New stuff

I've finally finished a couple things! I have plenty cut out, just waiting. AND since Halloween is next week, I figured I should probably finish the boys costumes sometime! We've also had an interesting week, with a visit to Primary Children's Hospital Thursday night. Elsie and I didn't get home from there until 3 am, and have had rough nights since Wednesday, so I'm not getting things done very fast!
Here's the first car seat cover:

It's 100% cotton, backed in brown dot minky fabric.

I can make it to fit these handle types:

Or it can fit a regular straight handle.
The cover is now for sale in my Etsy shop. More of these coming!
Also, the first of the crayon rolls is done.

I also have Superman and University of Utah ones coming!

I made something!

This isn't terribly exciting, but it's something, right?
It's a baby blanket made for a friend. Two pieces of flannel bound with wide quilt binding. I think it's my new favorite way to make nice, thick receiving blankets.I LOVE these fabrics. I didn't want to part with them! The binding is all machine sewn because of time constraints. I don't crochet. Therefore I can't make those cute crocheted edge blankets.
Okay, actually I know how to crochet; I just won't crochet. I don't have enough patience. Kind of like my hand sewing issues.
I'll hopefully get a picture of the one I made for Elsie taken so I can post it. Oh, and her crib set, too.I'm also working on Elsie's birth announcements. Hopefully they will go out before she's 1.

Gah, this dress almost killed me.

Actually, just the bodice. Stupid, STUPID method for making a bodice! (Um, this was Butterick B5017, by the way. FAST & EASY my big butt). There are four pieces and man, you have to cut exactly to make it work, I guess. I could not press the armholes the right way and finally just cut off the seam allowance and made my own seam binding to finish them. The gathered skirt was tons easier!
Still haven't finished the back. There's a button loop hidden back there, and I'll sew a button, probably white, on the opposite side.
So, is it cute? Or am I right in thinking it is a thing of extraordinary evil?
Oh, the fabric is Arcadia by Sanae for Moda. I still like it.

Making baby (stuff)

Finally got around to a couple pictures.
Here's my big Ikea fabric pillow with his new friend, the other big Ikea fabric pillow. They now hang out in the new reading nook we've made in our family room.
And here's the first thing I've made for Zeke. The fabric is Moda Woodland Bloom. I machine quilted it but hand tacked the binding. May I repeat: I. Hand. Tacked. The. Binding.
Yes, it's that big a deal.I'm almost done with a little dress for Zeke that has made me question my sanity and say swear words in my head. B informed me it will be the cutest dress Zeke will own but I'm so filled with hatred over the bodice that I can't see it clearly. Perhaps it is really cute? I'll finish it up and let you decide.

First package

FINALLY. Sent the first package.
This is for my friend, Leah. She has three cute little girls. I do not have little girls. Although I will someday. Just one. Therefore, we will pretend I know what is cute for little girls. Come, pretend with me, will you?
First up? Crayon rolls for her two oldest.
I used both fabrics on each, so the one with the stripes outside has the farm print inside, and vice versa.
They even include crayons! I'm full-service, y'all.
Next up, for her sweet little one (whom I wisely assumed should not have access to crayons), a rags n' tags.
Girls like pink and butterflies, right?
And polka-dot ribbon? How does that go over with little girls?
So there you have it. Colorful stuff for Leah's girls. And I'll be including a jar of my homemade apple butter as well. Mmm, apple butter. Because I got a little excited about the whole "sewing for little girls" thing and need to make sure I include something for the person who actually won the giveaway. Sheesh.

HUGE pill'uh

I've had two 28x28 inch pillows from Ikea sitting around my house for way too long, waiting for me to do something with them.
Well, yesterday I did something. With one of them.I quilted the front because I really love quilted front pillows. I tried doing free motion quilting on my machine and as long as you don't look to closely, you don't notice how wonky the stitches are. I'm telling myself it's part of the pillow's charm. I used Ikea fabric that I absolutely love. I want to go buy more of it because I'm afraid of running out!My son approves of the pillow and has already found several uses for it.

As a hat.A crash test cushion.A meditation mat.

Now I just need to get to work on the other one. I'm planning on using a different section for the center panel so there are different animals, but otherwise I want it to look pretty much the same.

Done, done, done, done ....

DONE!!

(If you look closely you can see my husband's thumbs at the top - because I can't get my quilts to float.)

And I can do mitered corners! And do them well!And the obligatory pic on my shiny couch (ooh! shiny!)

Quilting

I've basted Cami's quilt and I'm now quilting.
I hate this part.
Because I'm just so sure I'm going to make a mistake.
I highly recommend you NOT USE CORDUROY TO BACK A QUILT.
It is striped (duh) and it's bugging my life that I can't line up the stripes perfectly with the quilting lines.
But it's working (although I need to rip out a couple lines because I had light colored thread in my bobbin and that makes the fact the back is slightly off pretty noticeable).
I like stitches to either be perfect or just off enough that it looks, well, cute. Hopefully I'm going with the latter on this one.

Girly

Now, we know I only have boys.
But some people in this world have girls.
And those girls have birthdays.
And they like presents.
So here's a crayon roll:And a bag:For my sister-in-law's niece.
I didn't use all of the two fabrics Cami gave me to make her present. I have just over a fat quarter of each, a cute pink toned floral and a very whimsical butterfly print.
So what else does this girl need?
A doll quilt?
A crown?
Hmm?

Commission! Commission! ... Commission!

For some reason, ever since I decided the quilt I'm working on could be called a commissioned quilt, I've been singing 'commission!' to the tune of "Tradition!" from Fiddler on the Roof. Yeah, that's not going to make me crazy today.My sister-in-law Cami had me help her design a quilt and cut out the pieces. In October, or some other month last fall. Can't remember, but it's been a while.
And the pieces have just sat at her house.
Well, I owed her and her husband some money. And Cami says, "How about you finish my quilt instead of paying us!" And I say, "Okay!" And we decide not to care what her husband thinks (love you, brother!) and behold, a commission is born. Determining the placement of the fabrics was not the most fun I've ever had in my live. I don't think I would ever get to the point where I would say it was perfect (I know this after over an hour of fiddling) so I finally just said it's good and began sewing.I am quite happy with how it looks so far. Fortunately, Cami is not too much of a horrible wench, so she'll only yell at me for a little while if she doesn't like it.
Just kidding. She's not a wench at all.
She does, however, have a really, really funny, sarcastic sense of humor that will be used at my expense if this thing doesn't turn out. Should be fun.
I can't remember what fabric this is, so if you recognize, it let me know. I really love the blues, which is unusual for me because I usually go for the greens and oranges. Now I just have to figure out what else I'm going to do on the front, and then sandwich, quilt and bind it. The backing is a pretty dark brown corduroy, which I think will look very nice but I have to admit I'm a bit nervous about. I'm very glad I've got a walking foot now!

Wow

I made stuff.
AND I TOOK PICTURES.
Bad pictures, but pictures nonetheless.
If you are Aimee - DON'T LOOK.
DO NOT SCROLL DOWN.



Unless you like to spoil surprises.



Don't look.



Are you looking?




Okay.
I put together a little package for a friend who is unfortunately on bed rest right now.
First we have the gift for my friend's baby girl, due in March.
It's a Rags N Tags blanket and a hoodie towel.
Then for the mom, a rice heat therapy bag, from this tutorial. With a couple modifications, of course.And then for the big brother, a crayon roll: He's a big Ute fan and I'm happy to continue the indoctrination.
I'm going to be mailing it out tomorrow. I'm so grateful for flat rate boxes because I don't want to know how much it costs to send 2 pounds of rice in the mail!
Hope they enjoy this!

Superhero Princesses

I have an easy time finding a model when I make items for boys.
Girls? Not so much.
I had made two sets of capes and crowns for a swap we're doing with two sweet little girls in Australia and I wanted to take pictures that were a bit more exciting than a couple capes and crowns sitting on a chair.
And Jack didn't want to be my model, for some reason.
But fortunately I went to JoAnn's. And saw a friend from down the road with her three little girls. And realized that two of them were the perfect size to model the capes and crowns for me! I am brilliant! (in very short spurts only once in a great while)
So thank you so much for modeling, girls! And let's just ignore the fold line down the back of the capes, shall we?Jack decided he needed to be in a picture with his new cape.This is the pose he decided would be best. He looks unaffected by our little photo shoot, but just before we took this pic, he was bouncing around, yelling, "Look at me girls!"
He's so subtle.
I can't decide if these are for royalty or for superheroes, but there's nothing that says it can't be for both.

Duh.

I finished both quilts. Quilted them. Made my own binding and everything.
And DIDN'T TAKE PICTURES OF EITHER OF THEM BEFORE I GAVE THEM TO MY GRANDPARENTS.
Because I'm stupid, obviously.
Of course, I was working on one of them right up to the time I was visiting my grandma. So I was a little pushed for time.
But the other one? I realized I hadn't taken a picture of it until I already had it boxed up.
Yes, I could have opened the box. But I'm lazy.
Oh well. Guess I'll have to visit them. My grandparents, not just the quilts.

Because I really am doing crafty things. Really, really.

Exhibit A:The largest non-tied quilt I have ever made. Which isn't actually that big. It's a throw.
Um, no, it isn't finished.Have to finish quilting the white border and the center. And bind it.
It's patterned after this one:From Last Minute Patchwork and Quilted Gifts.
For my grandma and grandpa for their birthdays.
I bought a walking foot and you know what? My top layer is still bunching up. I keep having to make little tucks to try to keep the corners from getting too funky. Hopefully it will look nicer when it is washed.
Perhaps I need to make sure I'm pulling the top as taut as the bottom when I'm basting? Makes sense.
And basting on carpet? Not quite the smartest idea I've ever had.I kept getting pieces of carpet stuck in the thread, which I didn't realize until I was finished. Had to cut some of my carpet. Duh.
I'd better work out the kinks before I get going on this one:For another set of grandparents. In fact, I have five sets of grandparents and they may all be getting quilts this year. Or maybe not. Depends on my sanity.I really want to make this quilt. So yes, my sanity is in question.

Yeah

So I'm not a very good blogger right now, obviously.
I have been a bit busy, I guess.
I made these last week:and put them up for sale (look on the right).
I'm thinking about putting together kits for people to make their own. What do you think?

• • •

Anyway, I did clean my office. There will be no pictures, however. It's so dark and dreary in here that any after pictures would look like before pictures, if that makes sense. I call it my dungeon for a reason. There are plans to paint in here and put in new lighting (to replace the single bathroom fixture that's hanging on the far wall), so maybe I'll post before and afters once that is done.
In about three years.

• • •

I got these books last week and I'm in heaven.

Have to say, I really love Last-Minute Patchwork and Quilted Gifts. It's a really beautiful book. I already have several projects planned out of there. And I love InStitches, too. It has beautiful projects — there are several office/household projects I can't wait to try.
I'm expecting these two next week:

Decided to buy the Simple Gifts book to join this flickr group. It just sounds fun.
I think I've already blogged these, but I bought these two last year:

Love, love, love Amy Karol's blog and her book is as fun to read. I want to live in her house. Or make mine look like hers (that would probably be easier and less scary for Amy, don't you think?) Lotta Jansdotter's book has a lot of modern touches and there are several projects I'd probably never make (door stop? don't really have a problem with doors closing on me around here) but I like the aesthetics of the book.
So I've got plenty of inspiration hanging around.
Just need to get going.
And warning to family and friends? You'll probably be getting handmade items this year for birthdays. Unless I know you want a store-bought item. Just let me know in advance, k?