Friday, December 27, 2013

Taking a breath!

Well, December certainly was a busy month! Now I need a good long break from the hustle and bustle. I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas with your families. Sorry I haven't posted recently. I haven't had time for much since before Halloween! I made handmade gifts for all the adults in my family, but I didn't get a chance to take pictures of all of them. I always forget that part. Here are some of the things I did get pics of...


I made "scarves for my sisters", using my precious leftovers of Anna Maria Horner flannels and voiles from my giant log cabin quilt. These went to my sister, my two step-sisters, and my two sisters-in-law. 

I made remote caddy pillows for 3 of my brothers-in-law. Just pillows with pockets, handy for remotes, iPhones, or snacks. ;) Sorry, no pics. 


I finished this crossword quilt for my brother-in-law, who was requesting a quilt. Really, my sister was requesting a quilt for him, since he kept stealing the one I made for her. :) For the "answers" I used his name, and names of his family, as well as some other things. I embroidered all of the letters, and I also embroidered a couple of pharmacy related items (mortar and pestle, and pill bottle), since he's a pharmacist. I used a couple of charm packs of Kona Cotton in the Silent Film palette, as well as some white and red. Some of my favorite colors together. 


I used some Kona Cotton in Ash for the back, as well as some leftovers of charm squares from the front. 


Here's a close-up of the pill bottle. 

I also made a bike lunch bag for my step-dad, and some heart quilted coasters and hot pads for my mom. Again, no pics of these. Don't know what I was thinking... 


The hubs surprised me with an old Singer sewing machine. I think it's from the 1920's or something. Supposedly, it runs, but I haven't tried it yet. Right now, it's just a gorgeous decoration for my dining sewing room. :) We also just celebrated our 10th Anniversary this month! Told ya it was busy... 


Of course, I've also been busy keeping the kids occupied. I love when my son is out of school! I usually get an extra half hour to sleep in, and we get lots more time to play. We had to make some cookies for Santa, and my son had his heart set on gingerbread cookies. It was my first time making them, and they turned out pretty good. Really soft too! Of course, we loaded them up with sugar so Santa could go into a diabetic coma! 

Here's the recipe I used, in case you want to try it:

Ingredients:
2/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
2/3 cup molasses
2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp baking soda
1 cup unsalted butter, room temp
1 large egg, beaten
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt
4 cups flour, plus extra for dusting

Preheat oven to 325F. 

Place brown sugar, molasses, cinnamon, and ginger in a large saucepan over medium low heat. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Remove from heat and stir in baking soda.

Stir in butter gradually, stirring well between additions to combine. Add egg, vanilla, and salt to sugar mixtrure, stirring to combine. Pour into a large bowl and add flour gradually, stirring to combine.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead until dough comes together and is no longer sticky, adding flour by the tablespoon if necessary.

Roll out half the dough on a floured work surface to 1/8-inch thick. Cut dough into desired shapes. Place on prepared baking sheet and bake until edges are slightly browned, about 10 minutes. Remove from oven. Let cookies cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before decorating. 

*Note: I halved the recipe, and I made my cookies a little thicker, probably closer to 1/4" thick. They were great! 

Hope you all have a wonderfully Happy New Year! Wow... 2014! Time flies!




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Sunday, December 1, 2013

Cyber Monday!

Hello, again! I'm having a Cyber Monday sale throughout my Etsy Shop, running now until the end of Monday, December 2nd. Use code CYBERMONDAY15 to receive 15% off anything in my shop! :)



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Saturday, November 30, 2013

Small Business Saturday!

Happy Saturday! :) For a discount on anything in my shop for Small Business Saturday, use coupon code SBSATURDAY15 through today, November 30th. Stay posted for a Cyber Monday coupon code! Have a great weekend!



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Thursday, November 28, 2013

Black Friday!

Just thought I'd send a quick post to let you know that I'm offering 10% off anything in my Etsy shop through the end of Black Friday, November 29th! :) Please use coupon code BLACKFRI10 when you order. I will be offering similar deals on Small Business Saturday, and also Cyber Monday, so stay posted! I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving, and have a wonderful weekend, and if you do choose to brave the stores, be safe! 



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Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Happy Thanksgiving!

I finished this quilt several days ago... I was waiting for some sun to come out, so I could get some decent pictures of it. We had rain from Thursday through Saturday... unheard of in AZ! But very welcome! It definitely feels more like fall now! :)


So, I made somewhat of a Spiderweb Quilt, using a jellyroll of Saltbox Harvest by Deb Strain. I've had it in my stash for awhile. I had seen a tutorial on making these cute hexagon shapes using jellyroll strips, and an equilateral triangle template. I did it a little bit different, using only three strips instead of four, but it turned out similar. 


I've been wanting a fall quilt since I started quilting. I love the fall colors, but sadly, they never seem to last very long in the stores, or anywhere you go during the season. Every year, I get frustrated to see the Christmas stuff come out before Halloween is over, and absolutely no Thanksgiving or fall decorations after Halloween. I am glad to have my house looking like fall, at least until the beginning of December. 


I tried something new for the quilting, and I also learned something too. I probably should've used a walking foot. But, I struggled through, using my free-motion spring-action foot until it decided to break. :( Then I switched to another free-motion foot, which actually worked a little better. I tried making some sloppy hexagonal spiderwebs along the strips. They turned out okay, but overall, I'm a little disappointed. I envisioned something prettier. Luckily, I won't be putting this in the shop, and I can enjoy these colors--as well as the mistakes I made--in the comfort of my own home. :)


Here's a closer view of my imperfect quilting on the back. I used a gold thread, and kept the back simple with a nice chocolate brown. The quilt is smaller than I thought it would be, but it makes a nice lap quilt or throw quilt for the couch. 


It looks great in my brown, fall home, and will be used while the boys are watching football on Thursday! :)

Hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving! 






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Tuesday, November 19, 2013

More Quilts, and other projects

I finished another quilt yesterday, and I've also been working on some other little projects. 
Getting ready for Thanksgiving! :) Are you?


I made this quilt using 2 charm packs in white, and 1 layer cake in Quilt Blocks by Ellen Luckett Baker for Moda Fabrics. The blocks were pretty easy to put together, and actually, I've had the quilt top done for awhile. But, I had to move my sewing table dining room table for my son's birthday party, so I had to take a short break from sewing. Anyways, I just took two 5" squares, lined them up on opposite corners of a 10" square, and sewed in diagonals, as if I were making half-square-triangles, but in this case, it made elongated hexagons, as my son pointed out. It's so funny. I hadn't even noticed that they were hexagons, but he looked at them, immediately said, "Mama, aren't those hexagons?" "Why, yes. Yes, they are hexagons!" He knows hexagons are my fave. I love that kid! :)


I love the colors in this collection....  I think I say that about almost every quilt I make. It is all about the colors, isn't it? ;) I also love this fabric, because they look like pretty little quilt blocks... flying geese, stars, and flower gardens. So cute! I did my usual all-over meandering stipple. I must be afraid to try new quilting designs or something. :/  I used the Spectrum Flower Garden print for the back, and I had some pretty blue fabric in my stash for the binding. I think it's Kona Cotton in Blueberry, but I can't remember. I was running short on the blue binding, so I finished it off in a lime green Circles by Riley Blake. I think it looks kinda neat with a little pop of color on the binding. The quilt is a nice size. Approximately 54" x 63". Great for a toddler bed, twin bed, or a large throw for the sofa. This quilt will be up in my Etsy shop soon. 


I've also been working on some other things. We will be getting our family pictures done this weekend, and I made a little dress for my daughter. I used some of my favorite Anna Maria Horner fabric, and this pattern, which I absolutely love. It is so versatile and pretty easy, especially for someone like me, who prefers making quilts to dresses any day. My son will be wearing AMH too. I ordered a tie for him off of her website. So cute! :)


I will probably be finishing up this quilt today. I'm sewing up the binding right now. Since Fall is my favorite season, I decided I need to have a Fall Quilt. I've had this fabric forever! It was a jelly roll of Saltbox Harvest by Deb Strain, that I finally decided to put to use. I thought a spiderweb quilt for fall would be kinda fun, so I gave it a try. More about it next post. ;)


I've also made some cute little fabric pumpkins using some pretty AMH scraps. They are pretty easy and fun to make. Here is a great tutorial. I'm hosting Thanksgiving this year, so I've gotta have some cute decorations around the house. One of the pumpkins ended up too long, so I made it into a butternut squash... kind of. Lol.


 And what Thanksgiving would be complete without a Lego fall scene. My son put this set decoration together. He sure loves his Legos! :)

Some good news came to me yesterday... someone bought a fat quarter of my fabric on Spoonflower! I feel like a celebrity! I know I'm no Anna Maria, but I feel pretty darn special anyway! ;)

Hope you're having a great week! 





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Tuesday, November 12, 2013

A Party and a Quilt

Sorry I've been away for a while... These last couple of weeks have been busy with lots of family birthday parties... including my son's 6th birthday! He decided on a Lego themed party. There are SO many ideas on Pinterest. Here are a couple of my favorite things that I made on my own.


I recycled some saved up Kiwi Crate boxes and made them into Lego brick party favor boxes. I had a couple of small shoe boxes that I recycled as well. By the way, my son and I love Kiwi Crate! He looks forward to all their fun projects every month! :)


I made a Lego brick bunting using primary colored cardstock, a circle punch, and 3-D foam stickers to make the studs. 


I also made a few large Lego bricks using some cardboard boxes and wrapping paper, as well as a Lego Minifigure photo prop. We also had many Lego activites, such as drawing minifigures, building the tallest tower, building and racing cars, making Lego bracelets, guess how many Lego candies, and a Lego pinata. Of course, we also had Lego cake. :) My son had a great time! 


Now back to quilting... ;) I finished this quilt today. A simple patchwork baby quilt using 2 charm packs of Posy by Aneela Hoey. I love the colors and the cute little pictures in this fabric collection! 


I did my usual meandering stipple all over for the machine quilting. 


I kept the back simple and used Kona Cotton in pink. I also used up the last 4 charm squares to make a little hexagon patchwork applique design, which I hand-sewed on the back of the quilt. 


I decided on a purple gingham for the binding. I love gingham! The quilt measures approximately 35" by 45". A good crib sized baby quilt! By the way, this one is up for sale in my shop as well. :)

Up next, Thanksgiving! My favorite!

What are you working on this week? 



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Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Another Baby "I Spy" Quilt

AmysCreativeSide


So, I finished another quilt this week... just in time to enter it into the Blogger's Quilt Festival contest! If you haven't already, check out Amy's blog by clicking on the link above. Check out all the beautiful quilts! :)


As you know, I love making baby stuff... and I especially love making quilts, so I decided to make another baby quilt, with a favorite "I Spy" theme. 


They are so fun and simple to make, and a great way to use up scraps! 
Oh yeah, and kids love playing "I Spy". 
My son still uses his, and now my daughter is getting good at "spying". ;)


I did a mix of solid colors and different children's fabrics... some favorite characters too!
 I tried to keep it somewhat gender-neutral. 
I quilted with my usual meandering stipple, but didn't want to quilt over the "spy" fabric, so I just quilted the borders and sashing. I also added some "tags" by putting pieces of folded ribbon along the edges as I was sewing on the binding. I used a scrap piece of alphabet fabric for the binding.


I also kept the back simple again. I had this good size piece of flannel fabric with safari animals on it. It will be nice and snuggly for babies. I plan on listing this in my Etsy shop soon! :)

Hope you're having a great week!
 Happy Halloween!






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Saturday, October 26, 2013

Another Pinwheel Quilt

AmysCreativeSide

I'm entering this quilt in the Blogger's Quilt Festival over at Amy's Creative Side. Check it out, enter one of your quilts, or vote on all the beautiful quilts! I think I'll put mine in the throw quilt group. 

So, I've been trying to use up some of my fabric. I'm always buying more, then I don't end up getting to all my millions of projects swimming around in my head!


 I had a layer cake and a panel of the Cherish Nature collection by Deb Strain, and finally decided to use it! I paired dark and light colors together to make some easy pinwheel blocks. Knowing I was just shy of the 20 blocks that I needed, I decided to add a couple of panel pieces in with the blocks to make the quilt the size I wanted.


I also used some panel pieces for the pieced backing, along with Kona Cotton in Natural. The batting is my normal 100% cotton batting, so it's warm, but still breathable. I quilted a meandering stipple all over, and finished with a chocolate brown for the binding. 


By the way, this quilt is for sale in my shop! :) I love this fabric, with all the little birds, bees, eggs, and trees. It would make a great quilt for a nature lover, or for anyone who enjoys these earthy colors. The quilt is a nice throw size for the couch, or even a large baby quilt. 


Here's a better view of the back...


...and a closer view of the quilting and binding. 

I'm hoping to add more quilts to my shop soon. :)
Hope you're having a great weekend!




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Sunday, October 20, 2013

More Baby Stuff...

So, I went to a friend's baby shower yesterday. 
She is also having a baby girl. :)
I made her a few things from me, and a few things for my sister-in-law to give her. 


I made this quilt for my sister-in-law to give. The baby's room will be in a star/moon theme, so I was happy to find this baby quilt panel in my stash. Some animal friends reading a bedtime story in the moonlight. I found some other fabrics in my stash to match as a border. 


I left the back simple again in a pale yellow flannel. Nice and soft. Did I tell you my son has been helping me take pics of my quilts? Hence, the cut off bottom of the quilt pic. He's almost 6... so not too bad. ;) Funny... I'll let him hold the $$$ camera, but not the quilts! LOL! I can just imagine him dragging it on the ground, or putting it over his head like a ghost. Those would make for some funny pics!


Here's a closer view of the panel. I think it's kinda sweet. The animals are so cute! 


I did an all-over meandering stipple, but added a few stars here and there. Can you see them? I found a perfect stripey (is that a word?) fabric for the binding. 

Here are some more things I made: 
Sorry for the bad lighting. :/


A fun little outfit. Onesie with heart patch, heart tights, and ruffle skirt. You can find a great free pattern for baby tights here, and you can get ruffle fabric here. It makes it super easy to sew up a pretty ruffle skirt, and many other clothes!


I love making pj's for any age. I think baby pj's are my fave, though. So tiny! You can make your own pattern for pajama pants using some old pj pants. Here is a great free pattern for baby pj pants. 


I like to applique a little snippet of the pant fabric to a onesie to make it more like an outfit. 


I know it looks like I'm using a lot of blue fabrics, even though these are for a girl, but I was trying to go with the theme. The fabric for these pants is called Moon Phases from Lizzie House's Constellations collection.  


I found a panel for a quiet book, with Snoopy and Woodstock, which also had lots of stars and moons throughout. Panels make it easy to make a homemade gift! :)


I made another onesie outfit. Just sewed a skirt around the waist of the onesie. Here is a great tutorial for a onesie dress. 


I used more of Lizzie House's Constellations fabric to make a snuggly baby blanket. 


Some more onesies that I sell in my Etsy shop as well. :) Tutu bum onesie...


...and necklace onesie, also with a little ruffle bum. :)


Burp cloths are easy to make with some cloth diapers and a strip of fabric. A little fancier than a plain burp cloth, and I know they will get a lot of use! 


 Did I tell you I love making baby stuff? Yeah. I do. :)

Hope you're having a great weekend! 




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