Nursery Versery

One of my first sewing projects was this simple blanket for baby boy. I loved the cute octopus and seahorse fabric. I didn't know that this was a Heather Ross fabric. I didn't even know anything about fabric lines. I just thought the fabric was super soft and cute. I wish I had more of it!

I didn't hoard it then, but I now tend to save and very carefully debate the use of my precious HR fabrics. I've purchased some older prints from destashes on Etsy and tried to purchase her FFA and Spoonflower lines when I can. Though I've been collecting for a little while now, it was only this past February that I cut into my FFAII fabrics. I think I broke out in a sweat while cutting and sadly I'm not in love with the final outcome.

So when Rachel posted that she would have a Nursery Versery contest, I wondered if I really wanted to use the little bit of plum mousies I had purchased. Then I decided it would be a good challenge and I wanted to not only use that but also some of my other HR fabric. And so the idea for my color-themed baby soft book was born. Using the colors of the rainbow, I decided to make baby girl a soft book using HR fabrics.

Another view....

The pattern for the softbook comes from Malka Dubrawsky's Fresh Quilting. My adaptation is that I ended up making the pages a bit smaller (we wouldn't want to use up all my HR fabrics, would we?!). The soft book also conveniently doubles as a crib bumper. We don't use crib bumpers, but here is what the soft book looks like when it is all spread out.

Okay, I'm being long-winded enough! Let's get to looking at how I used my precious HR fabrics and where these little Nursery Versery mice are!

The first page is pink! I don't have any HR red fabrics, so pink had to do (does she have any reds?). I used her Crafty Chloe fabric. The monkey's tag said "I made it myself" so that served as the theme for the page-- the things one needs to make sewn items-- thread being a basic one! And I also included Chloe crafting away.

For orange, I used Heather's FFA III line. I liked the idea of laundry drying above a field of flowers. Initially that is all the block was but then I decided that the little cowgirl needed in on the picture. So there she is...

For yellow, I used her sleeping princess print. Inspired by one of my all time favorite blocks, I added some curves and let the princess sleep in a field of roses. For green, I used another Crafty Chloe print. Love the unicorn and paired it with some feminine vintage fabric.

Blue is probably my favorite page because it uses the Mendocino line (my favorite). Having taken Rachel's (Stitched in Color) curves class, it was "obvious" to me that these mermaids should be swimming in waves, so I did a wavy block. It felt good to work with some curves again! And for purple.... drumroll!

For purple, I tried to turn to what may have been the nursery that Heather was thinking about when she created her design. I know she loves Beatrix Potter and that Potter adapted Aesop's fable about the city mouse and the country mouse. I used this to create my city mice scene with some mice eating out and then my country mice scene with the mice among fields of corn.

To round out the book, I ended with the same rainbow fabric as the first page and appliqued an image of Chloe sewing.

Finally here is one last attempt to get in most of the soft book when it is all opened up.

I did also try and put it on our crib, but the lighting would not agree with me. Baby boy saw it there though and I got the most rewarding comment ever-- He told me I had made his crib beautiful. He melts me!

This project was a lot of fun, baby girl will enjoy chewing on it (when she can get it back from big brother), and I finally cut into that stash! Oh and one more HR thing... did you know she just released a new book? It has many of her designs and I am hoping to Heather Rossify our place with some of her designs!

Linking up at Stitched in Color's Nursery Versery contest and My Precious Quilt Along.