Happy Birthday, Abi!!!!

A good friend of ours turned 2 on Sunday. She is the daughter of our really good friends, Josh and Steph. Not only that, but we have high hopes that she will one day marry Ethan (I must make mention that when they see each other, they squeal joyful squeals of delight. . . it is so much fun!). I really wanted to do something special for my son's best friend, but I also had a slightly selfish ambition. . . I wanted to make something girly. I was going to make a dress, but she would soon grow out of the patterns my mom had, but then I found this pattern by the Oliver + S pattern company. I will also mention that this pattern (off their blog) is totally awesome because it was FREE! You just print it off their website and go! Now, that's my kind of pattern! The fabric I used was American Jane Apple Pie. . . with it's bright reds, yellows and blues, I just couldn't resist! I may have gotten a tad carried away, but I couldn't help it. . . it was a gift for a girl!

Like most girls, Abi is a purse girl (I think she takes after her mommy), so she needed a cute little purse to match. I came up with this mini drawstring bag. . . the perfect size for throwing a couple of little people animals in and maybe a light snack.
Here's a close up of the fabric. . . . so cute, don't you think?

She had to have a #2 shirt to tell the world, she's officially 2 and why not some cute barrettes to match? (the barrette holder is cardstock with a stamped lady bug because her birthday party was a lady bug theme).
The cute skirt and shirt combination. The shirt was long sleeved baby Gap shirt that I found on sale (after searching high and low for a red short sleeved shirt. . . it's still hot here.). But it worked out, because it was a thinner shirt (great for fall) and she was able to roll up the sleeves in an attractive way.
And the birthday girl. . . decked out in cuteness for her birthday!

Happy Birthday, Abi!!!!!

Welcome, Baby Braden!!!

A little over a week ago, our new little nephew was welcomed into the world. He is such a cutie (even though, when I got to hold him, he cried a "hungry and you're not my mommy" cry)!

This little guy gave me the opportunity to make another quilt. I am so excited about this one, because I absolutely fell in love with the fabric line "Chirp" by Robert Kaufman and I really wanted to try the Disappearing 9 Patch over at Cluck Cluck Sew (it's a super easy tutorial for Free!!!)

This is the final result. I used a soft fabric for my lining and a very thin batting. It ended up being very snuggly, which was what I wanted. I also tied it with yarn every so many squares just to hold the middle together.

Here's a close up of how awesome the fabric is!

To match, I made her some burpies, a bib, and a giraffe rattle. So much fun!

Happy Birthday, Steph!

Well, this post is wishing my dear friend, Steph, a very happy birthday. Her birthday was last Friday, and we spent Saturday celebrating it with her in Yosemite and then had a busy day on Sunday with VBS registration and our small group Bible Study (aka the best small group ever!. . . I may be biased!). I have been so excited to share this with you . . . and now I can.

Steph and I live really close to one of many Savemart locations in Fresno. It just so much easier to walk there with the kiddos in their strollers than packing up our lovely toddlers (they are two weeks apart. . . someday (God willing) they are going to get married). into the cars, driving 2 minutes, unpacking them, shopping, packing them back into the car, driving home and unpacking them. Plus, it's good exercise. Anyway, Steph always has her groceries written down on a nice journal-like notebook and I thought she might enjoy a portfolio-like notebook.

This is the view from the inside. . . there is a little triangle pocket to fit business cards or that most important Starbucks card. There is also a separate pocket in the middle for a pen or pencil, and a pocket for holding recipes, mail, or coupons.
This is my favorite way to hold the notebook. Just sticking the back into the pocket and allowing the pages to hang out. This way, you can see your entire list, whether it's a "to-do" list or a grocery list. I also cut out and glued a piece of Amy Butler cardstock to the back of the notebook to make it look nicer.
The portfolio closes with a button.

My sewing machine has been busy!

It is baby season around here again (don't get any ideas. . . these are not for me). Last week, I had 2 baby showers on my calendar, so it was sew, sew, sew! For this gift, I used some of my Heather Ross orange, blue, and tan stripes, and polka dots.

I am loving this new idea I had for burpies. . . add some fabric swatch strips in the middle of them for extra pizzaz. I don't know. I am a little unsure of the owls in here, but they matched and so, I through them in. My favorite one is the one on the bottom.

A taggie, of course! This time, I decided to add some thin batting inside. Oh, I think I will always do this. It is just so cuddly!

I had fun making this bib. I saw the idea over at tree fall design and thought I might give it a try. I really like the way it came out. But, it was so much fun to make and way cute to give away.

I'll be back next week with some more of the projects I've been working on. Hope you have a fantastic first weekned of June!

dish towels

Procrastination and a long to-do list have entered into my life. . . causing both organization and insanity. I am finding it hard to pack, but super easy to sew (It is so relaxing!). So, I thought I would share some dishtowels I made for the new house.
Believe it or not. . . I started this one last January! I just have been so busy with other projects I completely forgot about it . . . actually, it has been staring at me for 9 months! So, when all other projects had been completed I took the time to get the last few stitches finished. All that waiting and it took me 15 minutes! But, It will look perfect in my new kitchen.

This is one of my favorites. It matches the potholder I did awhile back. I plan on making a couple more after the big move, between unpacking, painting, and working on Christmas gifts. just love it!
This one uses my Lizzy Dish and Red Letter Day fabric. I

MOPS centerpieces

Thursday night, our MOPS group dove into the topics of Infertility, Miscarriage, and Adoption. Three guest speakers came and shared the sorrow, as well as the joy, as they told the stories of their experiences. Earlier I had been approached by my friend Stacy to help with the centerpieces for night. We put together these hand sewn baby gifts with burpies, diaper pouch, and bib for people to enjoy as they ate, listened, and fellowshiped, and then had the opportunity to buy (they went fast!). Here are how each of them came out!

Hooray for new fabric

I am sitting here in my sweats enjoying this nice November beach weather. I just bought some new fabric and I am so excited to get home and start sewing some fun things (to be announced later!). Until then, I am going to enjoy the beach and savor the moments I have to not do anything (I think that once I return home I will be full speed ahead with my projects and moving). Have a fantastic weekend! Enjoy the beautiful November weather!

Until next time!

I finally got my pictures downloaded onto my computer! I have been such a procrastinator! But, oh, we have had so much fun the past few days and weeks! Check my here for details. So, now that I have pictures to show you, I am going to move on, so I can get started on this week!

Pot Holder

I found this Lizzy House fabric last April at the Cotton Ball (Morro Bay's really cool quilt shop) and have been wanting to make potholders out of it ever since. Now that I have my own copy of Lotta Jansdotter's Simple Sewing, I decided to try out her pattern for a basic potholder. I really, really like it! Plus it was super easy! I opted to use the insulated batting that is specially made for hot things. Lotta Jansdotter warns about using cotton batting as it is flammable.

Chocolate Raspberry Bars

I made a pan of these because they looked so delish here. Here's the recipe.
I baked them for Jon. . . he loved them and would eat them again. . . really. . . he's my biggest critic! I also sent some home with our Breauna, a college student who is just such a great friend and help! She deserves all the study food I can whip up for her!

Baby Card

There seems to be a wave of babies being born around here. I made this quick card for Jon's cousin Erin's shower last weekend. The stamp set is Nice and Narrow (SU) and I used the water color pens to color in the ink from the Buckaroo Blue and Chocolate Chip ink pads. I then layered it with matching blue and brown card stock, snipped off the bottom and tied with a light blue ribbon. Then stamped the bottom of the card/inside of the card with "hello little baby" stamp. Super easy and quick. I am finding that this stamp set seems to be my no fail set when I need a quick, impromptu card.

Coasters:
I had my eye on this fabric for a long time. I bought it right after Christmas. I just now started using it. This fabric is the colors of our living room, and so I thought I would start making a batch of coasters. They are basically two pieces of fabric lined with some really thin batting and sewn at 1/4 inch.

Tag Blanket

I am finding more and more that these tag blankets are the answer to a quick, easy, and inexpensive gift. This one went to Jon's cousin Erin's baby on the way. I really like how the Heather Ross fabric looks with the blue chenille fabric.

Now, it is new week and it looks busy. I am hoping for some time to create. I hope it works out! If not, I have a ton of baking to do! Have a great week everyone! Enjoy the beautiful fall weather that God has given us!

Finally!

My senior year of college, I decided to try my hand at quilting and loved it! I was also really into the colors red, white, and blue. . . it was how I was going to decorate my house! Needless to say, my house is not red, white, and blue. But, I digress. Let me get back on track here. . . oh yes, the quilt. I started it sometime during my senior year (back in 2001!). I got the actually squares cut out, sewed my quilt blocks and then the whole thing together. At this point, I knew absolutely nothing about quilting. . . just what I had seen from my sister, who was learning to quilt in her home-ec class. When the top was finished, it got packed away and unfortunately, it never got made into an actual blanket, until this past weekend. . . almost 10 years later. But it is finished and I am proud. It has lots of character since my lines are probably not the straightest, but it's my first quilt and I am proud. I think it will be a great picnic quilt.

memory cards

My nephew, George, turned 2 last month. . . and he wanted memory cards. Well, maybe his mom (my sister) wanted memory cards, so I whipped some up really quick. I only made a small set of 6 pairs, since he is only 2, but will probably continue to add to his collection. I used my circle and square punch for these.

This is what the game looks like set out. . .
And these are the pieces up close! I laminated each one so that they would be more durable. I don't think they would last long in a child's hand without being laminated. But it also gives it a nice glossy finish. . . you just don't get to feel the softness of the fabric.

IPOD sleeve

Vacations is coming very quickly and I have just been having so much fun sewing that I am trying to tie the two together. We just bought a car adapter for our IPOD and wanted to try making something to keep it protected and still be functional. After looking at several tutorials, I came up with my own idea and I really like it's functionality and they way it protects my IPOD. I used fusible interfacing between my two pieces of fabric which helps make it sturdy. I also sewed a button whole in the right hand corner of the bottom fold. That way, I can stick the cord right through there. To close the sleeve, I used a rubber band (see the tutorial for the coffee cozy) and a button. This was super easy!

Fabric Swatch Card

Several months ago, while reading some of my favorite blogs, I found an idea for a card like this. When I went back to actually find it, I couldn't find it. So, I played with the circle cutter and some leftover fabric squares and came up with this card. It was so easy! I plan on making lots more to keep on hand.