Back into it...quilting again

I know,  I know!  I've been a bad blogger and not posted anything for like six months.... anyway moving on...

So I'm going to do something that i would usually avoid today.  Normally i wouldn't post about making gifts until they had made their way to the intended recipient. In this case that person is my Nanna who is approaching 90 years old and not especially tech savvy (and legally blind as well) so I think I'm pretty safe in sharing it early.

I've spent the last month cutting and sewing and ironing, then sewing some more and ironing more; all with the intention of having a lap quilt finished before we head off on a road trip. Well its done! I made my deadline for once!

It ended up being a bit of a hybrid... its a lap quilt, and its a quillow, and its got a hand warmer/kangaroo pocket at the top. And to top it all off its not got any batting in the middle layer.

It seems my Nan is always cold so a lap quilt should be just the thing to keep her warm while she sits and 'watches' her favourite TV shows.

I wanted the quilt to be warm, but didnt want it to be too bulky so I've gone for a luxurious and warm minky backing, a heavy cotton middle layer and the quilting cotton top. The top and middle cotton layer have been quilted together and then the minky added last so it didnt end up with lots of stitching through it ruining the lush softness of that fabric. There's no quilt batting but it seems to be heavy and warm enough without it.

The kangaroo pocket at the top should help to keep Nans hands warm and stop the quilt falling off her lap at the same time.

A pocket sewn on to the back of the quilt lets it all fold together and store nicely as a pillow when not in use as a quilt.

Overall I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out. I hope Nan likes it too and gets lots of use from it.

The finished quilt

Quilt folded into a pillow