Christmas Blankets

Plenty of sewing going on here... just not much time to write about it. :)

I made these last week to be donated.  My moms group has adopted a family from the pregnancy resource center this year.  Its a single mom with four little kids in need of a little extra help at Christmas.    Other moms in the group are buying gifts for the mom and the kids so I thought I would make the kids cozy blankets, with their initials on them for a little more personalization.

Three boys and one girl - cars, frogs, fairies, and plaid.  It was fun to pick out brand new fresh flannel and they are super snuggly.  Hope they like them!

Yeah for accuracy...

...drumroll please...

Presenting the most accurately pieced quilt block of my quilting adventures thus far:

See how the points of all those triangles are not haphazardly lopped off as usual?  :)

And the backside of the block, which I find fascinating for some reason:

The best part is... its not a one-hit-wonder.   I did it six times!

I can't say too much about the finished product because its destined to be a gift.  Just wanted to share the happy results that come from carefully pressing seams open.  I wished I'd have figured that out a long time ago because while its much slower than my previous method (ramming tricky intersections through under the needle, mashing it with a hot iron, and hoping for the best) its gives far superior results.

Around here I will soon be switching gears from some quilting projects to clothes making.  I have spent evenings lately pouring over books and blogs to learn about  drafting slopers.  I'll be attempting that process when making the girl's Christmas dresses.  With any luck we'll have nicely fitted bodices (maybe sleeves, maybe not, depends on how it goes) with full-circle or at least semi-circular skirts for maximum twirl factor.  If the experiment works I'll be thrilled and post about it.  If not, we'll be running to the local second hand store for fancy dresses on Dec 23rd!   :)

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Crayon Roll and Matchbox Car Roll

I have been plugging away at a quilt project lately.  This particular quilt has had its ups and downs and will be a good story to tell when its finished.

However, last week I needed a break from the quilt.  I needed to do something that would be fun and quick and instantly gratifying.  :)  A friend of mine mentioned a while ago that she wanted to get one of those 'crayon rolls thingys' to keep in her purse.  She'd seen them on Etsy and said something to the effect of ''I'm sure I could figure it out but don't have the time or inclination so I'll either buy them on Etsy or commission you to make them for me.''

Dangerous words to utter when I need a sewing fix.  :)

A few fat quarters of overtly kiddy fabric and a few days worth of putzing in the sewing room and here is what we have to show for it:

It came together very nicely.  My own girls use the small notebooks (3'' by 4'' or so) for drawing in church or the car so I figured something that could hold the notebook(s) and a few crayons would serve a good purpose.  

They were so easy and fun that I made a few more....

And then I remembered that the friend also mentioned a similar thing to hold matchbox cars.  (My girls would find that idea just plain silly, but she has two boys....)  After a little googling to get ideas this was created:  

I am very pleased with how this one turned out.  Cute, isn't it?  Even the non-car girls thought it was pretty cool.  The track is black felt (the rest is cotton) and the stripes on the road are a satin stitch with yellow thread.  I have a feeling this will come in very handy while those two boys are waiting for their food at a restaurant, waiting in the doctors office, etc. 

I did not tell anyone I was making these - I just showed up at the next playgroup with gifts to share all around.  Surprise homemade gifts are the most gratifying to give!  The friend who was the inspiration got the car roll and a crayon roll and then three other people got crayon rolls as well (much to the girl's relief I saved one for my purse).  

So, I got that little burst of creativity out of my system and am now refreshed and ready to go back to work on the quilt.  

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One little note for next time... the slots on the crayon roll are about 1''.  Almost too big.  Two crayons fit easily in each slot.  The slots could be thinner to hold the crayons tighter and/or it might need a flap that covers the crayons before you fold it up.  We had a few crayons slide out the top when it was folded up.  

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Silly Little Things and Why I Do Them...

Last night was one of the Open Sew Nights at the local quilt shop.   I don't go often, but was able to go last night.  I accomplished a goal (sewing a border on a quilt, more on that later) and then moved on to this silly little thing...

A month or so ago, six year old Leah made this dress for her beloved Dolly.  She had some help from me but did plenty of it by herself.  Its made from green velour left over from a previous year's Christmas dress with some lace scraps for 'sleeve caps'.

So, of course, Grace immediately wanted a dress for her little snuggle Meow.  

(And, yes, we know Meow is actually a dog.  Grace has always loved cats.  She refused to acknowledge the difference when she was 2 and its been Meow ever since.  Even today, she'll tell you that 'she knows he looks like a dog but he's really a cat'.)

She's been pestering me for weeks to make Meow a dress.  I kept putting her off for various reasons (Meow is pretty small thus requiring small armholes, not sure he'd actually ever wear the thing, etc).  Earlier this week I relented and promised I would take Meow to the Sewing Night and come home with a dress. 

For fabric, I used two of her favorite skirts that she has now outgrown.  It adds a nice touch (and makes up for the quick-and-dirty sewing skills).  Elastic casing neckholes, open holes for the arms - nothing fancy here at all.  But they are rather cute and she likes them.  I made two dresses and a skirt.  Probably took 45 minutes total.  

The best part, however, was the thank you card that Grace scurried off to make this morning.  She disappeared after breakfast and then reappeared with this for me:  

She said, "Hey Mom, this is me hugging you to say thanks for making Meow's dress."  

And that, my friends, is why I do silly little things like sew dresses for snuggles.  :)  

Sewing Bag

Here is a quick little 'one day wonder' I whipped up last weekend.

A bag that is shaped like a cross between a cosmetic bag and a pencil case, I guess.  I needed something that I could carry a hand-stitching project in when I go places.  I keep my hand sewing projects in a nice wooden box at home, but the box is a bit clunky to take along places.  So, while trolling Etsy looking for ideas I came across a bunch of cute cosmetic bags.  I've made them many times before as gifts, it just never occurred to me that I could use one as a sewing kit.

Off to the sewing room I went and an hour or so later, wa-lah!

Nice zipper inserted with my favorite Terry Arkinson method.  Lightly quilted sides (probably could have done a little more there, but oh well), boxed bottom, and it fits my needle/scissors case just right with room for a quilt block or two.  Added some ribbon and beads to the zipper pull for fun.  Don't tell the girls I stole beads from 'their' stash.  :)

*****

My quilt project last blogged about is coming along nicely.  I think the hardest part may be keeping it a secret from the recipient if I get it done too far in advance of her birthday.  It'll probably take all my effort to not show her the finished top, but I'll try.  :)

Brand New Fresh Quilt Project

I am celebrating the end of summer and start of fall with a brand new fresh quilt project.  Yeah!

Here's a sneak peak at the colors...

I had planned on piecing this quilt over the summer but it never quite happened.  It doesn't have to be finished until April so I still have lots of time.  As long as I start hand-quilting by January I should be fine as this one is not going to be huge (just couch snuggling size).

It will be a birthday present for a dear, dear, friend who will be celebrating a milestone birthday next year.  I've made her small things over the last few years but this upcoming birthday is the perfect excuse to make her a full-blown quilt.  She chose the colors/focus fabric and I am filling in the rest of the fabric and designing the quilt.  I absolutely love what I've got planned and can't wait to see it come together.  It'll have some nice personalized hand embroidery work (which I've been enjoying working on in the evenings) and some simple piecing.  I guess that's all I can say until it done!

Oh, and another good friend just bought her first house so I feel a housewarming gift coming on...  :)  Hope my friends keep having exciting events so I can keep making gifts!

Kiddy Kitty Pillow (say that three times fast!)

This is on here simply to brag.  Look what my six year old made.  All by herself.

She came to me with the dreaded b-o-r-e-d word (I've told her I don't want to hear that she's bored, so now she does it in sign language.  Smarty pants.)  I handed her a big square of white cotton and told her to draw a nice picture on it with crayons.  She disappeared and returned twenty minutes later with a pretty good likeness of her stuffed cat.  She had already planned the buttons for eyes and everything.  First she heat-set the crayon (with supervision, of course).  Then she got out her little sewing kit and embroidered the nose all by herself too.  The only thing I did was knot the thread once it was on the needle - she did the threading, stitching, and tied it off herself when she was done.  Pretty good, hey?  How many six year olds do you now that can 'satin stitch' a kitty nose on their own?  She's got buttons down pat too.

I suggested a pillow as a final product and she was off and running again.  Picked out crazy bright pink for the back.  Cut it herself, even remembering to measure first.  :)  Then, I rocked her world by letting her sew it together on my machine.  She even got to use the 'gas pedal'.  She has guided the fabric through the presser foot before while on my lap but I've never let her use the foot pedal.  I thought she enjoyed it, but I didn't know what a big deal it was until later that day when Daddy came home from work and both girls tore off to the back door to tell him that 'Mommy let Leah DRIVE the sewing machine ALL BY HERSELF'.

Then she stuffed it and whipstitched the opening closed on her own.  Not bad!  At this rate she'll be passing me up in sewing skills by the time she reaches high school!

More on what I'm up to later this week.