Deep Blue Sea
April 2020

The design for this baby quilt is called 7 Seas Blanket, from McKay Manor Musers. While the pattern calls for a kitty or puppy applique at the bottom of the center vertical block, I opted to use a whale to match my bottom fabric. I stuffed him with puff batting to make him more three-dimensional and backed him with flannel to add stability before attaching to the quilt. Since I am still a newbie to quilting on a domestic sewing machine, I played around with different designs, making waves, rippling water, currents, and jumbo letters, W-H-A-L-E.

Sailing off California’s coast has allowed me the opportunity and joy of seeing whales in the ocean: Humpbacks, Grey Whales, mama whales with their calves, and the largest of all, the California Blue Whale. I never tire of seeing the spout, the slow roll of their back as the dorsal fin cuts up through the water, and back down again. And if they are diving, catching a glimpse of their tail fluke as they make their descent. While each encounter is unique and incredible, the most amazing thing I got to witness was a whale doing bubble net feeding.

This was included in this year’s Hands2Help Challenge hosted by Sarah over at Confessions of a Fabric Addict @fabricaddictquilts and went to Little Lambs Foundation for Kids @littlelambsfoundationforkids

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