Last post for a while.....

Hello everyone,
I figured I ought to get in one last post before the baby comes. I just attempted making one of these and failed miserably. Believe it or not, I am tired of making baby stuff, so if I have any energy available between now and when the baby comes- I think I am going to return to making purses and adult-size quilts for a while. I have no idea what to expect, but I am pretty much planning on taking a major sewing break once the baby comes but I am also optimistic that stopping work full time might afford me a little more time (eventually) to be creative- there's always nap time, right?

I finally finished all the burp cloths- 34 to be exact. I don't plan on using them all for myself (meaning for my baby of course :) - I kind of went a little overboard in making so many but I did so to use up the flannel and scrap pieces of batting I had as well as it is a good project for when I feel tired and like not taking on a big project.

Birdie Sling

Here's a purse that's been months in the making. It's actually a pretty easy pattern (Amy Butler Birdie Sling) but it took a while because I was making it with a friend of mine and it was hard to get together often. The fabrics are Alexander Henry fabrics I scored at Joann's a while ago. It's going to a good friend of mine as a belated wedding present.

Nursery Revealed

So I have been absent from this blog for a while because I have been too busy sewing. Good excuse, right? Well, the nursery is nearly done. I say "nearly" because I made the mistake of looking at others' nursery sets online and got the idea that I need to make a pillow to put on the glider rocker..... We'll see. But anyway, this last week I made two curtains from a great book
my only complaint was that the pattern claimed the curtain should only take 2 hours. Yeah right! It takes that long to just sew the sides- which required hand sewing. Anyway, I am really pleased with how they came out.

On this curtain, I originally had two different colors of ribbon going down the seams - chocolate brown and apple green but ended up sewing brown on top of the green because the brown looked so much better. It really beat having to seam-rip it all out.

I wish I could take better pictures- I tried all sorts of different lighting with little luck. I need photography lessons!

Here are the bumpers setup in the crib that I made a while ago.

Another project that has kept me busy was getting the binding on the quilts after receiving them from the long-arm quilter. A kind friend helped me put the binding on one side and then I spent many hours hand sewing the other side. I actually got a blister from all the hand sewing, but it was the perfect relaxing kind of project for me as I am nearly 9 months pregnant!

Finally, here's the whole room put together. One for a baby boy, another for a baby girl. I know it's seriously lacking some wall decorations- but don't worry, I am not going to make some cheesy quilt-y wall hanging type of thing..... I am tossing around a few ideas and other ideas

Nursing Cover

I made this nursing cover in a couple hours one night a few weeks ago. I was surprised at how quickly it came together. I love this fabric- gender neutral and tasteful! Here's a sneak peek at the backing fabric I chose for a small baby quilt I recently finished. I just went to the long arm quilter today and dopped off the big "Yellow Brick Road" quilt and the one below. She is going to have them done in a few weeks- I am going to make myself have the binding ready so that I can hurry and finish them before the baby comes!

Baby Stuff

Here's the portable changing pad that also has a pocket to hold wipes and diapers. I found the free tutorial here
It was REALLY easy and took me less than an hour to make. It's lined with Chenille, made out of one of Michael Miller's Tada Dot prints.

When I was dealing with a mid-summer cold several days ago, I got so bored of dumb movies- I went ahead and cut out a lot of burp cloths. I love making these- they are so cheap, easy, they use up otherwise useless pieces of batting, you don't have to worry about making them look perfect (hello! they are going to be spit up on!), and they make easy/fun gifts. I still have a lot of flannel from the Joann's day after Thanksgiving sale when it was 1.50 per yard. I will be making a lot of these hopefully.

Birthday Presents

I received some really pretty Heather Ross Mendocino prints about a month ago for my b-day: (I asked for these because Ross is stopping her design of fabrics indefinitely and I also wanted to challenge myself by working with a different kind of color scheme than I usually gravitate to. This fabrics is SO soft!) Nick also generously gave me a mix of prints I asked for as well as some patterns. I also received my first jelly roll.

It's funny how within the last year- all's I want to shop for, buy, or receive as a gift is FABRIC. There was a time in my life when I was all about clothes, shoes, books, etc.- or even times when I couldn't think of anything I really wanted. Now it's all about fabric... and I don't see that changing anytime soon. BUT- I have made a resolution to stop buying it now and then- as I often have been prone to do. So far, I have stuck to my resolution for about 3 weeks- so we'll see how it goes.

Queen Sized Quilt

A couple weeks ago I finished the 99 blocks for this quilt- and averaged doing 2 rows a week. But this past Saturday, I tackled it and got it all finished. Now I just need to add borders (which will require me to find the pattern in my really messy craft room. The fabrics include every print in the Erin McMorris Park Slope line- it's super bright and cheery. This is the first quilt I have made for myself in years- so I am excited! I will share this again with better pictures when it is completed.

What I have Been Up To

Nick and I found out about an awesome sale at a grocery store. We bought 87 boxes of cereal- each box cost 10 cents a piece- a few varieties were 50 cents each. A sale like this seems to come around about every 6-12 months- so we take advantage of it when it comes around! We eat a ton of cereal, and I am not about to pay $4 a pop for something that lasts us both about 3 days..... We also got 48 bags of specialty Chex mix bags for about 25 cents a piece. We always brown bag our lunch, so it's nice to have a fun snack to tuck in with all the fruits and veggies we pack.


So things like this tend to take up my crafting time after work- I have also been dealing with the fatigue of pregnancy- it's all I can do to get through the work day most times at this point. I shocked myself this past Monday when I actually sewed for 4 hours- that was the pace I was going at pre-prego-ness. I managed to sew up 12 burp cloths, complete a portable changing pad/diaper case, and nearly complete the Birdie Sling I have been working on for a while. Pictures of those things are coming soon..... But meanwhile, I wanted to share some adorable handmade baby gifts I have recently received.



These sweet sweaters were knitted by a friend of mine. The picture doesn't capture the "apple green" of the first sweater. I love them! For my birthday, my sister-in-law sent me these CUTE bibs she made from the pattern found in Amy Karol's Bend the Rules. My fave is the third one on the second row- I am a sucker for fruit-themed patterns for some reason.

Finally, Missy also made this adorable Ruby Doll. You can find the free pattern here. I absolutely love her- hopefully I have a boy, then I won't have to share her.
More posts coming soon!

Latest project and awesome yard sale find

Hello everyone! Sorry it's been a while since I posted last. Things have gotten busier with having Nick back in town. I am not sewing as much because it still feels like a novelty to have him around and we have been having fun playing board games, going on dates, going to yard sales, and keeping up with our "side business" of selling books, music, and movies online. I think I am also sewing less because I have entered the fatigue zone of the third trimester where it's not comfortable to sit or stand too long and a full day at work zaps most of my energy, thus I am less productive in the evenings. But I have a zillion things I want to do! They include:

• Using up a lot of my batting/stuffing that I have loads of from yard sales (Nick forbids me to buy anymore but I can't resist, plus it's funny to see the look on his face when I show him yet another bag of polyester stuffing). I really want to make lots of burp cloths and pillows. I really need to get going on this because of the need to clean out the craft room soon!


• I started another Amy Butler Birdie Sling with a friend of mine. All the pieces are cut, I just need to attach the interfacing before I go to her house tomorrow to hopefully finish it up.


• I have a few purses that need the hole in the lining sewed up, or magnetic snap closures inserted (something I couldn't do without Nick's help because those suckers are not easy to install).


• I really want to finish the quilt that I showed started from the previous post because I am itching to have something new for the bed.


• I want to make more baby stuff for myself: burp cloths, bibs, a portable changing pad, nursing cover, etc. I am even debating a simple curtain to go with the boy/girl sets I have made.


• I need to put binding on the boy/girl quilts I recently received back from the longarm quilter- I am thrilled with her work and can't wait to make the blankets complete!

I could probably make a very long list of the free online tutorials I want to do, but researching that out is a project in and of itself.

We had our last sewing group before the summer recently and it was a huge success. A friend of mine did an awesome job organizing everything and we had the highest attendance yet. We made breakfast themed felt food and it is adorable, easy, and very affordable. Here's the set I came home with:

I came home with at least 30 unfinished strawberries, just because there was a lot extra. I find it relaxing to make them while I am watching a movie or something (each one takes about 5 mins of hand sewing). This activity was such a hit, I think it would be fun to do "lunch" and "dinner" themed felt food in the future.

Finally, here's probably the best crafty yard sale find I have found yet:

Isn't it gorgeous? I know the picture is not great, but it will do. I am thrilled! The fabrics look like they are from the 1940's - it's in impeccable shape, no stains, tears. It's ready to go. I am going to get some backing for it on my next Marden's trip and just get it done. The most shocking thing about it is that when I found it, I told Nick- hey, I don't care if this is $20-$30 (which would be a steal in and of itself, but it is a lot to spend in a yard sale when we mostly spend a dollar here and there) and then the lady sold it to me for $1.50!!!!! I couldn't get my money out fast enough!

I hope to be posting more soon....

Working on.....

I recently returned to a "UFO" project- a queen sized quilt made up of Erin McMorris' Park Slope line. Years ago quilting was the only sewing I did and it feels nice to get back to it for a little while. I started this right before I found out I was pregnant, so I dropped it to start making the baby stuff. Now- I have the perspective that I not only need to make lots of the baby stuff, but do as many projects as I can, given the time constraints I will soon face with a newborn.....

Bumpers

I finally finished the project I've been procrastinating: Bumpers for the boy-themed nursery. The fabrics I chose aren't strictly masculine- but it's really cute in my humble opinion. Making this set was much easier than the first set I did, I guess it helps when you know what you're doing. I will model the nursery stuff once I set up the crib- which I am delaying as long as possible (craft room is soon to be baby room - which presents the problem of not knowing what to do with all my fabric, batting, etc.)

More Blocks

Quilt Block Exchange Completed!

Remember this block I did back in September/October? Well, I finally got it back along with 15 other blocks done by guild members. I am really happy with what everyone added. I won't include all of them in one post because there are too many.

Vintage Apron

I was asked to help the young women in my ward to make aprons for the upcoming pioneer trek activity. I made this from Amy Karol's Bend the Rules sewing book with some vintage fabric I had in my stash. It took me 3 hours to make. I already helped the girls start their aprons- they all did a great job. We will be finishing them in a few weeks.

Fabric Finds

As requested by a friend- here's the fabric I bought at my latest trip to Marden's. This is the girly themed fabric collection by Henry Glass. Most of this is also Henry Glass with one Michael Miller and another Denise Schmidt.

Momo by Moda- a line that is now discontinued- so I had to snatch some up.

What I Am Working on Now

I finally am getting around to make the bumpers for the boy themed nursery. It was a hard project a couple months ago, but it feels like it's going smoother this time around. Nick and I both have a feeling that we're having a boy... so we will see. I have so much fabric and ideas for girly projects- I am definitely open to doing more boy themed stuff, but there is just not a lot out there!

Favorite Fabrics

I thought I would share pictures of two of my most favorite fabrics:

Healther Bailey's Peonies in Red- I have about 2.5 yards of it and I have at least two quilts planned from her PopGarden line- which will include heavy doses of this! This is one of the first contemporary fabrics I spotted as I slowly discovered the world of bright and beautiful fabrics. I have at least 5 yards of this, as I have a purse and two quilts planned with it. It's Timeless Treasures "I Spy."

Right now, this is my favorite fabric. It's the first Japanese print I have ever bought and I am definitely impressed- it's an adorbale design, clearly printed, and gorgeous, soft fabric.