More Handmade Gifts

I made a bunch of handmade gifts this year...here are a few more!

First, a snowman table runner with yo-yo and snowflake button details. I made two of these, for two of my aunts.

Next, I made two zipper pouches. The neon green & pink one was for my Goddaughter, and the one with the Gypsy Caravan fabrics was for my older daughter's Godmother. I modified a tutorial to make both versions. (http://www.noodle-head.com/2010/04/gathered-clutch-tutorial.html?m=1)

Finally, when we saw the Nutcracker this year, my cousin, who is also my younger daughter's Godmother, admired the signed pointe shoes. So I snuck away during intermission to buy her a pair. Then, since she happens to be obsessed with mustaches, I made her a pointe shoe bag with an appliqued mustache for her own pointe shoes. She loved both!!

I'm so happy with how everything turned out!

Christmas Gift

I drew my sister-in-law's name in our polyanna this year, and she was so excited. She's been wanting a quilted table runner for her dining room table. She didn't want it to be Christmasy, and she loves rich colors like purple, red, and gold. So I selected some pieces from a Come Together layer cake, and my local quilt shop had a bit of the purple yardage left. I used that for the border, backing, and binding. The blocks ended up being about 12.5" and I used the two-color star tutorial from Fresh Lemons Quilts (http://www.freshlemonsquilts.com/?p=1709).

I would have liked to quilt it more (maybe some small stippling in the cream background only), but I ran out of time before Christmas! Oh well, she loved it anyway. I'm really happy with how it turned out, too!

Christmas Pillowcases

I sewed for the second time since going back to work!! A quick project...a Grinchy Christmas pillowcase for each of my girls! Hopefully all of my other Christmas sewing projects will get done tomorrow!

A New Stocking

Since going back to work a few weeks ago, I've only completed one very important project... A new stocking for our new Bug! Our Elfie even tested it out for her! ; )

I have a few Christmas gifts to make, so hopefully I will be able to squeeze in some sewing time soon!

My Blogger's Quilt Festival Entry!

 

I am so excited about my first-ever entry into the Blogger's Quilt Festival!  I first saw the festival in the springtime, and I enjoyed reading about everyone's creation. I am thrilled to be joining in this time around.

I made this quilt this summer, while waiting for our new little one to arrive, using this recipe from the Moda Bake Shop. The recipe uses a layer cake to make two baby quilts. Kate Spain's Good Fortune line had caught my eye, however, I only needed one quilt, and I didn't want to use some of the prints that were predominantly orange. So I went to a local quilt shop that had yardage of the line in stock, and had fat quarters cut in the prints that I wanted. We decided to use my favorite print (also the quilt backing) as the basis for her nursery. My husband painted it a beautiful shade if periwinkle, one of my favorite colors.

I really wanted to make my little girl a special quilt before she arrived. I learned how to quilt while I was on maternity leave with my older daughter, so I didn't make any special quilts the last time I was pregnant. I also wanted to make something that featured her name, since she is named after my grandmother who passed in 2010. I machine appliqued her name and a dragonfly, to echo the dragonflies in the fabrics.

I quilted it on my machine, using an all-over meandering/stipple in lavender to match the center section. Here you can see her name and the dragonfly applique ...

...and here I am, basting it at 8.5 months pregnant!

 

We are currently using the quilt in her room, and each month, I am taking her picture on her name quilt to document her growth. That will be fun to look back at when she is older!

Quilt Stats:

Finished Size: approximately 40"x40"

Special Techniques: machine applique

Quilted by: me!

Best Category: baby quilt

Costumes...check!

I finished up the girls' costumes last night! We are waiting for a hurricane here, and I wanted to get them done in case we lose power. So, the Goose's blue Silvermist costume and the Bug's orange & brown Fawn costume are ready to go! I still have a few little details to finish up (including wings and hair accessories) but the actual costume construction is done! Yay!!

Now for the grown-ups' costumes... the Goose wants me to be Rosetta the pink fairy, and my husband to be the fairies' bumblebee friend. I'm certainly not making two more costumes, so I bought some t-shirts and iron-on transfer fabric for our printer. I've never used it before, so hopefully it works!!

Here's a photo of the girls' costumes...

A Florida Quilt

My mother-in-law is visiting from Florida to meet our new little Bug. When she is up here, she is always snuggling in one of the quilts in our family room (she's not used to these Northern fall temperatures anymore)! Yesterday, she said to me, "If I buy all the material, will you make me a quilt?" That was the best question ever!! Of course I said, "Of course!" and we spent the afternoon at a local quilt shop. She likes the brighter colors, so we selected a bunch of different fabrics. As much as I like to use lines and collections that are designed to coordinate, I also really enjoy going into a quilt shop, pulling lots of bolts off the shelves, and piling them all up on the cutting table, auditioning different fabrics and combinations.

The ladies at the shop are always so helpful, and often mention that helping customers with fabric selection is one of their favorite parts of working in a quilt shop. We always end up chatting about quilts we've made, and different tips and techniques. In fact, yesterday, I learned about two free apps that help with quilt planning and fabric requirement calculations. They are called Quilt Fab and Block Fab.

Anyway, this stack of lovely is destined to become a lap-size quilt, probably in the Shoeboxes pattern, to keep one Florida girl toasty.

Cozy Carseats!

I decided to make a tiny quilt for my new little Bug, just the right size for her infant carrier carseat. I used scraps I had from her baby name quilt (from the Good Fortune line by Kate Spain for Moda). One of my friends from work also had a little girl just 2 months before I did, and we are getting together soon. So I decided to make another stroller quilt for her little munchkin as well. For that one I used some Summer House (Lily Ashbury for Moda) that I had left from my Synchronized Squares quilt along last summer. They both turned out so sweet and are just the perfect size to tuck in around a strapped-in baby!

Table Topper Gift

This year for her birthday, I made my aunt a table topper as her gift. I chose prints from a layer cake of Moda's Together line that match her kitchen decor. I used the blue, green, red, and cream fabrics from the layer cake, but not the black or purple. The disappearing nine patch is becoming one of my favorite blocks for small projects like this one. I backed it with one of the red prints and wrote my message and name on the binding, rather than adding a label, so it could be reversible.

Here is a picture of it in progress, and one of the finished product in use on her table.

Boo!

Last summer I participated in the Synchronized Squares quilt along and my cousin, who is now 16, ended up making a quilt with me. She finished the top, and it sat all year. So I decided to quilt and finish it for her sixteenth birthday. Halloween is her favorite holiday and now her quilt is all ready just in time! :)

Here are some pictures of the design process last summer, basting, and the finished product! I had a little help with the binding!! ;)

What Do You See?

When the Goose was tiny, one of her favorite books was Eric Carle's Brown Bear. So when I found a kit for the Brown Bear licensed fabric, a Christmas present was immediately in the works. She got her quilt, which has since become a lovey named Brown Bear, for Christmas 2009.

When we discovered that the Goose was going to be a big sister, I knew her little sister needed a lovey quilt made by mom, too. And when I came across the Very Hungry Caterpillar fabric, I ordered it right away. I have it started, and I'm hoping that it will be done in time to be a special present for the Bug's first Christmas. I can't wait to see what she names hers!

Here are some pictures of Brown Bear (and Brown Bear the lovey in use!), and also a picture of the two HUGE fussy-cut blocks for the Caterpillar quilt.

Trick or Treat!

Halloween will be here soon, so I made the girls and my nephew some great Trick-or-Treat totes! The Goose helped select the appliqué designs for each, which I decided to do in black silhouette in front of a yellow moon. I used black corduroy for the bags, and bought the straps (which, I discovered, can't be ironed).

I'm thrilled with how they turned out, and hopefully they will hold spooky treats for years to come!

Halloween is coming!

One of my favorite things to do each year is make Halloween costumes, and this year I have another one to make! The Goose has decided on being Tinkerbell's blue fairy friend, and her sister gets to be the orange fairy. So yesterday I bought the fabric and patterns... But I am working on a quick, fun project first- trick or treat bags for the girls and their cousin!

Big Girl Quilt...Done!

I finished the Goose's newly enlarged quilt for her big bed! She loves it and I do too. I also made a few extra blocks for her shams. The pattern is Dot Party from Jaybird Quilts. I quilted it with straight lines on the diagonal with all over stippling in the side borders. Dosseys are very happy lovies.

Big Girl Quilt

I have made a ton of progress on the Goose's big girl quilt, including adding a border to each side. With the new baby girl coming soon, we decided to switch her to a bigger bed. Luckily I wasn't finished with her quilt...so I had time to enlarge it. Two shams are in the works, and it's just about ready for quilting. (Basting a queen size quilt while 8.5 months pregnant isn't the most fun!)Here are a few pics...

Quilts For Kids

Last summer I came across the website of an organization that provides quilts for kids who are sick and in hospitals all across the county. (www.quiltsforkids.org) I ordered a kit of fabric (they send you a fabric kit free, all you need to provide are the batting and thread). I also bought a little bit of fabric for the binding because I didn't want to just fold over the backing and top stitch it down to the front.

I also used scraps from the Goose's Brown Bear quilt and made a second quilt to send along with the first. I finished these two last fall and shipped them off to Quilts for Kids. :)

Turtles & Friends


Brown Bear


The Brown Bear quilt was made entirely from scraps from a kit I had ordered a few years ago to make the Goose a Brown Bear quilt...I can't believe how much extra fabric was included in the kit for the pattern provided! I still have some scraps left!

I used a gift card I got for Christmas to buy fabric to make two more quilts for Quilts for Kids.


The two quilt tops are done now... They just need to be basted and quilted. I hope to finish them up soon! :)