the Diamond quilt . . .

I finished off the diamond quilt this week and gave it to the very special someone, my Oma. She has made so many beautiful knitted and crocheted projects for me over the years, and never complains when I send another pattern and more yarn her way. All of my children have 'Oma sweaters' for church, and she just recently made a beautiful Shalom sweater for me and a smaller version for Elayna. While making this quilt, I thought of her often, and all the times she put so much work into something for me.

Linking up to Confessions of a Fabric Addict, Fresh Sewing Day and Fabric Tuesday.

more Summer dresses . . .

Chantel has a cousin named Averi and although they're 13 months apart, they are almost exactly the same size. Last year I made them matching Summer dresses, and Chantel was pretty excited when I suggested we do it again this year.I used the Tatum pattern and the fabric is from Riley Blake's Enchanted Garden.
My niece lives quite far away, but hopefully we'll get some pics of the 'matching cousins' when we visit them this Summer.

the Tatum dress by Sew Sweet Patterns . . .

This is one of my favorite dresses I've made lately, or maybe that's because my little model gives it so much personality? Again, I was very impressed with the design, sizing, and finishing touches on this Sew Sweet Pattern. The only modification I made was to make the waistband wrap around because I wanted to break up the white butterflies with some color. I have two more Tatum dresses halfway done in my sewing room, and I'm hoping to finish them up this weekend.

The pattern for the dress is from Sew Sweet Patterns ~ a shop full of patterns for little girls, boys, and dolls. If you'd like to support this shop, please mention in the notes section that you found her through my blog.

And if you'd like to see some more dress reviews from Sew Sweet Patterns, you can see them here and here. Linking up to Confessions of a Fabric Addict.

WIP Wednesday . . .

This morning I cut up some flannel and batting at my kitchen island while the kids played and now it's waiting to be sewn up into a rag quilt for a sweet little babe born last night . . .I also have two matching dresses waiting for me to get back to (if you want to see some finished ones I've done lately check here and here) . . .

and the diamond quilt top is all pieced together. It needs a good pressing, and then I can baste and quilt it.

Linking up to WIP Wednesday.

the Elsie dress from Sew Sweet Patterns . . .

This was a quick dress ~ I made three at once, all during one nap time. My favorite details are the ruffles on the shoulders, contrasting band on the hem, and fully-lined bodice. I used a single snap for the back closure.These dresses will be for three of my little nieces, and none of them live near me, so the little model in these pictures is another niece of mine. I'll have to make her one of these dresses sometime soon, doesn't it look so sweet on her?The pattern for the dress is from Sew Sweet Patterns ~ a shop full of patterns for little girls, boys, and dolls. If you'd like to support this shop, please mention in the notes section that you found her through my blog.

Featured Etsy Seller ~ SewSweetPatterns

I've been in Summer dressmaking mode lately, and love working with work-at-home patterns, especially PDF ones that I can print off and start making right away! I discovered an Etsy seller named SewSweetPatterns and this week I'll be featuring three of her patterns. The first one is the GIA dress. This sweet pattern has a pleated skirt, a squared neckline, and has a back closure (I used snaps). I would consider this an advanced beginner pattern. The bodice is fully lined and the pattern bodice is fitted (I would recommend taking a chest measurement before you start cutting). The fabric I used is a cotton, but I think this would also be sweet done up in a knit. My daughter LOVES this dress, she said it was very comfortable, and she insisted on wearing it for a Mommy-date we had that night. Definitely a pattern that I will make again!This pattern is also available with matching doll pattern (wouldn't that be sweet?!) and the seller has MANY other patterns available for dresses, skirts, pants, shorts, aprons, dolls, and even some boy patterns. And you can mix-and-match for some great bundle deals. If you'd like to support this shop, please mention in the notes section that you found her through my blog. And check back this week for two more pattern reviews from her shop!

Miss Madeline dress . . .

I've made several dresses from the Handmade Dress, but this was my first time using this pattern. It was probably one of the quickest dresses I've ever made, and perfect for the beautiful weather we've been having. I see lots more Spring and Summer dresses making their way to my sewing to-do list . . .and this top is the result of cutting off the bottom of a t-shirt that had a big stain on it, and adding the cotton fabric. I didn't use gathering threads, just fed it through the machine quicker than the t-shirt ~ wow, did that save a lot of time!

Linking up to Confessions of a Craft Addict.

15 down, 10 to go . . .

Linking up to WIP Wednesday.

Finished!

I was asked to make some more scripture bags, and took a bit longer than I'd like to finish them ~ but we had a flu bug go through the house, Spring break, and we had a little family getaway. But now that school is back in, we are back to routine and I'm finding my way to the sewing room again.

I tweaked the sizing of the original pattern so these are a better fit for our Bible/psalm books for church. I'm hoping to sew my girls Spring dresses sometime soon and use the leftover fabric to make some of these for them too.

Linking up to Whoop!Whoop! on Confessions of a Craft Addict.

I am a total copycat . . .

After seeing this beautiful quilt, I was so inspired that I bought the exact same fabric, printed off the exact same pattern, and even got the leftover scraps from Alisa :) This is going to be a lap-size quilt for a very special someone . . .linking up to WIP Wednesday on Freshly Pieced.

too blessed to be stressed . . .

This is a phrase that's entered my mind many times this week, "too blessed to be stressed . . ." It also got me thinking of a couple small positive changes I can make in my life.

Here's some things that made me feel blessed today . . .

Filling up my new magnet board from Livy Lou Designs ~ amazing quality and beautiful little magnets! Such a great way to display business cards and thank-yous in my craft space. I know I have more to add, I just have to start digging around for them . . .

My new notebook, waiting to be filled with all my project ideas so I can stop trying to find back my scraps of paper all over the place . . .Elayna's first knitting project, she LOVES sitting down to knit . . .

Our beautiful sunshine, can it can get any better than this?!

And my project on my cutting table right now, scripture tote bags for a custom order. I'm going to stitch on the Bible verses today, and then I can assemble them.

And this afternoon, my sister and I did a 'kid-swap' so I have cousins playing nicely, while Elayna gets the expertise of her Aunty in scrapbook-making.

Another quilt out of my UFO pile!

This is another quilt top that I pieced a LONG time ago and quilted at the retreat this past weekend. It was supposed to be for my oldest daughter, but we rearranged the bedrooms this year and she now has a double bed. But I just wasn't motivated to keep making these diamond blocks, and it already kind of matches Chantel's quilt, so I finished it off for Alyssa. How is it that my third daughter has four quilts from me now, and my oldest only has two? I better change that before she notices . . . her name quilted in the middle . . .
and both quilts together now. So happy to have them done!

Linking up to Confessions of a Fabric Addict.

a productive weekend of quilting . . .

This past weekend was our annual quilt retreat! I helped with the organizing this year, so my morning was a bit of a slow start with checking everyone in, but once I got some time in with my sewing machine I managed to get two twin size quilt tops quilted! I am so glad that these quilts are off my to-do list as the tops were pieced so long ago, it's embarrassing.

This is the first quilt I finished, and after machine-stitching the binding down yesterday, it is now on Chantel's bed. The backing is mostly a pink non-pill fleece with a little bit of purple pieced in. She had requested a soft backing, and I skipped the batting layer ~ it quilted up so easily! I just did a large free-motion meander for the quilting. The pattern is Lucky Stars from Atkinson Designs. And I'm not sure if you can read it, but I quilted her name into the corner of the quilt (my kids LOVE having their names on their things).

If you want to read about our quilt retreat, it's in a guest blogger post at Quilting Gallery today!

Baby-in-the-Hood Jacket

I bought this Riley Blake Wheels fabric quite some time ago because it was one of those prints that I just HAD to have, but I wasn't sure what to do with it. Then a friend of mine suggested we make these baby-in-the-hood jackets for our little guys, and well, what little guy wouldn't want a jacket covered in cars? I coordinated a couple other fabrics from my stash, and in no time had this little jacket sewn up. The pattern is from Handmade Beginnings by Anna Maria Horner.

I'm linking this up to Fabric Tuesday at QuiltStory.

Mom Central Blogger article . . .

This article was a recipient of a Mom Central Canada Blogger Grant.
Thank-you so much for choosing my idea and encouraging me to write this!

How to Combat the Down Days

Hi, I’m a Mom. I have wonderful children whom I love to pieces, a husband who works hard to support us, a beautiful home, a church family, and so many more blessings that I can hardly begin to count . . . so what’s wrong with me? Why do resentful thoughts enter my head? Why do I feel overworked and underappreciated? Didn’t I choose this task as wife and mother? And why does it seem like no one else feels this way- Is it just me?

I’m writing today about those “dark” moments or days. I’m not trying to address post-partum depression, a very real and difficult struggle for many women. I am talking about the majority of moms who wonder why they don't always feel fulfilled in their role as wife and mother.
I am one of these women. Most days are good, some days are bad, and there are random moments in-between that are awful. I’m sure some of those moments can be chalked up to hormones, financial stress, a child being difficult, or a bad experience that day. But there are also those days where the excuse isn’t there and we wonder why.

So what’s the solution? Ever heard the phrase “If Momma ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy!” or “Happy wife = happy life!”. Well, there’s definitely some truth to these statements. But is it selfish to want something for ourselves? Well, in my opinion, the answer is NO, it’s not selfish. In fact, I think EVERY Mom should have something that is just theirs. As long as you find your balance between being there for your family and yourself, it’s healthy to pursue something that is just for you.

And if you’re not sure where your interests are ~ well, there’s a Mom that pursues everything out there! There’s the groups of crafting Moms ~ sewing, quilting, scrap booking, and home décor. Then there’s the women that can absorb book after book. There’s those that spend their time on the computer pursuing graphic design, photography, or blogging. There’s also the social Moms, who like to go visiting or volunteering. There’s the fitness Moms, the meal planners, the bakers, the crazy couponers, the cleaning perfectionists, the crunchy mama’s, and pretty much anything else in-between.

Online, you'll find a support group or forum for everything from trying to conceive to potty-training, from sharing meal ideas to uploading pictures of our latest crafty endeavour. Moms love to connect and bounce ideas off one another, and to be encouraged by one another. And there’s no shortage of us out there! Networking tools like email, Facebook, Flickr, and Twitter have made it easier than ever.

And you may be suprised by what kind of support groups exist within your own community. All you have to do is gather up some friends, or contact your local health unit or community church. Joining a Mom n' Tots group, finding a local gym that provides babysitting, swapping babysitting with other Moms, or finding a womens Bible study- are all ways that you can connect with other Moms during daytime hours. Getting a 'kid-break' for you, while putting them in an activity that helps develop them socially is a win-win situtation. Or if you have the flexibility of going out in the evenings- you might be able to join a guild in your area, take a night class, or start up a regular girls night or Splurge group with some friends.

And as for those dark days and moments? It’s amazing how less resentful we can be of our kids and spouse when we don’t feel like everything is about them. When we feel fulfilled and blessed, and are in a happier frame of mind, that attitude will spill over into our other daily tasks. And isn’t that what we really want? To be a better Mom, and a more loving spouse? By taking a break and nurturing ourselves once in awhile, we’ll be better equipped to do just that.

Rolling Meadows Quilt . . .

This past Fall, I won some fabric from the Modern Meadow line and the Rolling Meadows quilt pattern from Rebecca at Chasing Cottons. Even as I was entering this giveaway, I thought these fabrics would be perfect for my little sister. And because my sister is also a very talented photographer and keeps us up to date on our family pictures, I was more than happy to spend my time making her a quilt. I adapted the pattern a bit to make it more of a lap size, and added a couple coordinating prints. I stitched in the ditch using some of the decorative stitches on my machine. The backing is a Paisley from Robert Kaufman and it's a super soft minky (I bought it here). I'm looking forward to seeing this at her place when I come to visit!