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!! ;)