Happy Birthday Banner for Maggie, Anna, and Lucy

 

 Over the last couple of weeks, I have been making a birthday banner for my cousin Sarah's three little girls.

 

I made each banner separate so she can hang them up how she wants, and they will work for multiple hanging locations. I made one Happy and one Birthday banner, and then I made one with each of their names.

 

 This way she can switch out the bottom strip depending on whose birthday it is.

 

These take a while to make because I had to applique each letter on the pennant background, but I am very happy with the way they turned out! Hopefully, they will help brighten up their birthdays starting in March!

 I had to share this picture of the scrappy binding.  I cut strips each night this week as I had time and sewed them all together Friday night.  Yesterday, I trimmed the edges and used my bias tool to make bias tape out of the strips.  I didn't measure the length as I was going along; I just wanted to make sure I had enough for the banners.  I ended up with 34 yards of scrappy binding!  I didn't use all of it, so I now have a nice bundle for my next project.  I like the way it looks all rolled up!  It is like a fabric cinnamon roll.:)

Daisy Chain Dress

It has been busy around here since Christmas!  I thought I would have more time to sew and more time to post on here, but it just hasn't happened.  I worked on a dress for Zerah over the last couple of weeks that I just finished by sewing on the buttons this weekend.  My mother-in-law sent me this fabric and the pattern back in the fall, and I have been eagerly anticipating putting it together because I knew it would be cute.

The pattern is The CuppyCake dress by Pink Fig Patterns, and I made a 2 out of Amy Butler's Daisy Chain fabric.  The navy and white polka dot fabric is from Joannes.  This dress needs a lot of fabric.  It should be great for twirling, and I may cut it all up once she has worn it to make a quilt.  I do think the skirt would make a great table runner, and it will already be sewn.:)  I added a ribbon from my stash to the front bodice for that extra embellishment.  I think it works really well.

 

The back criss-crosses and has a shirred strip.  This was the first time I had used elastic thread in my bobbin, and I was really worried at first.  I shouldn't have been because it really wasn't that difficult.  It was really neat watching the fabric gather up once I steamed the elastic thread.  It just shrunk right up; it reminded me of using shrinky dinks and watching them shrink in the oven, so much fun.   

We have been cooking and cooking around here.  Last night I made this black bean chowder recipe, and it was so delicious!   I love soup in the winter and I need to find some really good recipes.  A soup night each week sounds perfect to me.

I also have been playing around on Pinterest.  It is a really neat way to bookmark recipes or projects that you would like to try later because it acts as a inspiration board with pictures that you pull from your favorite sites.  You have to request an invite right now, but mine only took a couple of days.  It is really neat; I am on there here if you want to look at all the soup recipes I have started collecting.:) 

2010 Recap

1. Aubie Dress, 2. Apple and Pear Jumper, 3. Pop Garden Frannie Dress, 4. Polka Dot Frannie Dress, 5. Madison Dress Front, 6. Ric Rac Jumper, 7. Jackson Top and Shorts, 8. Oliver S 2 +2 Tunic, 9. Oliver S 2 +2 Tunic, 10. Kid's Week Challenge: Sundress, 11. Purple Gingham Seersucker Dress, 12. Robin's Little Jacket, 13. Playsuit, 14. Taylor, 15. Iva Leigh Dress: Pink Swiss Dot Front, 16. Blue Gingham Iva Leigh, 17. Claire Dress, 18. Tiger Dress Back, 19. Analise, 20. McKenna Playsuit, 21. Owl Dress front, 22. Navy and White Polka Dot Crossover Dress, 23. Polka Dot Party Dress, 24. Fish!, 25. Olivia's Garden, 26. Far Far Away 2 Madison Dress Front, 27. Auburn Dress, 28. down the clothesline, 29. Patchwork Sleepsack, 30. DSC_0240, 31. Circle Skirt, 32. Circle Skirt, 33. Anna Tunic front, 34. Springtime Tunic: audreypawdrey, 35. down the clothesline 2

I love looking back over the year and remembering everything I have made.  It is fun because through the pictures I remember why I wanted to make something and who it was for.  This year I made many more articles of clothing than in previous years; it may have something to do with a cute little girl of mine!  Zerah has already grown out of most of these, but I did make some for next summer; I am definitely glad I did!
   

I made three quilts this year ranging from a full size to a table runner.  This is a lot less than in previous years, but I think I was gravitating to projects that could be completed in a weekend or a couple hours here and there.  I worked on many that I hope to be able to share next year!

My absolute favorite thing I made this year is my postage stamp quilt.  I just love it.:)

I can't wait to see what next year brings!  I still have Christmas projects to post, but I keep forgetting to take pictures of a few things that I made for here.  I hope everyone has a wonderful new year, and I am so happy to have all of you that stop by this little space.:)

Scrappy Christmas Quilt-finished!

 

This past weekend I finished Zerah's scrappy Christmas quilt!  I quilted it during Zerah's nap on Thursday, and I sewed the binding on during the Auburn/ Alabama game on Friday and Saturday night while rewatching the game.  We won!  I think we watched the game three times this past weekend. We are huge Auburn fans because my husband and I both went there, as did my brother, his brother, my dad, his dad, all of my aunts and uncles, most of my cousins, and really the list can go on and on.

I am very happy with the way the quilt turned out.  It is about 46" by 46" square. It is backed with a soft green flannel sheet that I have had for a while.  Six of the blocks were made from the Scrappy Christmas block swap I participated in last summer.  I made the three blocks on the diagonal from the bottom left corner to the upper right corner.  Zerah has already been sitting on it looking intently at all of the fabric, pointing at everything, and saying, "Dis" and "Dat".  She likes it!

Scrappy Christmas Quilt

I stayed up late last night finishing piecing this Christmas quilt together.  It is going to be for Zerah.  Last summer I participated in a Scrappy Christmas Block exchange, and I am just now getting all the blocks put together.   I received six blocks from the exchange, and I made two last summer with one more added last night.  I like how bright and happy it is!  It is 46"x46".

I have been thinking of the Christmas traditions I want to start with my family, and I want to make a concerted effort to start establishing the ones passed down to me from my family and new ones I develop as well.  One tradition I want to start is having a Christmas quilt that you sleep under starting Thanksgiving night leading up to Christmas day.  I think that will be a fun way to start anticipating the season each year.  I don't know if I will have this one finished by Thursday night (probably not), but hopefully it will be finished during this holiday season.:)

I need to finish making my Christmas presents, too!  I have one almost finished and several more to go.

Somewhere Over the Rainbow

I finally fiished my postage stamp quilt!  I am so excited that it is finished!

 

  I started working on it during the spring of 2008, so it only took two and a half years.:)  It is made with 3,800 1 1/2 inch squares-3,000 on the front and 800 on the back.

 Each block contains 100 squares.  The finished size is 80" x 91".  I started piecing it on my mom's vintage 70's Kenmore sewing machine and finished with my Bernina.  I stippled all over for the quilting; I used eleven bobbins of thread, which is the most quilting I have ever done on a single quilt.  I really like the dense quilting on this one.

 I started collecting squares way back then, and I participated in two rounds of a postage stamp swap on Craftster to get an assortment of colors. I knew I wanted to make blocks of one color, but I wasn't sure about the arrangement.

  I tried a couple different variations, and I really liked some of them; I may go back and make another one in the future based off one of the variations I tried.   I wanted it to be big enough to fit a full size bed when it was finished, so I quickly realized I would need a border or to separate the blocks.  I am happy with the way it turned out. 

 I went with my daughter to the park to take pictures of it, and it is a little wrinkled from being squished in the bottom basket of her stroller.  I kind of like the wrinkled look because it shows it will be loved and used.:)


 I have always photographed my quilts in my backyard, but it was fun trying to get different pictures of it.  It is currently back in the washer because it did get dirty from lying on the grass; we have a lot of geese in Colorado.

I actually sewed the binding on by hand on this one.  It was the first time I have ever tried that!  It felt like it took forever; it was about two weeks sewing for 30 minutes to an hour at night with a marathon sewing session during the Auburn vs. Old Miss game last night. 

It is definitely one of my favorite quilts I have made, if not my favorite.  I love that it is my own design and that it turned out just like I wanted.

If you want to see in-progress pictures, follow the links below:
May 28, 2008-starting, July 14, 2008, September 8, 2008 (layouts), February 23, 2009 -top almost pieced, May 29, 2010 basted and started quilting and then started ripping stitches out, and October 15, 2010-quilting.

I am entering this into Amy's Quilt Festival.  I look forward to this event every spring and fall.  There are some amazing quilts every year, so go look if you are ready to be inspired!

You can see my previous entries by following the links below:
Spring 2010 and Fall 2009

Thank you for stopping by!

Patchwork Dreams

This past weekend I finished this patchwork sleepsack for Zerah. Ever since I first received Handmade Beginnings by Anna Maria Horner this summer, I have been wanting to make one!  I decided I better make it soon before she was too old for sleepsacks!  She is borderline too old at 13 months, but I love how she looks in them.  I am not ready for her to have a blanket in the bed because that means she is no longer a baby.:)

So she gets to wear a sleepsack a little bit longer.  I used the pattern from Handmade Beginnings but added about ten inches in length.  The pattern is for a 0-3 month old.  I also added another inch to the sides, but I don't know if I needed to do that.  I can't wait to see her bundled up in it tonight ready for bed.

I also finished the quilting on my postage stamp quilt last weekend, and I am slowly handsewing the binding on.  It is taking forever!  I have put in about 5 hours, and I am not finished with one side yet.  I have been working on it a little each night after Zerah goes to bed.  It is nice to have a project to work on in front of the T.V.



In addition, I recently stumbled upon the Front Range Modern Quilt Guild!  Modern Quilt Guilds have been popping up all over the country, but there wasn't one here yet.  Friday, I stumbled upon it, and signed up immediately!  So, if you are in the Front Range area and like modern quilting, go sign up!  I am so excited there is a chapter nearby!

I hope to finish this weekend...

Well, I may not finish the whole thing, but I hope to have all the quilting done! I worked on it this past weekend, and I am so happy with the way it is turning out so far. I have used five bobbins, and I have been to the store twice for thread. I don't know why I bought a little spool-what was I thinking?

It has been busy around here this past week. We had parent-teacher conferences Wednesday and Thursday, so I was at work from 6:30 am didn't arrive home until 8:30 on Wednesday. Thursday was 6:30 in the morning until 6:00 at night. I am so happy it is almost the weekend!

Keep those little legs warm!

This past weekend I made fifteen pairs of legwarmers for Zerah for this upcoming fall/winter. She has so many cute dresses that she needed something to keep her little legs warm when it gets cold outside. I had a lot of fun picking out the socks to make these!



I don't think we will lack for choices for legwarmers for her to wear! I couldn't decide, so I kept making some, and making more, and finally I stopped at fifteen. I used this tutorial on how to make them. I found all the socks at Target for $1 each. So this project cost me about $15, which is pretty good for 15 pairs of legwarmers. I estimate the retail cost of these to be around $150-200. She now has a spiffy little collection.


Don't those little legs look cute in their argyle glory? I love argyle.
They go together so quickly, too. I think each pair took about 10-15 minutes. I may need to make some more for quick baby gifts!


I am off to go take our daily walk. I am trying to walk around 3 miles a day! It is so nice to just be outside in the sunshine-enjoying fall weather!

Baby Legwarmers!

I love legwarmers on babies; they are so cute! I don't like paying at least $7 a pair for them. I was so excited to find this tutorial the other day on making legwarmers from knee socks, and I had to try it out!

Yesterday, I went to Target in search of knee socks, and I found these for $1 a pair! They were on sale from $2, which isn't bad either. So I picked up many pairs, so I can make legwarmers for Zerah to wear under all her cute dresses when it is cold and snowy here this winter for $1 each. I made the pair above in about ten minutes.:)

I had to share quickly, so all the pictures were taken at night when the light isn't great. The sale ends on the legwarmers at my Target on Oct. 2nd.