I Made a Pillow

I finished up this pillow today and I am pretty pleased with it.  It is my first my project with hexies.  I followed the instructions to make the pillow top and hexies from Love Quilting and Patchwork magazine.  I really wanted to do an envelope enclosure so I followed the tutorial at Fussy Cut.  If I don't count some really simple really bad pillows I made when I was first leaning to sew many years ago (and I don't count those) then this is my first pillow.  It was so quick and easy that I want to make more pillows.  I plan to start saving my Joann's coupons for pillow forms.

At the start of the year I signed up for a homemade pay it forward on Facebook.  I have three people to make gifts for.  This one is for my Aunt Karen.  I was going to make pillows for the other two gifts but I am considering doing the Patchwork Please Zakka along 2.0 This would be my first sew along anything.  The book is due to arrive soon and I can't wait.  So if I go for it, I am thinking some of the projects I make from the book can be the other gifts.  I have a baby quilt I need to make by June 30 and I think the book quilt from Patchwork Please would be adorable. 

For the first time I will be linking up to Finish it up Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts.

Mother's Day and Favorite Dress Ever

I hope everyone had a wonderful Mother's Day yesterday.  I sure did.  It started with me finishing this dress for Stella.  I was very lucky to able to test a pattern for An from the StraightGrain blog.  She makes the most amazing clothes and this was the second pattern I was able to be a tester for.  I can't tell you how much I love this dress and this pattern.  It has two options for the sleeves, three for the collar, and and three for the skirt.  It was really hard to chose which option because I loved them all.  Well the butterfly collar I extra love.  The pattern is really well written had some great tips in it that helped give the confidence to do the butterfly collar.  This is my favorite dress I have made Stella so far.  The fabric is from Ruby by Thimble Blossoms.  I don't think you can get it anymore.  Stella loves the dress too.  When I put her in it she was running all over the house and dancing.  She wore it all day yesterday.

 

The rest of the Mother's Day was great too.  My son had made me adorable artwork in nursery school.  My husband bought me a kindle which I am very excited about.  I had wonderful visits with a lot of family. I love watching my kids play with my nieces and nephew.  It makes my heart melt.   I am very spoiled.  Both my mother and mother-in-law get me presents for Mother's Day too.  I received some liberty fabric from my mom.  My mother-in-law gave me a check with the instructions to spend on myself.  I really need clothes but that is not what I spent it on. Yes it is spent.  I pre-ordered some Briar Rose.  I ordered another yard of some fabric. And I bought some notions, a book, and a magazine.  It was kind of like my birthday.   

I have been loving sewing for Stella but I kind of want to take a short break from kids clothes even though I have fabric all cut out for a skirt and a top (2+2).  I am working on a pillow for a friend now and I want to make  a Kindle cover.  I found this tutorial this morning from the Clover and Violet blog.  

Well I am off to do a little work on the pillow before dinner.  I hope to be back soon with a finished pillow.

I am linking up again today to Sew Cute Tuesday at Better Off Thread.

Plus Quilt Top

                                         I finished Luke's quilt top this past weekend.  I've had it wadded it up on my porch since I made it so it is a little wrinkly.  I used this pattern.   The background is Essex linen in natural and I used a variety of fabrics I had in my stash and a few I bought just for the quilt.  Luke loves it and wants to use it now.  I had to explain to him what I else I have to do to finish it.  Now he is always asking me about backing and batting.  It is so cute.                            

These pictures are not so good but I just didn't have it in me to make more an effort to take better pictures.  I haven't decided yet how I want to quilt it.  I will probably do an allover design.  Maybe I will do bubbles or something.  I could just meander because I do enjoy doing that and love how it looks.  But I do want to try new things too.  It will be a little while before I get around to quilting this so I have some time.  I welcome suggestions.

Today I am going to link up to WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced. 

Sushi Jacket

Sometimes projects don't always come out as cute as I had hoped.  The last dress I had made Stella was one of those projects.  So I am extra thrilled that this came out like I had hoped it would.  It is the Make it Perfect Uptown jacket and I couldn't be happier.  The fabric is Timeless Treasures (sushi fabric) and Mini Mikes Michale Miller (orange gingham).   I was worried that the sushi print would be too big.  But it isn't.  It is just right.

 Here is the fabric close up.  I bought it at Alewives when I was doing the quilt hop.  And here is the back.  I love the hood with the contrasting fabric.

And the jacket is revisable.  The sushi fabric is kind of busy so if it is too much for what Stella is wearing I can just reverse the jacket to the orange gingham side.

Today we are going to the May Day festivities in our town.  It should be sunny but not too warm so I hope to get lots of pictures of Stella wearing it.  Hopefully I can keep her from spilling her lunch all over it.

* edited to add - I took some pictures today at May Day. Here is the girl wearing the jacket!

and here is one of all of us!

It is not the best picture but it is rare to have one of the four of us.


edited again - I just linked up to Sew Cute Tuesday on Better off Thread!

Hello

I didn't make anything Stella is wearing in this picture.  But I do love her outfit.  It is a top and skirt that my mom bought at JC Penney along with a pair of pink polka dot Boden leggings (also from my mom but I requested them for her birthday).  And I didn't make the tent for her playhouse either.  I really wanted to make a tent myself but have realized that I can't make everything.  So my Uncle was very generous with birthday money for Stella and  we splurged on the Land of Nod playhouse tent.  Do you want to know my justifications for the spulrge?  Well my kids are really rough with their toys and we needed a canvas/sturdy one that would hold up to them.  And we live in a small place.  So this is crammed in my living room not stuffed in a room I can shut the door on.  So if I am going to be staring at it all the time I needed a good looking one.  And I just love it.  Oh and the kids love it to.

So I don't know why I am bloging today.  I am not at home but am out so I am not crafting at the moment and can't show a picture of all the crafting things I am work on at home.  I just took this picture off facebook because I don't want to blog without a picture and it is such a cute one.  I tought it should be on my blog.

I am just so bursting right now with so many things I want to make and feel very happy about all the crafty things going on right now.  I woke up early today to work on Stella's sushi jacket before work today.  I love it so far even though I just started and can't wait to finish.  I am really enjoying looking at everything crafty online too.  I am constantly discovering new to me crafty blogs and such and it makes me so happy.  I wish I lived next door to or could hang out with everyone in person too.  So I guess I am just blogging to share my happiness.  I feel very fortunate.  And this spring weather and the plans of taking my little ones out for some sunny adventures are helping my mood too.

What is making you happy right now?

New WIPs

I have numerous quilt tops to quilt, one quilt top that is 98 percent finished, and my fiddlehead mittens to finish.  So it makes total sense in the past few days that I started some new projects.  The above hexies I made yesterday at my all day sewing day to make a cushion for my Aunt.  I found the project in this magazine.  My asthma was horrible but I really wanted to sew.  I even had to leave early to go to the Emergency Room.  I am much better today.

I traced and cut the pattern for the Oliver and S 2 + 2 blouse and skirt the other day.  This morning I cut out the fabric.  I found the fabric and the idea here. She makes the cutest clothes.   I love the fabric so much.  I have some matching denim for the skirt.

And then one of the shops on the quilt hop was having a 40 percent off sale on yarn and patterns.  So I started a new sweater for Stella.  I haven't gotten a chance to put the details on my Ravelry page but I will soon. 

And then after I made my hexies yesterday I ripped up my Woodland sampler (too many mistakes) and am starting it over.  I just can't give up on it.  

I also really need to make Stella a spring jacket.  I have the fabric and the pattern arrived yesterday.  I'm not sure when I will start it.  Today?

Bonnet

I just finished the bonnet.  It is the Made by Rae  Peekaboo bonnet.  This was the only picture she would let me get.  I won't be showing any close ups.  It is a wonderful pattern but I am not always a wonderful pattern follower.  I realized too late that I should have changed to a zipper foot when I was struggling with the piping.  It was my first time.  So I will absolutely make the bonnet again.  I will also try to do it when I am not feeling lousy or in a rush.  And I think the next one will come out great.  But I am satisfied with this one and she will wear it.  Well she will wear it if she agrees to.

I finished the quilt hop yesterday.  I may do a post later more about it.  I really enjoyed it and love all the goodies I bought.  I am going to put  my cuties down for a nap now and start a new knitting project.  I haven't knitted since the day before Easter and I miss it terribly.