Christmas Stockings

It's been on my list for 3 years, but I finally made Christmas stockings! 

And, because I'm pregnant and crazy right now, I made a few extras. You know, just in case!

I couldn't find a pattern that I loved completely, so I drew a template on cardstock and used that. Growing up, my mom made us really big, chunky stockings and I loved it that way. I followed the instructions for putting in a lining and cuff on the Cluck Cluck Sew blog (lots of good stuff there). I used fabric from my stash and had fun choosing different scrappy combos. In my mind there are very distinct "boy" and "girl" stockings here, though both my husband and mother say they're all girly. I'm not sorry at all. I mean, if you can't use ric rac at Christmas, when can you!?

It feels great to have these done and to know that maybe, just maybe, 

I won't have to make any more ever again!

"Hello Darling" Pillow

I found a happy surprise this morning as I was looking for printables for our new house. Let me see if I can explain all the connections here. I was on The Small Seed's blog (a wonderful website if you haven't seen it yet, and you can follow them on IG) when I saw that Katie Sabin did a guest post there. A while back, Katie bought a pillow that I made for a fundraiser to make a memory quilt for a young family in our old church ward who lost their Dad. I was so pleased to see my pillow in her adorable room, on one of my favorite sites! It's also a special pillow because the fabric was not out yet ("Hello Darling" by Bonnie and Camille) when I made it, but a special friend on IG sent me a charm pack that she somehow magically got early. I love that pillow, but it does look a lot cuter at Katie's house than it would at mine:)

Here is the photo from Small Seed. (It's the patchwork pillow on the left.)

And by the way, I found that The Small Seed has really great printables, including one from Katie. I printed this one for our new house. I think it's technically a Christmas print, but I like it.

Shortcake Quilt

 This was a quilt-along I participated in last fall. We followed the Cluck Cluck Sew pattern "Shortcake", and I did mine out of citrusy colors from my stash. This pattern comes together very quickly, especially if you use Jelly Roll. (I obviously didn't since I used various different lines.)

 Since I don't have a little girl at my house, I was going to put this one in my shop, but my sweet Mama snagged it before I could even do so. She loves quilts, but hates quilting, so we have a rather mutually beneficial relationship :) I assumed she was going to save it for the next granddaughter that came along, but was thrilled to discover that she placed it on a brand new Jenny Lind crib in a spare room in her house, along with another quilt made by me. She's now ready for visiting grandbabies of either gender, and in the cutest way, if I do say so myself!

Flying Geese Quilt

I made a LOT of things for Christmas 2014, but probably my favorite was this quilt for my oldest son's bed. The best part is how much he loves it! Seriously, bedtime has been easier because he's eager to jump in and snuggle it. There is nothing more that a quilter mom heart could ask for!

Dresses!

I ventured into the world of sewing clothes this month. My sister Joanna asked me to make a blessing dress for her daughter Cora. I used the "Geranium Dress" pattern by Made by Rae.  It was tricky at first but after a few tries I mostly got the concept. Clothes are tricky! But making little girl clothes is dreamy, and I fully intend to continue:)

I also made her some little crochet shoes. I didn't get to see her on her blessing day, but she's coming up this weekend and I will get to meet the lovely little chub! Thank you Jo for having me do this, it was a delight.

*It should also be noted that my Mom helped put the trim and slip on! It was too late for me to do it so she finished it on her drive down. Thank you Mom!

Baby Blanketing

 Been Baby Blanket Making Lately. 

Three baby girl gifts done, more to go!

My new favorite quilt ever

It has been a major quilt fest on this blog lately. But then again, my life is a major quilt fest, so it's really not surprising. This one was so fun. It's my favorite size and colors. (40 inches square, if you're wondering.) It is super soft, works for girls or boys in my opinion, and I haven't listed it in the shop yet because I am probably going to keep it I love it so much. Also, my niece Molly joined unexpectedly for the photo shoot, so...bonus cute girl!

Bright Nursing Cover

This is the third nursing cover I've made. This isn't anything like Alli's quilting masterpieces but it felt good to get the sewing machine working! It's my favorite baby shower gift I guess since I seem to give them every time. Last April I made myself cutting instructions so I wouldn't have to measure and figure it all again. So glad I did. It was pretty quick to whip up that way.... except for the fact that I had a baby on my lap while sewing. I felt like my Grandma Beverly. Love her. She had 6 children and was always sewing something for someone. My mom said she always had one of the kids on her lap while sewing. I think that's why I didn't mind too much- just trying to rise to Grandma Beverly's expert sewing level!

Next time I think I want to make the strap at the top a little shorter. After it was sewn  it seemed to hang too low. I took a short cut and just folded it over and sewed on top. I only had a few hours to spare before the party so no seem ripping was going to happen. I love the bright colors! The mom-to-be doesn't know the gender but I thought this will work for either since it's really for mom.

American Girl Matching Ruffle Skirts

I made these as a gift last year and didn't ever take a very good picture of them, but it's a project I'm going to want to come back to and remember and make again! Matching skirts for a girl and her American Girl doll. I used stretchy ruffle fabric and just added a black elastic. No hemming or anything needed, just sew it straight up the back! I would have gone crazy over this when I was little.

*special thanks to Ashley for the gift idea and showing me how to do it back when I could barely sew!

Jungle Quilt

I started quilting and crochet in 2013 and I am still learning. There is a LOT of trial and error in my life! One of these days when I do the laundry I will post a picture of all the wonky dish cloths I crocheted when I was learning. I kept them and use them to remind me that practice makes perfect! This quilt is not perfect, but it's a lot better than my first one, that's for sure.

                                                     The back is my favorite. I love dots!

Pillow Case with Hidden Seams

I made this using a good video tutorial my mom found at overallquilter.com. I hope this Minnie Mouse pillow makes Disneyland dreams come true!

Nursing Cover

New mother/baby gift:  I looked up some tutorials online to see what people used for the part that curves. (boning) Then I measured my own covers and decided on measurements I liked. I wish I wrote down how long I made everything. I liked how it turned out. Even the "hems" were pretty.

More Crayon Rolls

These are 10x5. Used them as party favors. Yay for using leftover fabric! 8 crayons each.

Crayon Roll

Thanks to Skip to My Lou's tutorial, I made a crayon roll. I made it smaller so we would have less crayons to deal with. It's a 9 x 5 inch roll for 8 crayons instead of 16 1/2 x 5 inch roll that fits 16 crayons. Next time I will probably add another inch to add a little more fabric to roll. The ribbon I did was 15 inches. A little too small too. Still, I like the way it turned out.

Felt Flower Clips

My friend Amie came over and showed me how to make these felt flower clips! Mine was a little too big but I'm glad I know how to do them now.

baby blanket

Pink and green for baby Olivia.

Tutu

First try at a tutu. : ) Too long.

LIttle Purse/Bag

We delivered it to the birthday girl with a book inside!

Kid Sized Oven Mitts

I made an oven mitt during nap time. It was way, way too small. So I made another one. (When all else fails, follow the directions.) The tutorial online said to make the image fill up an 8 1/2 x 11 page. I thought since my daughter is smaller I should make it smaller than the normal "kid size." I was wrong. She couldn't even fit her hand through the opening!

At least the little one can fit on her Elmo's hand so she has a cooking buddy, right?

Princess Baby Quilt

This unfinished project I started 1 1/2 years ago. The butterfly art I did yesterday inspired me to finish something else. What was meant as a "first" blanket will still get a little wear time before my daughter outgrows it. I regret not finishing this sooner.

All I had to do was bind it- well, just the hand stitching on the back. Easy, just tedious. I used invisible thread to machine quilt the top that I learned about in a machine quilting class I took once upon a time.