Natalie of
Threaded Mess is hosting a block drive to create quilts for her local neo-natal unit, the Inova Fairfax Hospital for Children. Now I know I'm in Adelaide, Australia and she's North Virginia in the United States but her story touched my heart. As the mother of an ex-prem, who is now a thriving 14 year old, stories like hers and the amount charity work her guild does for their NICU really hit home. I recall the hours we spent wondering what would come of our little premmie, overwhelmed with the thought of how such a little bundle of baby could ever grow up to be....well, regular sized! Whilst so many of those rollercoaster thoughts are now dim memories, Natalie's drive made me recall our journey and reminded me that our family is part of the 'premmie club' and regardless of hospital, NICU and country, every family with a premature baby goes through a very similar experience. So I'm in! Natalie's idea is to make premmie baby quilts created from rainbow blocks using the Joseph's Square in a Square 12" block by Anna Maria Horner. You can read all about the concept, guidelines and instructions on Natalie's
Threaded Mess blog.
I've made one block so far and they're really super quick to sew together once cut. I'm thinking they might be nice distractions in between assignment completion this weekend. The idea is to create little eye-spy centres in each of the blocks. I used this lovely little pussy cat print that I purchased from Spotlight years ago. It's perfect for a little baby. I also have some blue doggie print, so blue will be the next cab off the rank. Looking at it now I realise I should have put the centre print on the diagonal so it ultimately sits straight...oh well, learning curve! I also used Kona Woodrose and some Little House by Annette Tatum polka dots and stripes that have also been in the stash for some time....and that makes me feel good too!
We've got the red matryoshka dolls, green hippos, blue puppies and pink pussycats. Putting the four together really gave me a feel for how lovely these little premmie quilts are going to be. I love the diamond meeting in the centre as much as the I-spy centres. 
I also made a few metres of rainbow coloured binding. The original fabric was an Ikea stripe and I'd had it cut for something and never used it but it will add a lovely bright touch to Natalie's little rainbow quilts.
I've made one block so far and they're really super quick to sew together once cut. I'm thinking they might be nice distractions in between assignment completion this weekend. The idea is to create little eye-spy centres in each of the blocks. I used this lovely little pussy cat print that I purchased from Spotlight years ago. It's perfect for a little baby. I also have some blue doggie print, so blue will be the next cab off the rank. Looking at it now I realise I should have put the centre print on the diagonal so it ultimately sits straight...oh well, learning curve! I also used Kona Woodrose and some Little House by Annette Tatum polka dots and stripes that have also been in the stash for some time....and that makes me feel good too!
