No-sew block swap . . .

Recently, I participated in my first online quilt block swap. I loved that this one was a "sew it yourself" swap since different machines and quilters use slightly different seam allowances. I just got my box of blocks today and a sweet little tissue holder from the host as well. Kathleen definitely went above and beyond with the organizing, and filling in for the blocks that were no-shows. I'm looking forward to sewing up all the beautiful bits of fabrics I received! Here's the block that I contributed, it's called a Twisting Star.

a pattern review . . .

I got the opportunity to be a pattern tester for the Handmade Dress again. This time the pattern was called Miss. Mary (now available in her shop) and it's a wrap-style. I found some fabric in my stash and made one for Elayna in a size 6. I really love the fit and style of how this turned out! The instructions were super easy to follow and I love the way the pattern gives instruction on how to finish everything off nicely. When Brad saw the dress he called it "the dress every Daddy wants to see their little girl wearing" - it's modest but still pretty. Elayna loved it and said it was very comfortable. I'm planning to make some Sunday dresses for the girls with this pattern, but to add some trim and more colorful fabrics to give it a different look.

Craft Hope quilt . . .

After the earthquake in Haiti a few weeks ago, an organization called Craft Hope opened an etsy shop and started accepting donations from crafters around the world. All proceeds from the sales are going to Doctors Without Borders in Haiti. Their initial goal of raising $5000 has been smashed and they have raised in excess of $27,000!

So on to my contribution . . . this is a quilt top that I had pieced some time ago but never finished off. The fabric line is Heather Ross’s West Hill collection (Matryoska Dolls and Floral Stripe). I had actually won this fabric off someone's blog, and the fabric that I used for the backing and binding was bought with a gift certificate that I had also won from an online sewing contest. I had forgotten how soft this fabric is and really enjoyed playing with it again as I quilted it and added the binding. The quilt got listed last night on the Craft Hope etsy shop and was purchased this morning.I'm linking this to Sew and Tell Friday. Go there to find some sewing inspiration!

stacking coins . . .

So I had a bunch of scraps left over from Alyssa's quilt, scraps from clothes I've made for the girls, and a stack of charms that I had won online. So what better way to show them all than in a rug and curtains for Alyssa's room? Here's two variations of a stacked coin design.For the rug, some woven material on sale at our local fabric store was pieced with the cottons for the top, the woven material was used again for the backing, and a rubber material stitched to the back so it wouldn't slide around.For the curtains, a solid white cotton was used with the charms, and a blackout material for the backing.And voila! A fun coordinating room that she won't outgrow too soon (aside from the toddler bed). Now to work on those bare walls . . .

some sewing . . .

A little while ago I had the priviledge of being a pattern tester for The Handmade Dress. The pattern is called Miss Alice and is now available for sale. I made a size 5 with the intention of giving it to Chantel. It was a very quick and easy pattern. I really love the style of the yoke and think it's just a great touch. The dress is quite long with the intention of being modest and after I completed it - I thought that it better suited Elayna. But my girls are more of skirt and pants kinda girls and their Sunday dresses are often more dressy than this. So after I had taken some pics of it on Elayna, I shortened the length, removed the belt, and made a pair of matching narrow pants; and now we have another school outfit for Chantel. I added the rutching to the side of the pants and a raw applique as an after-thought (had I thought it out before-hand, I would've done the applique first and added more of the flowers and a butterfly from the fabric). I will definitely make this pattern again, I think it would look sweet in a cotton or knit for more of a spring/summer style (I'm already picturing it with some capri leggings). I've also seen it completed in baby-sizes and they look especially sweet.

Another project I've completed won't be seen too much, but will be worn lots. A pair of pull-on training panties for Alyssa, complete with pocket opening to put an insert in if needed. It was my second attempt as the first pair wasn't a good fit. She seems to love them and I'm hoping to whip up a bunch more pairs since they only took about 10 minutes to complete.

cloth diaper giveaway event . . .

As I've mentioned a few times, we've been cloth diapering with Justin. I had "tried" cloth diapering a couple times with the girls, with fitteds and covers, and hated it. But before Justin was born, I had looked into all the options out there and decided to give it a "real" try this time, but with the all-in-one kind of cloth diapers. Basically, it's just like a disposable diaper (one piece) that you throw in the wash. And because he's a nursed baby, all I have to do is put the washing machine through an exta rinse cycle before the wash cycle. Super easy. And since Justin's been born, we've discovered his sensitive skin issues, which make cloth diapering a good choice for him. I've been experimenting with different styles like pockets (that you stuff) and all-in-two's (where you snap in the liner) - both of these have quicker drying times than AIO's - and discovered all the cute colors and prints that everything is available in. It's a whole new online world when you get into cloth diapering. So I have been enjoying it, and after three months of using mostly sized small diapers, I sold my stash on an online swapping community and Craigslist, and got into size mediums and one-size diapers.

And then today, while catching up on some blog reading, I came accross a one size cloth diaper event on a blog called Take Time to Smell the Rose. Starting on January 1st, they are going to be doing reviews on 22 different brands of one sized cloth diapers and a bunch of them will be offering giveaways. And by posting about this, I get extra entries into all those giveaways. So since I'm interested in trying out new kinds, it will be great to get recommendations of what I should try next (and of course winning some would be great!).

a *little* bit of creating . . .

So I have spent very little time in the sewing room lately, it's definitely not going to be a homemade Christmas around here. But I'm not complaining, one day the kids won't want me coordinating everything in their lives and I'll have lots of time to sew and quilt. But I did manage to squeeze out a mini-sleepsack for Justin. The girls helped pick out the buttons and fabric to make it fun, and Justin even sat on my lap for part of the sewing because he loves to be held as soon as the machine goes on. I made it with buttons to close up the armholes with the intention of keeping his arms from getting out (he startles himself awake and is getting too strong for swaddling) but my design flaw was using fleece - too stretchy. I think I'll add some bias tape to the neck and see if that works. It was fun to make anyways, especially since the girls helped out.

We also made some teacher gifts for the girls teachers. We used this website for the recipe and printable gift tags and made M&M Christmas cookies (complete with red & green M&M's). A quick and fun idea. Today's plans include making our own batch :)

a lap quilt and matching table topper . . .

Well since I have no baby news to post about, and the kids got rushed out the door so quick this morning that I don't have back-to-school pics yet either, I thought I'd post a sewing project. This is a project I finished up some time ago - they were a (belated) wedding gift and house-warming gift for my brother and my sister-in-law. It's the same block repeated, just placed at different angles. I loved working with the orange and black - something a little different and fun. And making the quilt all over again in miniature for the table topper used up all the little leftover scraps nicely. I'd love to do this pattern again in a totally different color theme and maybe try some flower appliques or something on some of the blocks.

what to do when you're overdue . . .

lots of organizing and washing of baby stuff . . . Alyssa's been moved to the girls old room and all the baby stuff has been taken out of storage. We're also trying out some cloth diapering at home this time so they're all washed and ready to go (and three more are coming in the mail so I should have a couple days supply).

getting ready for back-to-school . . . all the clothes have been sorted, some new clothes added, backpacks ready, and school snacks are filling the cupboard.

some sewing . . . this will be a rug for Alyssa's new room and I'm hoping to make some matching curtains in the future as well. Unfortunately, sewing time gets cut short because my naps are priority around here.

itty bitty dress . . .

I had enough fabric left over from Alyssa's dress to make a matching itty bitty dress if this new babe happens to be a girl (if it's not, I guess I have a gift for someone or a matching dolly-dress). I used this pattern which was super quick, but changed the straps (I'll make the buttonholes after I've tried it on a real subject), and added a ruffle to lengthen it a bit. I think it will look cute with a short sleeved onesie underneath (and that's also my excuse for not making matching panty covers). So no baby news here yet. I've been having contractions off and on for days but nothing that keeps going, so I'm expecting an induction sometime in the next week (that would make four for four).

cover-up . . .

Since swimming lessons is starting up next week, I made the girls some cover-ups to help make getting ready in the morning a little quicker (I have THE pickiest girls when it comes to what to wear). Here's a pic of Chantel's.

some things I've won that I'm super excited about . . .

So I like to frequent other blogs for inspiration, reviews, and their generous giveaways! And it just happens that I've won on two of my favorite blogs lately! The Fabric Shopper is not only full of great inspiration and reviews for sewing and quilting, they are continually featuring trendy fabric designers and beautiful fabric lines. My Organized Chaos is a review blog featuring modern baby and kids items with the occasional items for moms. So what did I win? From the Fabric Shopper, I won an Amy Butler Sweet Life bag - so gorgeous, and something for me! And from My Organized Chaos, I won a gift set of organic baby products from Nature's Paradise - perfect for our little one due next month and especially great because my babes often have sensitive skin and their products have all natural ingredients.

disappearing 9-patches . . .

So I've been playing in the sewing room, trying to find some inspiration for what project to start next. I did make a new dress for myself (and even wore it to church), and a simple summer tank top for myself, and a pair of summer pj's for Alyssa (which I need to improve the design of). But I'm feeling a little at a loss of what I "need" to make - hopefully I figure it out this week since I'm down to just Alyssa every morning while the other girls enjoy a summer program.

I also made six disappearing 9-patches with a bunch of fabric squares from a swap awhile back. But to finish them into a quilt, I think I'd like to get a whole bunch more blue squares, or alternate them with another color? I'll have to see . . .

Quilt-Along Quilt

There's been a quilt-along hosted by the Old Red Barn going on and I joined in. It was great motivation to keep on track with my progress and last night I finished up the last bit of the binding. I did a smaller version and made the blocks 7 strips wide so I would have the least bit of scraps leftover. The quilt is for Alyssa and her transition to a toddler bed when the baby arrives. It measures approx 60" x 45" so that's big enough to hang over the edges of the mattress or tuck it in.

The fabric is from Sandi Hendersen's ginger blossom - one of my favorite fabric lines and it was part of the prize from the baby bootie contest last year. For the borders, I used a scalloped ruler which I got as a Christmas gift this past year, and really wanted to try it out after seeing this quilt. The ruler was super-simple to use and I LOVE the finished look! I will definitely be doing that again! For the backing, I used a soft minkie (that I picked up at a half price sale at our local fabric store). I made sure to pick out one that wasn't super-stretchy and found it easier to free motion quilt than I thought it would be - I was fully prepared for it not to work and so happy that it did!

I also added a label (something I am not good at taking the time to do!). I handwrote it out first and then free motioned over the letters - again, something that was easier than I thought it would be and something I'll do again next time! So I hope that Alyssa will trade in her baby quilt for this one (especially if the new babe is a girl).

a new bag . . .

A local quilt shop has some great deals going on and I couldn't resist picking up some fabrics for a new bag. So this is my new bag for when my purse doesn't quite fit everything. It will probably end up being a diaper bag on occasion, or for Bible study when I need to carry a few books. Right now it fits those couple extra summer items that need to be carried around and a couple things for Alyssa since I don't need a full diaper bag for her anymore. I made the pattern myself because I wanted something original but found inspiration from here and here. The bag has a couple inside pockets, closes with a zipper (my first time doing that!), the bottom corners are boxed for some stability, and there's some pleats between top and bottom fabrics. Anyways, a new fun bag for me to enjoy!

a new purse . . .

My purse was in need of a replacement and I wanted to try out the Buttercup pattern that's been floating around for awhile now. The pattern was super easy to follow and the purse came together really quickly. Changes I made included enlarging the pattern a bit and adding some heavyweight interfacing to give more shape. I love how it turned out except that I find the purse buckles a bit when I weigh it down - I think I might open it up and put in some heavier interfacing like pellon in the top band to help keep its' shape.

our little flowergirl . . .

So here's a pic of our little flowergirl from the wedding this past week. She did quite well in the church - walked down most of the aisle by herself, just got a little confused when the other flowergirls started running back and forth down the aisle. She even stood at the front with the bridal party and watched as the bride was given away. The formal pictures on the other hand were a different story - she fell asleep on the drive over and cried on every picture. But at least she wasn't the only one, they'll be amusing pictures to look back on later.

one hour pajamas . . .

Chantel was feeling a little left out the other night while Elayna was attending yet another birthday party (seems half her class has their birthdays within a week of each other) so I cheered her up by letting her pick out some fabric from my stash and whipping up a Summer nightgown just in time for bed. This seriously took no time at all to make and I LOVE how it turned out. Now if I was only ambitious enough to whip up two or three more of these for each of the girls, they'd be set for the whole Summer.

some little girl aprons . . .

Elayna was invited to a birthday party for four little girls from her class. So I made four half-aprons and added a cookbook to top off the gifts (got them for a great deal). I had the fabric and rick-rack in my stash for the aprons, used a couple pics from the web as inspiration, and they came together really easily. I wrote down the measurements for everything in case I decide to make them again - after all, there will be lots of little girl birthday invitations coming through this house in the years to come.

dolly stuff . . .

So I have been having way too much fun sewing this morning. I brought my sewing machine and iron upstairs so I could sew in the air conditioned part of the house and not trip a breaker (for some reason my sewing room is on the same breaker as our air conditioner even though they're on total opposite corners of the house). Then the girls got in swimsuits and played outside for hours (I'm loving this weather!) while I got to play with some of my favorite fabrics - mostly ginger blossom. I made a little dolly diaper bag and matching dolly change pad for a little girls birthday party tomorrow. It was much more fun than taking the girls shopping! I have a pack of preemie diapers and I'll put in a handful to complete the gift - hopefully the birthday girl loves it as much as my girls do!

(here's a close-up of the bag. Inspired by Heather Bailey's book bags in the May 2008 issue of Home Companion).