A Little Bit of Christmas in January

This evening I decided it was about time I updated my blog. I love reading about all the projects and happenings in blogland, but seem to put off posting about my own. Funny how that works. :)

After the rush of sewing orders in November and early December, my family and I enjoyed the holidays in a lovely (warm!!!) place. We had a marvelous time visiting family, and we also spent quite a lot of time relaxing and enjoying ourselves. The sun did it's work and has rejuvenated us for the new year.

Over the last several weeks I was able to finish knitting two sweaters for me, begin a sweater for our little one on the way, and start a purse. Yes, I'm attempting to knit a purse. I'm still trying to decide if I'll keep it or sell it. I think I'll wait until it's finished before I determine if it is even 'sell' worthy :). Pictures will follow when (a) I am satisfied with the blocking and fit & (b) I remember to ask my hubby to take a few pictures. No more taking photos in the mirror - I just can't get it to work!

One of the projects that has been in my 'to finish' pile is a Christmas quilt I started two years ago (yipes, I can't believe it was that long ago!). I bought it as a kit since I was new to quilting. I cut the fabric, stitched up the quilt top, but got nervous when it came to the actual quilting and binding. So, I put it off until I could take a class. Well, it was year before I took a binding class, but boy was it worth it! I pull those directions out every time I bind a quilt. I'm so nervous I'll cut a strip the wrong way or mix up a mitered corner.

I finished the class and even sewed up the binding, but once Christmas passed, I lost the motivation to hand-stitch the binding. Back on the 'to finish' pile it went. Even though we were away for Christmas this year, I was determined to finish my Christmas quilt. I almost took it with me on vacation so I could finish it and add a little Christmas decor to our rental condo. But I decided it was not worth the effort or expense (baggage is not so cheap on the plane these days!).



During our first full day back home I finished the quilt. My pregnant body was a bit annoyed that I spent one day traveling and the next rushing around the house like a mad person trying to recuperate from vacation. (Isn't it funny how we seem to need a day or two to recover from vacation???) In between tackling loads of laundry I tackled the quilt. By the end of the day it was complete and already part of the decor. (Did you notice my loverly bench?! Definitely a keeper. Sorry all you fans of the bench, I don't think I'll be parting with it anytime soon :))



[I took these photos this evening. Yes, that means my Christmas decorations are still up. Is that weird? Apparently I put off finishing quilts AND taking down holiday decor.]

Custom Baby Items - Finished!

I finally finished a custom order for a stroller quilt, matching stroller bag and a change pad cover. These are all for the same friend who had me make the pink and brown crib quilt.





She wanted the stroller bag to fit a water bottle and a few small baby items. I used plastic canvas between the layers to keep it nice and sturdy.



The water bottle compartment has an elastic band since water bottles seem to vary in size. I also thought if she's jogging the band will help keep her water bottle in the compartment :). The other compartment just has a flap to keep things inside and dry.



All the snaps are reinforced with plastic canvas. I've never made anything like this before, so I wanted to make sure the snaps could handle the weight of a water bottle.



I also made her a change pad cover to match her crib quilt. I used just about every scrap of fabric to make this cover. I hope she's happy with how everything turned out!

Better than nothing!!!

So, it turns out the camera that needs to go in for 'repairs' just needs a good cleaning. Well, I don't mind a few specks on my photos if you don't! Hopefully I can get it cleaned this weekend, but for now, this will do.

I am excited to show you my latest project - Mary Jane slippers! I picked up this pattern last week at Quilt Essentials great sale. It's a pattern for 'Ballet Slippers', and you can make basic slippers or add cute straps (i.e. Mary Janes, cris-cross straps, and pretty ribbon straps). I've needed slippers for so long, but I was waiting for something cutesy. As soon as I saw the pattern I knew I wanted Mary Jane slippers :).




I love the little tab on the back - such a cute detail!



I've also been working on a custom order quilt. My friend (who ordered the pink crib quilt in previous posts), also requested a stroller quilt. With the fall weather coming upon us, she wanted something to bundle her baby in while they go out for crisp fall walks. She picked out the two main fabrics and the fuzzy backing and gave me free reign with the design. How trusting of her! :) After I made a few of the quilt blocks I realized it was going to be a bit busy, so I purchased the gray fabric to break it up a bit. I hope she likes it!


The quilt is actually a nine patch, but it's hard to tell from the photo :).

I'm disappointed I can't show you the quilt I finished or the apron I made for my sister-in-law, but I was camera-less and the projects are now out the door to their 'new owners'. At least I was able to post a couple of pictures and give a quick update. Hopefully, more projects will be finished soon!

Quiltin' Away!

It's been a little while since I posted last, but that doesn't mean I haven't been sewing! In fact, I have several sewing projects that need doing in the next month, so you should be seeing more pics in the future. But right now I'm working a custom order for a baby quilt.

The expectant mom and I got together and talked about what she wanted. She was open to patterns, but liked the one I made for Peanut. She also mentioned that when her girls were babies they loved cuddling anything warm and soft. She was willing to buy the fabric herself and have me do the quilting, so that's what we did! While she was at the fabric store she found a gorgeous waffle weave fabric and some great brown microfleece for the backing. She did an amazing job picking out the fabrics. Her little baby girl is going to love it!

It's not finished yet, but here are some progress pics:

Finished squares!


More squares


The top is finished and now it's time for pinning the batting and backing.


Baby is going to love the soft pink border fabric!

Baby Stroller Cushion and Quilt

Happy 4th of July everyone! I hope you have fun plans to celebrate. I'm just glad the weather perked up a bit after the thunderstorm and torrential rain yesterday! I'm not going to complain about that bought of rain because we did need it, I'm just glad it's sunny today :).

Here's my latest completed project. It's a custom order for a stroller cushion. My friend recently had a baby and bought one of those great jogging strollers. She loves the stroller but thought it didn't have enough padding for her baby. There is a metal bar right under where the baby is supposed to sit - poor baby bum! So she asked me to make her a cushion.

She picked out the fabric which is brown, maroon, pink, and lime green. I found a coordinating minky dot fabric in pink. The cushion has two sets of holes for upper straps and a funky hole thingy for the buckle strap. I made it this way so it would fit both the stroller and the car seat as well as be adjustable for when baby gets bigger.

What my friend doesn't know is that I made her a matching stroller quilt as well! It will fit the stroller nicely and not be too bulky for carrying around. I hope she likes it!

Faith, Hope, Love

I think this quilt pattern by McKenna Ryan is gorgeous. I love the message, the colors, the design, ahhhh...everything. It looks like tons of work with lots of applique, so I don't know if I'm quite ready for this type of project. Also, the price tag isn't quite so gorgeous - about $100 for just the patterns!!! I think I'll just drool over the pictures for now :).

More pics here: http://www.pineneedles.com/SuperStore/SuperStore-Assortment.asp?AssortmentID=48

While hubby's away, why not play!

Last weekend, I bought some fabrics to make a quilt for Peanut. I realized I love to sew, but I haven't made him very many things. Also, whenever we go visiting in the evenings I never have a blanket for him (if any of you have had us over in the evening, you know that I always ask to borrow a blanket because I don't have one with me :)). I decided to make a quilt just for him that we can take with us when he needs to sleep.

I cut and pieced on Wednesday, then quilted and bound yesterday. I was amazed how quickly it went - TWO DAYS! I think using a pattern helped, because I didn't have to waste so much time figuring out the math. Also, it's a crib size quilt, so it's a nice small one.

It's finished! Binding and all!

A close up of the fabrics and binding. I cut the binding strips on the bias to get the diagonal stripes.

Looking out his window with his quilt. You can see the back of it here. Pretty simple - just a green paisley fabric. (I love paisley! - I'm hoping it's not too feminine for my little man.)