Annalee's Quilt

What a joy it is to celebrate the birth of a baby girl! She's the first daughter of the daughter of a dear friend that I've known for over 20 years. Two brothers and five boy cousins lined up to meet her!

I wanted to make a rag quilt for Baby Girl, and I knew that lace and rosebuds were not in the genetic make-up of this child. As gentle and feminine as my friend is, she can also cock a shotgun to run off pecan poachers, rebuild an engine, wire a new home under construction, and castrate a bull. She does it all in well-worn boots, with a pink baseball cap covering her strawberry blonde head. Now, don't get me wrong, she looks like a lady on a Sunday morning. Cleans up real good, as they say. And she has the gift of mercy so deep that every child in the county lovingly calls her Mimi; and every stray animal and person for miles knows that her home and heart are safe and warm. She's just never been afraid to get her knuckles skinned up.

And, you know what they say about the apple . . . daughter didn't fall far from the tree. I'm so grateful that my path crossed that of this freckle-faced, fun-loving adventuress. I call her my friend as well. She was in elementary school when we moved into the community; we share lots of life history. She has grown, graduated, married her high school sweetheart, taught school, adopted a son, given birth to a second son, and now . . . this little bundle!

Brief back story aside, I wanted to find just the right fabric for Baby Girl's rag quilt. It was so much fun to collect the fabric story for Annalee's special gift. My inspiration was Michael Miller's retro Lil' Cowgirl fabric from Hobby Lobby. Here it is:

Chickens, pigtails, boots, and denim

Stick horse, John Deere print

Bandana-like print, green polka dots,
brown straw, and, yes, a few roses

Puppies, trikes, wagons, and John Deere

It was a delight to put this quilt together. Here's what it looks like all finished:

Annalee's Quilt

The Lil' Cowgirl fabric was cut in wider strips
to show all the cuteness.
6 other companion fabrics complement.

Here's the back--all lime-green bandana print
with a top and bottom strip of Lil' Cowgirls.

God Bless you, Baby Girl! Keep those two big brothers and boy cousins in line, okay?


BTW--if you want a rag quilt tutorial, check mine out here.