Leif's Name

"Leif"
Size: 7 3/4” x 20”
Pattern: original design
Completed: January 2007
Made in: Hawaii
Given to: Leif Kalama

Machine pieced and quilted on a Pfaff Hobby 301

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The story: Cory and I took a pretty casual approach to naming Leif. We both would throw a name or two out there during the pregnancy and I guess we sort of had a list. But we didn't share any of our ideas with anyone and we only ever called him "Boy" (which we still do quite frequently.) Toward the end we both had a feeling we knew his name but still weren't sure. Then, the night before my due date I dreamed of this wall hanging in great detail. I had never made anything like it before and it wasn't something I had seen anywhere or considered making or been working on in my head or on paper. The dream was the first thought of it.

The next day, January 2, 2007, I designed and made it - pretty much exactly as I dreamed it. We still weren't 100% sure, but I figured I didn't have anything else to do that day. He didn't arrive for five more days and after he was born it was still about 3 hours before we decided for sure. It helped that he came out super blonde!

Cory found the driftwood stick at the beach and sanded it down. The fabric was all scraps from Leif's two baby quilts I had finished in December. I just quilted it in the ditch, but sometimes I think about going back and stippling the dark blue background - maybe when I have nothing else I'm working on.

Now, sometimes when Leif is going to bed he'll point to his baby quilt hanging on the wall and say, "Mama made that quilt for Leif." Then he points to this wall hanging and says, "Mama made that special quilt for Leif."