anniversary quilt

I've been holding off on posting about this

on the off-chance my in-laws randomly looked at my blog.

It's being given to them today, though,

so I think I'm finally good to talk!

Last month my sister-in-law and I

spent an intense four days making this quilt

for Ben's parents' anniversary.

She collected family photos and notes from the four kids,

artwork and hand prints from all the grandkids,

the family crest, and a favorite verse.

We printed all of these treasures onto fabric,

and incorporated them into a pretty awesome quilt.

(Even if I do say so myself.)

We are so proud of our accomplishment.

I can't wait to see the video

of my in-laws' reaction

when they open it!

baby gifts

[Image 4502 in which I perch precariously on the piano bench

in an attempt to get a good quilt photo.]

This week I had the enjoyable task

of making, packaging, and mailing baby gifts

to two different families of friends who are both

eagerly awaiting the arrival of Baby #3.

First I finished this scrappy flannel quilt

featuring all sorts of critters: frogs, bugs, and lizards.

(I already had the quilt top sewn together, so it was a quick finish.)

I also decided to embellish a coordinating pale green onesie

by using fabric paint to free-hand little bugs

that almost perfectly mimic the bugs in one of the prints in the quilt.

I'm pretty tickled with how it turned out.

The second gift began with a simple, two-sided flannel blanket

made with pretty pastel purple and green fabrics.

To round out the gift, I added a coordinating bib and hat

from my collections of already-made bibs and hats.

I love being able to celebrate new little arrivals!

little raw edged quilt

For a while I made flannel baby quilts

as gifts for all of our friends who had babies.

I am trying to phase this out,

combining my remaining flannel scraps into a few last quilts.

I decided to turn these pretty flannel scraps

into six inch squares

which I sewed wrong sides together

(talk about a weird feeling).

Then I clipped the exposed raw edges

and washed it,

creating a fuzzy, cozy, frayed-edged little blanket.

The clipping probably took as long as the sewing.

The back is made of a few green squares

and a lot of this vintage (?) pink print

featuring what appear to be tiny cat heads

sprouting from cotton plants.

(It's actually a little creepy.)

The colors worked, and I didn't have to spend money,

so I decided not to be too picky.

Cat head vegetation notwithstanding,

I love this little blanket enough that if the new baby is a girl,

I'm definitely keeping it!

blue and pink

I have been keeping my mom's sewing machine humming away busily the last few weeks! In addition to making my niece's Christmas skirt, I have put together three already-cut-out baby quilt tops (pictures to come when the quilts are actually done) and completed the blue-and-pink vintage fabric strip quilt for Sweet Pea.

The Front

The Back

(I bought the pink polka-dot fabric that I used for sashing

and the dark blue binding fabric

from my local quilt shop.)

In spite of a few math errors along the way, an extra trip to the quilt store, the inevitable issues with squareness from working with a variety of fabrics that were cut by hand, and needing to reinvent my quilting plan, I am delighted with how it turned out!  It is a comfortable lap quilt size which should be perfect for a toddler bed.  Sweet Pea already seems to like it and know it's for her.  I'm thinking about just giving it to her now instead of waiting until she's out of her crib.  We'll see. I love it when my projects are well loved.

beginning

My sewing machine may be broken,

but that doesn't keep the urge to sew and quilt away.

Lately I've been wanting

to quilt again

so much.

So I raided my stash

and pulled out

a collection

of two-inch-wide strips of fabric

that were given to me by a lady who is like a grandmother

when she was going through her deceased mother's treasures.

They are mostly dusty blues and rosy pinks

with a few greens and a couple of subtle purples

thrown in for good measure.

I am guessing that they are scraps that range

from the 40's or 50's through the 90's.

So pretty!

I chose a few additional coordinating prints from my stash,

cut them into more two-inch-wide strips,

arranged them all by length,

and rolled them into my own "jelly roll."

I think this will end up

being Sweet Pea's new quilt

when she moves into her big girl bed.

I'm having a horrible time deciding on a quilt pattern.

One, two, three, and four are my current favorite inspirations.

Which is your favorite?

Maybe it's a good thing my machine is down

so that I have some extra time to decide. : )

mostly vintage flannel baby quilt

The quilt top is pieced from an assortment of sweet yellow, turquoise blue, and pink vintage baby prints, a vintage turquoise blue solid, and a contemporary yellow solid.  It's all super-soft, snugly flannel.

The backing is a charming pink and green plaid flannel that I bought at my local quilt store. (I will cry if they ever go out of business.)

The quilting is a new free motion pattern that I came up with after spotting this pretty ring on Pinterest. (You never know when inspiration will strike.) It turned out well enough that I'm eager to try it again, but not so well that I'm bored.

The completed quilt is really and truly as unsquare as my picture makes it look.  Ooops.  The colors are charming and the design is nice, though.  Plus the mama-to-be who received it loved it.  All of that considered, I think it would be pretty silly to stress about the edges not being perfect, so I won't.

(Please forgive the funky formatting on this post; I'm having nightmarish troubles with Blogger and layout today. Ugh.)

handmade Christmas 2011

Benjamin's oldest brother and his wife are expecting a little boy who is due to arrive in April. We are so happy for them. Of course I had to make a baby blanket for the new little nephew (my first nephew!), and sending it at Christmas time along with their other gifts just seemed like the logical thing to do.

Brother loved the quilt and helped me pin it together.

It took a bit of convincing before he understood

that this blanket was for his new cousin

and not for him.

As I worked on this quilt,

the bright colors, simple geometric shapes, and transportation prints

made me think of one of my boys' favorite board books:

Trucks by Byron Barton

So of course I had to get a copy

so that their cousin

can enjoy it

too.

nursery nook--quilt

My last piece of hand made decor for Sweet Pea's nursery-nook has been a small quilt (about 40 inches square) made from scraps left from the pillows, curtains, and bumper. Stress and time management made it imperative that I keep the design simple. It was so hard to keep myself from getting carried away, but in the end I stuck to simple, six-inch squares arranged randomly to accommodate the uneven number of squares in each print. Oh, and I couldn't resist one little bunny applique. : )

I'm pleased that I stuck to a simple design. Not only was it a wise, time-efficient choice, but it also really makes the most of the richness of the prints and the texture of the squiggly quilting.

It truly is a scrap quilt. I pieced the back from wide leftover strips and six inch wide pieces left over from cutting the squares. The binding is made from pieces of three different prints since there was simply not enough red to bind it entirely in red like I originally planned. Even the batting inside is in four different pieces! I can't help but feel pleased with the efficient way I'm using up my materials.

Brother's quilt

I have finally been able to set aside some time to work on my sewing projects, and I completed three this past week! First on my priority list was finishing Brother's "big boy bed quilt." I started it quite a while ago when were first transitioning to his toddler bed. Due to irksome back pain, delightful custom projects, and general lack of motivation, though, it was on the back burner for several weeks. It felt great to finally finish it for him!

Brother is pretty much obsessed with blankets, often trying to carry four at once, and protesting in great dismay when he can't quite manage it. He's also crazy about animals of all sorts. I was delighted to combine these two loves by using the Alexander Henry teeny tiny 2-D zoo print in chocolate as the main print in and inspiration for his quilt. The rest of the quilt is scraps from my stash (modern and vintage) in greens, blues, and oranges and natural muslin.

I couldn't resist adding a turtle appliqué mimicking the turtle in the main print. Brother points at it and chants "tuh-tle! tuh-tle! tuh-tle!" in the cutest way.

I'm so glad that I chose to arrange the triangles into asymmetrical diamonds instead of the zig-zags I originally planned. This quilt turned out being a little big for a crib quilt and a little small for a twin quilt. At first I was disappointed, but the more I look at it, the more I'm just pleased with how it turned out. After all, its smaller size will make easier for small arms and short legs to carry it along with three other blankets and a couple stuffed animals, right?

Linking up to Studio Sneak Peek!

for my niece

Ever since my first niece (the daughter of Benjamin's oldest brother) was born a few months after Little Man arrived, I've been enjoying making fun and girly projects for her. When we found out that Benjamin's second brother and his wife are also having a little girl who is due to arrive in June, I was thrilled to have another little niece for whom to make girly things. The fact that I'm having a little girl of my own hasn't diminished my crafty enthusiasm.

I have a couple more things I'd like to craft for this newest niece before I mail her package, but here are the things I have completed already.

When I saw a cute little sunflower-adorned baby hat on Etsy, I just knew I had to make one similar for this niece. Her mama can pull off a cute hat like no other plus she loves sunflowers, so the combination seemed like a match made in heaven.

I had so much fun finding the hat pattern, perfecting my alterations to make it just what I envisioned, and making up my own sunflowers pattern. It quite lives up to what my brain envisioned.

The second gift that I have already completed is a blanket very similar to the one I made for Brother. I love having the warmth from the two layers of flannel without the bulk that batting adds. Plus the simple construction (just ten pieces) makes for a blanket that goes together quickly.

I hope my new little niece will get lots of use from the things her Aunt Christina loves making and (perhaps more importantly) that my sister- and brother-in-law will enjoy them too.

finishing touches

This week I finished my log cabin quilt.

We splurged on professional quilting since this quilt was too huge for me to do on my machine, I was short on time, my parents were willing to chip in and make the quilt a joint gift, and we found a good deal. Though I must admit to feeling nervous about entrusting the quilt to a stranger after all the time and care I put into it, it was a huge relief to not have to worry about the quilting! My fears were unfounded, it came back beautifully quilted with the perfect-colored thread.

After the break from working on the quilt while it was away being quilted, I was actually excited about sewing on the binding. (Yes, I do sew on binding the cheater way with my machine instead of by hand...)

I am so proud of how my design turned out! It turned out so beautifully that I'm having just a tiny bit of a hard time thinking about giving it away after all. I can't think of someone I'd rather give all of my beautiful green and brown scraps to than my friend Martha, though. : ) I know she and her new husband will enjoy it and treasure it, and in the long run, I'll never regret the gift.

Oh bother I just now realized while looking at the above photo that the hearts are not centered. Sigh. I won't cry over it. After all, I knew that after it was all sewn together I'd see mistakes for which I checked and double checked but still missed. I guess the asymmetry gives it a cool, modern-y look?

It was very rewarding to fold it up to fit in the gift bag.

There were two extra quilt squares when the quilt was all done, so I made them into quilted pot holders. That way if Martha can't fit the big quilt into her tiny first home, she'll still have something that I made for her to use.

quilt in progress

Two Saturdays ago, I finished sewing together the last of my log cabin quilt squares. (There are 80 of them! Well, actually 82 because I miscounted.) And last week I trimmed them into predictably even 11 3/4 inch squares.

It's so rewarding to reduce the uneven blocks into a piles of little scraps and perfect squares.
When that was done, I recruited my mom and an artist friend to help me the squares for the first half of the quilt.
And I sewed them together. I opted to work with quilt halves for a couple of reasons. The first is that one half of a large quilt fits much better in my modestly-sized living room than the whole, and the second reason is that I need to have the quilt blocks sewn together and off of the floor before the end of nap time. : )

Today I laid out the other half and sewed it together. It is looking even more beautiful than I imagined it would! Now all I need to do is press the halves, sew them together, piece the back, get it to the quilter (there is no way I can quilt a queen-sized quilt on my little machine!), and bind it. It's still quite a process, but the end is in sight. And that's a very good thing since we leave for my friend's wedding in two-and-a-half weeks...

my sister-in-law's house warming present

Benjamin's sister just moved into a new apartment. To celebrate and to help her get settled, the family is planning surprise house-warming gifts that we will give to her while everyone is together. Since she let it drop that she had hoped to find the red, white, and black fabric I have been using recently to make some potholders for her kitchen but had been unsuccessful, I thought I'd use the scraps to make some for her!

I paired the scraps that I had with solid black and a couple of other prints to make abstract geometric hot-pad tops. Then I sandwiched four layers of cotton batting between the pieced tops and a solid red back. Since I've been becoming so much more confident with stippling, I decided to try a new free motion pattern that I've been wanting to try: loopy flowers. It's harder than I thought it would be, but overall I'm pleased with the results--as long as I'm looking at the pot holders from a distance. : )

Hopefully she'll love them and give them a long, useful life in her, white, and black kitchen fulfilling the destiny of potholders.

baby quilt

Yesterday I got to go to a baby shower. It was a lot of fun. There were tasty treats, fun games, and time to catch up with old friends and make new ones. I even won one of the games and was awarded a cheerful tote bag.

I doubt that you'll be surprised to know that my gift was a cozy flannel baby quilt. I'm still working on using up my flannel scraps, and when I found out that these friends' baby girl was due in December, I knew that the unusual but beautiful combination of burgundy, dusty pink, and blue snowflakes would be perfect. I am delighted with how it turned out and am so glad that our friends loved it too.

P. S. I'm still loving free motion quilting these baby quilts. Each one turns out better than the last; soon I'll be trying designs other than stippling!

baby quilts

As my post-boys'-bedtime evening began last night, I did not plan on quilting. After all, I'm supposed to be taking it extra easy these days as I try to conquer a pesky cold that has been tenaciously hanging on for the last three weeks or so. However, the weather is rainy and autumnal--perfect for quilting. And as the evening progressed I found myself backing, binding and quilting first one than the other of the two baby boy quilt tops that had been pieced together from flannel scraps last spring. It only took about an hour and a half, and I was sitting down for most of the time, so it counts as resting, right? : )

This is Benjamin's favorite of the two. I can see why because the colors are more cohesive and the quilt as a whole is less busy.

I love the little truck, train, and excavator print. It's very boyish in a cutesy way. I thought the firmly masculine dark blue and brown plaid worked unexpectedly well in the middle of the pale blue gingham and cutesy trucks.

I might actually like this second quilt better. It is busier and the colors are less nicely matched, but the light-dark pattern is better preserved, and some of the fabrics in it were favorites in the past. Perhaps its very scrappy-ness is what I find endearing.

(As a side note, the more I do free motion stippling the more I like it. My stitches are becoming more and more even and hardly pulling in the back. Plus it is quick to do and adds such a nice crinkly texture to the quilt.)

One of these quilts is going to be given to friends who are having a little boy this winter. They are moving out of town at the end of this month, though, so that's why I'm working on their quilt now. The other quilt will be tucked away for future gift giving. I still haven't decided which one is going to be which, though. Ah, decisions, decisions...