the comfort and warmth blankey brought over and over again remains. As an almost 25 year old I still have multiple favorite "blankeys" that love a quality snuggle. The comfort offered by a blanket from day to day, month to month, is something to share.
MDill and I had been to the fabric store just two days before Eames was born. While looking for other fabric we stumbled across a few options for baby Nay's blanket, whether it was a boy or a girl. We fell in love with a dinosaur print and crossed our fingers that baby would be a boy. As soon as we got word the Eames was born we set off to the fabric store and I got to work making a very simple but cute quilt. Strip by strip I fell more and more love for the sweet baby boy. I couldn't wait to send the finished quilt on its way. After a few hours of work, a whole lot of love, and relatively few sewing frustrations, the quilt was complete and I was in love. MDill and I packed it up with a few other items for Eamesy (that's what I call him) and literally shipped it from the West Coast all the way to the East Coast.
And now... a special part of me and my love is there with sweet Eames and his adorable Mommy helping keep them warm, cozy and comforted.
