Block Exchange

The easiest block exchange I have done yet. Two simple nine-patch squares. Luckily the person included her own fabrics because as far as batiks go, i only have ugly scraps of some from Joann's. These batiks were GORGEOUS and made me want to buy some!

I won!

I entered a giveaway today and won a fat quarter each of Tula Pink's newest fabric line: Plume! I am SO excited! You can see the fabric here.

Donkey's wearing rain boots

Enough said.

Easiest Quilt Pattern Ever!

Sew a nine-patch of 5.5 inch squares together. Cut down the middle.

Cut through the sides, twice.

Now you have 4 unique squares with a lot less piecing than you might have normally done.

I am making another sock monkey quilt- it might actually end up to be 2 quilts because I didn't plan the layout very carefully and I would be kind of embarrassed to give someone a very long rectangular type of quilt.... We'll see what I decide. I do love this fabric!

Apple Pincushion

Tie Onesie

Possibly one of the only cute baby boy "accessories," out there: the illustrious tie onesie. I almost made this one before Gregory was even born because I thought it was so cute! (But I didn't even know if I was having a boy- so I didn't).

This project was so easy, it actually took me longer to decide on what fabric to use than to actually make it. I finished it in 15 mins. He wore it today to church and it was a big hit! For all the family who read this, here's some cute pictures of my guy sporting the duds. I found this picture hilarious because he never wears hats and he hates them- but he looks so cute in a little beanie. He wore it for all of 10 seconds.

This was this morning when he had a short little nap before we left for church.

Inspiration

I want to make this quilt. That is all.

Pear Pincushion

Baby Boy Quilt

When I spotted this cute baby boy print, I knew I had to get it! If you can't tell from the picture, it's little white airplanes on a blue background.

Here is my favorite block:

I took these pictures outside with the goal of trying to have better lighting- but it was FREEZING!

I think I am going to try to quilt this one soon after studying up on how to machine quilt!

Brainy Baby Ball

Yes, that is the name of this brightly colored toy. It was a lot of fun to make and not as difficult as it looks!Gregory is too young to appreciate it yet, but he is definitely interested in the bright colors...... and of course, he tries to stick it in his mouth! I already finished my quilt top for January! It will be posted soon!

Inspiration

So, I recently found this post of one of the most adorable baby boy quilts I have ever seen. Isn't it precious? I love looking at other people's sewing blogs (sometimes I do this much more than sew- which is defintely counterproductive!) but it's really great because I get so many ideas of what I can do.

Anyway, I wanted to share a little bit of what I have been up to. I am trying to post more regularly, so here it is:

Believe it or not, I had to make more burp rags for friends and myself. Nick and I counted that we have at least 15 in use for our little guy. When he was first born, he spit up a lot, but then he took a break. Now we're back to using at least 2 per feeding. Now I know that a lot of family members look at this blog- but don't worry about your nephew/grandson- he's gaining weight, growing out of his clothes very fast, and an extremely happy little guy, so we're not very worried! I was especially amused to spot little dimples on his cute baby butt the other day, so he's not exactly wasting away.

The second picture is of a baby quilt I am working on. It's slow going - only because of trying to take care of Gregory, but it's fun. I loved the airplane print, and am framing it with stuff from my fabric stash.

Sew Many Resolutions.....

So I want to try and publicly commit to some sewing resolutions for the new year. I like making goals and lists, so here it is:

Every month:

I will finish 1 quilt top,
I will finish 1 other project (a purse, a stuffed animal, etc.)

AND I will accomplish these goals without buying more fabric to complete said quilt tops and projects.

Also within 2010, I want to:

Learn how to quilt a quilt on my own sewing machine
Take at least one sewing class at a quilt shop or by a long-arm quilter

I hope I am not setting myself up to fail with these ambitions; having Gregory is making life much more busy and sewing an infrequent activity. But I am definitely willing and excited to try! Wish me luck!

Laurie

Peg Bears and Fabric!

Hope everyone enjoyed the holidays! We sure did. Baby's first Christmas was so nice- I have never felt so happy and blessed. I love our little family and being a mom is wonderful.

I did manage to get a little sewing done- this is a project I have wanted to do for a long time. One Red Robin is the first craft/sewing blog I came across, thanks to a recommendation from my SIL, and I was dying to make the peg bears posted there. But the blog's author never posted or released the pattern till now. The pattern is in a book I received for Christmas- One Yard Wonders.

I have to say that Gregory LOVES these bears- I have never seen him react so positively to a toy. He's only 12 weeks old, thus I know that his interest in toys is very limited to begin with. But when he saw the one my sister made- he smiled a lot and was fascinated. He later gave it his stamp of approval by trying to eat it. It wasn't till this afternoon that I completed the one I made for him, and he stared at it with great interest for at least 10 minutes. Soon after, he tried to eat it and later begged to take it to bed for his nap as you can see from the pictures below.
Here is the one Emily made, the bear is stealing a snooze in the bassinet at Grandma and Grandpa Moulton's house.

Emily and I made these in just a few hours. Emily isn't big into sewing, but she was a great help in cutting and stuffing the bears- while I did all of the machine sewing.

Now, I really like these bears and I think they are adorable, but I can see how they might not appeal to all tastes. I am begging for comments on this question: Peg Bears: Cute or Not Cute? Please weigh in on this crucial matter as I am thinking about making them as gifts for other children but don't want their parents joking that I make terribly ugly stuffed animals that induce nightmares in their children.

P.S. Here's one of the best presents I received that will greatly help in using up lots of fabric:

I am really thrilled with how many awesome ideas it has!