November

These days I find myself drinking in as much free time as I can.  Which isn't much.  I think I have mentioned that.  My baby doesn't sleep well.  Nap time and bed time are both hard.  Here is a peek at a few things I did in October and the beginning of November
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I actually managed to decorate for Halloween!  This is a first for me.  I need more dimensions or levels on the mantel but I was using what I had on hand and not buying anything new. We always dress up, pass our candy, and carve pumpkins.  I just have never really decorated. Thank goodness for free printables.  Next year I plan to make a small quilt to hang and a wreath for our door. 

I got this idea to make miniature (cupcake size) apple pies!  They were so fun!  I am making these again for Thanksgiving.  I used a cupcake liner flattened out on the crust to figure out what size to cut the crust to before putting them in the cupcake pan.

I made some pin toppers for myself!  I saw this craft on Pinterest and had to try it out.  I had never worked with polymer clay before.  I even made a mustache and lip set.  No pictures yet, but they are cute!!

I have managed to make 7 blocks to contribute to our local modern quilt guilds "Film Noir" challenge.  These are 12 1/2 inch blocks in black, white, and grey, with pops of color.

I have a stack of arrows ready to be made into a quilt for my oldest son for Christmas.

I also have a large stack of nine patches sewn together and cut up for my youngest daughter's quilt.  Those are just a small sample of what is in stacks and piles.  I feel like I never have any time or that I can't get anything done, but I make the most of what time I do have. I hope your holiday crafting is going smoothly.

Little Quilts

So my stitching is a little crooked.  :)  But I still love my little doll quilt I whipped up for my youngest girl.  I made it from a free pattern offered over at: http://nanacompany.typepad.com/nanacompany/2012/04/a-free-sweet-dreams-little-one-pdf-pattern-.html
We are doing homemade Christmas again this year and I have started with this project.  I love that the Fat Quarter shop now carries the little 2 inch pre-cuts! 

Happily, I finally managed to get this selection of fabric squares off of my cutting board and made into a little baby quilt/playmat or just a happy wall hanging.  I have yet to decide.  I am still also debating on what to back and bind it with. I call it my Square Chalk Box.  Quilting should be done by Friday as long as my littlest is agreeable.  :)  I love my little Cheerio eating monkey.  He captivates me so much of my time an I am more than happy to give him loads of my attention.  They grow so fast!  What takes you away from quilting?  

Look at my new "Love" canvas!  I won it from Carrie over at Believe Magic. She is truly the sweetest most cheerful person I have ever met!  My canvas has found a home on my desk.  It really makes me happy to look at. 

I have been struggling to catch up/finish projects and to take photos of everything...I am lacking a little in the photo department.  Far more progress without photo documentation.  At least there is progress!  The good news is I am all caught up in the Half Square Triangle Quilt Along over at In Color Order!

August Block of the month

September Block of the month

The first time I made this one I made a mistake!  Can you spot the difference?

I really hate when that happens!!

There has also been progress on the Apple of My Eye Quilt (where I am lacking the photos) and the my bee blocks from the modern quilt guild.  I am waiting on a few more blocks before I lay I share it.  But it is looking pretty fun! I need to get more stuff done.  I have a few quilt deadlines coming up.  Babies are due to be born and will need little quilts to welcome them into the world.  :)  Hope you are enjoying the beginning of fall!

Two Posts in One Day!

2 Posts in 1 day!  I think that deserves a double rainbow picture I took about a week ago.  The reason for the second post...I just had to share that I finished my purse today!  Wahoo.

I am not sure what I will do with it.  It isn't really my style but hey I made a purse and it is cute.  Does anyone else make things without an idea of how to use it.  My husband sarcastically told me to put lipstick, a wallet, etc inside it.  Thanks honey, but it doesn't match anything I own.  Ah well.

Late August - Catching Up Slowly

Admittedly, it has been awhile.  I have been working on things but very VERY slowly.  July I took a vacation from my projects to start on a quilt for my niece who was visiting.  It uses the Riley Blake Apple of My Eye collection.  I just love it!  I was teaching my niece how to cut, piece, and quilt.  I will be able to show off pictures of our project soon. 

I finished sewing the binding on my garden fence quilt the other night and am happy to say it is 100% finished now.  It will be headed off to my nephew soon.

I have continued to work on my Half Square Triangles for the Block of the Month thing over at In Color Order.  Below is July and August will be up soon.

I got together with Carrie from Believe Magic and stitched our quilt guilds charity quilt. I managed to contribute 3 blocks!  Yay!  She is super fast at sewing and so patient with me. *Carrie took the picture of the photo below*

Last but not least.  Our modern quilt guild has decided to do some Bee Blocks.  My month was this one and I chose a half-square triangle block that was featured on SewMamaSew awhile back (with a few modifications).  Here is one of the blocks I made.

I am keeping this one all to myself.  I have yet to make myself a quilt and decided it is about time.  I can't wait to see all of the other blocks.  I have been having fun finding all of my favorite fabrics and scraps for these blocks. I hope you all are finding time to fit in sewing.  Will share more soon.

Monday Monday

This past weekend I got several fun "I Spy" fabrics in the mail and one Alexander Henry Print from my LQS. 

I have already started cutting my charms. I only have to cut up 4 of these (I have a double spot).  I bought extra fabrics since it is hard for me to tell the size of prints online.  I just adore the Alexander Henry print with the happy farm items.  I might have to go back and buy even more just to back a quilt for my little boy. 

I made some progress on my purse.  I got the pleats stitched down, the interior and exterior sewn together and now I just need to add my bias tape.

I am making the bias tape purse from Prudent Baby.  It is so easy I might have to make a few.  I also got quite a bit of my binding hand-stitched on the garden fence quilt.  I also transferred my embroidery on to the fabric for the elephant dreams quilt.  Progress is always good.   

Saturday Night Update

I finally dropped off 3 quilts to the local chapter of the Red Cross.  I felt so shy and awkward about it.  I don't really have a lot of confidence when it comes to my quilts (I feel like an amateur compared to others) and I kinda like anonymity.  Truth be told, I haven't been sewing too much lately.  What I did manage though:

 I cut out pieces from some old Art Gallery Fabric to make a purse as well as some farmer's wife blocks.  I got binding put on the top of my garden fence quilt (picture was taken pre-quilting and binding):

Now I am on to hand stitching the back on.

I did a little work on my "Elephant Dreams" quilt.  Here is an old photo which includes the little drawing I came up for it:

 I plan to hand embroider him on this next week (fingers crossed).

 I also made a block for Kilah and got it mailed off.  I have a little girl who is about her age so this story really devastated me.   3 year olds are just so fantastically full of life and overflowing with personality.  I pray that her little spirit recovers as well as her body.  Quilts are so medicinal that I think this special one being made with so much love for her will help boost her spirit and bring a little comfort.  If you haven't heard about Kilah's story and the quilt project you can find out more about it here:

http://www.lintonville.com/?p=347

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Shhh!

I finally got  a little time to quilt!  My son took a nap that wasn't on me.  So while he was napping I caught up on my Half Square Triangle Block of the month Quilt Along blocks.

Whew!  But I also got the top-stitching all done on this quilt:

So if I can get it bound, it will be another finish for 2012!  Thank you Mr. Squishy bottom!

Here he is doing tummy time yesterday!  He is so tall - 98 % for his age!  What have you been up to?

One, Two, Tie Your Shoe Model - Tutorial

Before I get down to this I will be honest with you.  I have a new camera and do not know how to use it.   I am definitely not a photographer.  So my photos are not always the best.  :(  I am also very new to writing tutorials.  But, if you can bear with me I will show you what I made for my daughter recently and how I made it.

 My little girl has hit that preschool age where she needs to learn to tie her shoes.  So instead of having a shoe sitting on my table that has been trudging through the garden, I decided to make her one.  

 

Materials:

- adult shoe
- 3 pieces of 12" x 12" cardstock
- hole Punch
- scissors
- Shoe Lace
- Gluestick
- Double Sided Fusible Webbing (I use Steam A Seam 2)
- About 1/8 of a Yard of Fabric (depends on shoe size)
- Knife
- Single fold bias tape
- Glue Gun
- Puffy Paint (optional)

 

Instructions:

1.  Trace your shoe on to the card stock.  Cut out shoe outline and use this first one as a template for the other 4.  Once you have your 5 shoes cut out, set one aside (this one is your backing).

2. Take one of your shoe cutouts and draw little circles evenly spaced down both sides of your shoe top (I pre-draw to make it a little easier to figure out spacing).  Next, use the hole punch to cut them out.  It is okay to bend or fold the cutout to make the holes (you can see in the photo I had to).  Use this first one as a template to repeat the process on the other 3 shoe outlines.  Now glue your outlines together.  Do not worry about them matching up perfectly, this will be hidden.

3. Place your fusible webbing on top of your shoe outlines and then your fabric on top of that.  Trim to fit the shoe outline and press with an iron.

Yours will look like this.

4. Flip over your shoe to the side without the fabric and use a sharp knife to cut an "X" through the holes into the fabric.  Thread your laces through the holes.  I like to make sure mine lay as flat as possible on the underside.

5. Now glue the shoe outline you set aside to the back of the shoe over the laces.  Turn over again so you can see the top of the shoe.

6.  Use a glue gun to add the single fold bias tape to the top of your shoe first and then the back.  If you go slow and do about an inch at a time you can get it to lay nicer.

7.  (Optional Step)  On the back of your shoe, use puffy paint to create fun designs or tread like you find on the bottom of real shoes. 

I hope you will be able to use this tutorial to create some cute practice shoes for your children!

Giveaway Winners

Thank you all for stopping by and entering my giveaways!  I will be emailing the winners later today.  I had so much fun reading through all of your responses.   In case you are curious about my own answers to the questions, they are below the winners.

Giveaway #1 Winner is:

# 134 Treasuresofjoy
I Love to read my Bible

Giveaway #2 Winner is:

#30 Jenniffier Kramer

 "I want to make a purse this summer and finish some UFOs not too much to ask right?"

Giveaway #3 Winner is:

#89 CarrieM

Right now--coral

My favorite books include: "Bel Canto", The Kristin Lavransdatter trilogy, The Sevenwaters books, "Snow Falling on Cedars", "Pillars of the Earth", "Enders Game", "Chocolat", The first few Wheel of Time books, The Elm Creek Quilt Books...I could go on and on.  Currently I am reading "The Phantom of the Opera" and "The Eyre Affair" (a friend lent it to me when we were swapping books). I recently finished "A Discovery of Witches" and "Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes"

This summer I plan to finish up several UFOs and make myself a purse.  The last one I made was from a pattern I drew up and it was for a swap.  I wish I could have kept it.

My favorite color is red but I am having a lot of fun with orange lately.  I tend to buy a lot of Riley Blake fabrics because they are cute and I do most of my sewing for children.

I hope you have a fabulous weekend.  Feel free to stop by again.

I am counting...stay tuned

I promise I haven't forgotten.  I did the random generator thing and have my numbers for each of the giveaways.  However, after searching for an easy way to apply numbers to my comments and failing at a few attempts...well I am doing it by hand.  I will have the results for you all soon.  Thank you for your patience.  Too bad my computer guy husband isn't home to get it done in a minute.  :( 

The good news is that I have 2 tutorials I will be posting this weekend! So if you like feel free to drop by again. 

It's Giveaway Day!

It is giveaway day!  I am so excited! Below are 3 giveaways you can enter.  The giveaways are open until the 25th.  Winners will be selected May 27th.  Good luck.

This weekend I took a little time to try a few things.  I set up a fun envelope challenge for our quilt guild which included these colors:

Our guild members have until July to complete the challenge - which could be either creating a 12 1/2" block inspired by these colors or else just making something fun for themselves with them.  I started sketching up some ideas this past week and came up with around 10 different blocks.  I fell in love with one of them and sat down to try it out.  I didn't measure or get too fussy, I just went for it.  What do you think?

I adore it!  It reminds me of: gummy worms, car trips, and summer!  It just makes me happy.  It doesn't meet the guidelines for the guild challenge with the baby blue incorporated.  I think I am going to make a few more of these squares and create at least a lap quilt out of these. 

The other thing I tried this weekend was ladybug nails!
 

My daughter's were thrilled!  I found the tutorial here:
http://brandyscrafts.blogspot.com/2012/05/ladybug-nails.html
I don't paint nails very often so I definitely need more practice but, oh the possibilities!!

Thanks for stopping by.

Giveaway # 1 - *Updated*

Hello, Sew Mama Giveaway Day visitors!  Prize number 1 is: 1 Mod Medallions quilt pattern from Gigi's Thimble and a variety of 10" Riley Blake Fabrics (can be used to help you make the Mod Medallions quilt).

*I only ship to the U.S. (I am sorry international readers)

To enter please leave a comment including an email where I can reach you. If you like you can tell me what your favorite book is (doesn't have to be sewing related).  This giveaway is open until May 25th.  I will announce the winner by May 27th.  If I cannot reach the winner and they have not contacted me then I will select another winner 1 week later. 

Good luck and remember to check: Sew Mama Sew for more fabulous giveaway day giveaways!

 *Updated - Comments are now closed for this giveaway.  Winner announced here:

http://www.kadybugcrafts.blogspot.com/2012/05/giveaway-winners.html

Giveaway # 2 - *Updated

Hello, Sew Mama Giveaway Day visitors!  Prize number 2 is: a copy of "One-Yard Wonders" and  Omnigrid Easy Rounded Dresden Templates.

*I only ship to the U.S. (I am sorry international readers)

To enter please leave a comment including an email where I can reach you. If you like you can tell me what you plan to sew this summer.  This giveaway is open until May 25th.  I will announce the winner by May 27th.  If I cannot reach the winner and they have not contacted me then I will select another winner 1 week later. 

Good luck and remember to check: Sew Mama Sew for more fabulous giveaway day giveaways!

 *Updated - Comments are now closed for this giveaway.  Winner announced here:

http://www.kadybugcrafts.blogspot.com/2012/05/giveaway-winners.html

Giveaway # 3 - *Updated

Hello, Sew Mama Giveaway Day visitors!  Prize number 3 is: 1 fat quarter of the blue Birds on Chairs, 1 fat quarter of the purple Birds on Chairs, and a little more than 3/4 of a yard of jumping frogs.


*I only ship to the U.S. (I am sorry international readers)

To enter please leave a comment including an email where I can reach you. If you like you can tell me what your favorite fabric color is.  This giveaway is open until May 25th.  I will announce the winner by May 27th.  If I cannot reach the winner and they have not contacted me then I will select another winner 1 week later. 

Good luck and remember to check: Sew Mama Sew for more fabulous giveaway day giveaways!

 *Updated - Comments are now closed for this giveaway.  Winner announced here:

http://www.kadybugcrafts.blogspot.com/2012/05/giveaway-winners.html

Helping Out

I have been staying up really late (early morning) helping/teaching a friend how to quilt.  She is leaving to bring the quilt to her sister on Friday...so we are trying hard to get it all finished up by then.  All that is left after last night is the binding.  I promise to show photos of the completed quilt after she gives it to her sister.  In the meantime here are two more blocks I made:

This one is for "The Boxcar Children" - The book has a shadow picture and the cover doesn't show much either so I had to sketch/wing it as best I could.

The next block was "Harold and The Purple Crayon".  I embroidered the outlines and then began to fill it in.  I joked that I could stop and just leave the rest unfilled so it looked like he was still coloring and my friend decided that was good.  So here it is. 

I have also managed to sneak in making 3 more Farmer's Wife blocks:

This is one of my favorites:

I adore the little beehive in the corner and the "Build Your Own Greenhouse" ad in the center.  On my table are centers for the "Dresden Plate" quilt and pieces for the Half Square Triangle Quilt Along.

We have a winner!

And the winner is Sandy! Sandy, please email me (my email is in my about on the right hand side) your address and I will send you your new pattern and charm pack off to you. :) 

I will be participating in SewMamaSew's giveaway day so there will be no giveaway next week.

But, check back on May 21st!  In the meantime I look forward to sharing more story blocks and farmer's Wife blocks!  I wish I could do more than a few blocks here and there, but there just isn't anymore time in my day.  In a few months though I am sure things will pick up. :)

Right now I am enjoying taking my 4 children for walks and shedding more baby weight.  I am so glad that all of the snow is finally gone!  My yard is starting to look green.  It has been overcast and a little damp the last few days but it just means more green right?  How is the weather where you are?