Embroidery Machine Applique Baby Quilts

I have always loved the look of applique but had never tried it. Then I discovered some software programs that had great designs for baby quilts. One of my teaching partners, a horse lover, was having her first baby. I created wonderful quilt using Smartneedles' Pony applique embroidery collection. I enjoyed finding all the different brown fabrics needed to make each of the ponies unique. The tails and manes were all created using narrow ribbon. Around each block I added a narrow inner border of barn red to help showcase the horses. I used the same fabric for the binding.

Another one of my quilts was for a couple who collects older model trucks and brings them back to all their original glory. Grandma requested that I create a red, white, and blue quilt with one specific truck. I search long and hard and finally found one through the Internet. I do not know what company I bought it from, but it is not my own design. I also made bumper pads for the crib in the same design. Grandma shared photos of the room after it was ready. (No reports on how the bumper pads held up through all the washings, but I know everyone was pleased with the overall look.)

The most recent quilt I made was another Smartneedle design called Kids Toys. My grandson's room was originally decorated with a transportation theme. This quilt was a real labor of love. I hunted through every scrap of fabic I had trying to put in as many memories as I could. Every vehicle was more fun than the last one. I even made bumper pads, but those are another story. (If you wash something like that on the heavy wash cycle and dry it on high for several hours, apparently it does not hold up. My son hated telling me, but he did save the evidence so I could investigate what went wrong.) The quilt still looks great, but now my grandson has a new room and a new theme--baseball. (That quilt story is for another post.)