Fawnest's World of Quilts

Allow me to introduce y’all to our precious little Princess Dax, our 5 year old Border Aussie, pictured here with her very own puppy quilt. My partner and I adopted her almost a year ago and she has brought so much joy into our lives, so I wanted to give her a special gift to make her feel treasured. We spoil the pants off of this dog and this quilt is just one more way for me to treat her like the fancy little princess she is. She was named after Dax on Star Trek Deep Space Nine because she’s got cute little Trill spots! 

When we got Dax, she had clearly been mistreated in her life and the previous owners neglected her. She had fleas, some kind of weird butt fungus, she was filthy, and would flinch sometimes when we’d reach to pet her, but she was such a sweet little baby who was ready to be part of a family who would treat her right. The day we got her, she was so ready to come home that she jumped right in the car with us without much of a goodbye to her previous family, it’s like she knew from the moment we met that, after two different homes, she’d finally found her forever family. The connection was instantaneous! Since then she’s really gotten comfortable here and is loving her life, she’s a highly intelligent sweetheart that seems to have a remarkable respect for life in all its forms, from the tiniest bug to the tallest human; Dax is always ready to make new friends! She’s also super sweet with children including babies, she’s a remarkably gentle dog. Her favorite snacks are Puppy Pasta (it’s literally just plain pasta tossed with basil and parsley and she LOVES IT), broccoli, bites of tortilla, pineapples, peanut butter, greek yogurt, herb crusted baked chicken, and apples. Sometimes I even mix up some greek yogurt with peanut butter and banana and stick it in the freezer to give her a little teaspoon of “puppy ice cream” on hot days. 

The single most important piece I’ve ever worked on in my entire sewing career is finally complete! After 10 days straight of work, I’ve completed Caelum’s first quilt. This kid will get many quilts in his life, but this one will always be the first! This project is extra special for me as it’s the project I always wanted to do but never imagined I’d get the chance to do, but here I am holding a baby quilt for a child of my very own. 

I was born with a rare birth defect called uterine didelphys which left me with two uteruses, a second cervix, and a whole host of issues related to it; a lot of people with it live their lives totally unaware as they live with no symptoms, but I was not quite so lucky. It causes me a great deal of pain and there is no cure for the way mine is laid out. In addition to a lifetime of pain, it also makes it very difficult for me to have a child, so our baby is something of a miracle and was definitely not supposed to be able to happen so easily. This quilt is a manifestation of all the feelings that came from my supposed infertility, I poured an inordinate amount of love, effort, and emotion into this baby quilt and I couldn’t be happier with the results! 

This piece is downright luxurious, it’s easily the nicest and most ambitious piece I’ve ever made. Our nursery is space-themed, so I kept that theme for this quilt as it’s my hope that an interest in the cosmos is something I’ll be able to share with my kid the same as I’ve always shared it with my mother. This quilt is loaded with interesting textures, making it an absolute sensory delight to touch. The backing fabric is incredibly soft and some of the squares are made of Snuggle fabric, not to mention that the unique quilting design left it with a nice puffy crinkle that’s a joy to run your fingers over. The free motion quilting was done once in blue, then echoed in yellow to give what I think is a pretty neat effect. I also hand embroidered his name and namesake constellation in one of the corners for an extra loving and personal touch. It’s a perfect size for a baby to use as a playmat while also being an excellent size for an adult to use as a lap quilt, so it’s something Caelum will hopefully be able to enjoy his whole life.

This is the first piece I ever made to hang in my home, I typically make things as gifts but I wanted to make something special for myself for a change. I got the idea to make a pride piece and did some simple free motion quilting on it. It's very bold and loud and looking at it always makes me happy!