Quilts

Totally forgot to post this quilt that I made for my Mom for Christmas in Dec, her birthday in Feb, Mother's Day!

Even this isn't a photo of the finished product.  I hate it when I don't remember to take photos!  And believe me, it happens a lot!!

Anyway, these tiny squares are 2.5 inches each, and it's somewhere between a throw blanket and a twin.  It's definitely long enough to snuggle under and cover you with straight legs - one of my requirements for quilts for grown ups!  I hate it when a blanket doesn't cover me!!!  It's in red white and blue, but toned down a bit - I think the line is Clermont Farms by Moda.  I really took my time with it and lined up all the seams perfect...I wish I had a close up of them.  Happy Mother's Day Mom!!

One of the girls in Brian's office hired me to make a baby blanket for her to take to a shower.  She wanted a rag quilt for a girl, but left the color choices up to me.  I really really loved this one.  I love the combo of stripes and flowers...and the little bit of blue in a girls quilt is so pretty to me.


the front



it got nice and fluffy on the edges

the back

Next came a quilt for my new niece London.  It's only about 3 months late, but who's counting?!  This one I did with a homemade chenille.  It pretty much takes F-O-R-E-V-E-R  so I don't make them much, but I sure do love how they turn out!

here is the back

close up of the back and how nice and fluffy it gets

the front

I also made a blanket for Tanya for baby number 6, but of course didn't get a photo!

FINALLY- Photos!!

Baby Owen's Bedroom!

Well I have been talking on facebook about making all the stuff for Candice's nursery - and I finally have photos!

She picked out and bought this amazing Michael Miller fabric (it's from different collections, but all goes together so well!), gave it to me, and I got busy sewing.  I would finish something every couple of days, then she would come by to pick it up...it was fun to see it all together in Owen's room.  And it was nice to see my friend every couple of days instead of once a month!

The changing pad cover.  Out of everything I made, I was least impressed with this.  One end is flat, one end is angled and the whole top is curved, so it was hard to make it it fit the way I wanted it to.

The Boppy cover.  Well, one of 2.  The front is guitars and the back is striped (I think ;o)

 

The whole crib.  I made 2 sets of sheets, they were both the same fabric.

The square 9 patch pillow.  I just used plain black to back it with an envelope closure, so she can take it off to wash it.

The quilt. This was my gift to her...I actually bought this fabric to make it.  I love love love this quilt.  It is a simple strip quilt, but I think it's perfect for a boy.  It's backed in a black dot minky, which is just amazing to feel.  The quilting is in the ditch and spread out, so that it will stay nice and soft.  It almost disappears on the backing.

Here is the crib skirt skirt.  It's hard to tell from these photos, but there is a cute box pleat on each side of the skirt.  I guess it wasn't necessary considering the kind of crib she has, but it was fun to do - and much more masculine than a ruffled skirt!

Another pillow that was done in a log cabin design.  The stripe fabric kinda makes it look wonky, but it's not, the strips are all even.

One more pillow.  Its long and skinny and hopefully will be good to put behind her back when she is nursing to make it a tad more comfy.

Her poor daughter is sideways here, but it's a good photo of the strip quilt  :o)



so all in all I made:

2 sheets

2 boppy covers

3 pillows

a crib skirt

a quilt

and a changing pad cover

I was really pleased with how it all turned out and believe it or not, I'm still not sick of this fabric.  I think they picked out the most perfect fabric and it fits their personalities and home so well.  They love that they have a one of a kind nursery that no one else has! 
They bought the guitar fabric and the green dot fabric, but then gave me complete artistic control over the designs and styles of everything.  They told me to do whatever I wanted!  I was impressed (and a little nervous) in their trust of my abilities.  Even Jake, her husband was on board with it.  Often they had more faith in me than I did  lol.  I ended up making my own patterns for a lot of the items because the ones online just didn't fit right with the particular brands or designs that Candice and Jake owned.  Often they would be just slightly off from the fee patterns I found, so I just created new ones. (which was something new for me!)

Thanks again Candice and Jake for letting me make it all!  It was so fun, and such a great learning experience!

So if you know anyone that needs a custom nursery set, I'm confident enough to make one now!  Although I'm not sure if I will ever be able to find such easy going "clients" again - they will be hard to live up to!

BUSY!

While preparing for my daughter's 3rd birthday, I was also sewing for a craft fair that I signed up for at a school.  I pretty much knew that parents attending a school carnival with a craft fair in the MPR would not be buying hundred dollar quilts!  So I had to think of other small things that I could sell, that people might have cash for.

I had felt clippies...

burp rags in 2 and  packs...

 
coffee cozis

ruffle scarfs...

 and some bags with hand stitched felt flowers (oh and some bigger bags, fabric bookmarks and key chains that i forgot to get pics of)

It was a super slow night...but it wasn't just slow for me, all the booths were having trouble selling stuff - so that made me feel a little bit better.  I didn't lose any money at least, and it was a fun experience.  I just probably wouldn't do it again on such a busy weekend...we had SO MUCH going on, and trying to get all this sewing done just about put me over the edge!

Monday's Menu

Wow - I'm late getting to the computer today!  It's the first day of Spring Break and we were way too busy having fun  :o)  We spent the morning at the Springs Preserve...so much fun stuff!

Sunday - Brian had poker night, so we kinda faked our way through dinner.  I had cereal, and the girls had leftovers I think
Monday - Breakfast for dinner: Homemade waffles, eggs and turkey bacon
Tuesday - TACOS!!!  (a family favorite) and Mexican rice.
Wednesday - minestrone soup, bread   (i gotta use up my frozen soup - Brian hates soup in the summer and it's pretty much getting to be summer temps around here)
Thursday - Beef stir fry bowls
Friday - tortellini salad and something BBQed - we never had this last week...I'm fixing the salad for an Easter party, so I'm hoping there are leftovers :o)
Saturday - 3 cheese pepper penne  (a new recipe and our meatless meal - if it's good, Ill come back and link it)

It's Monday

So that means, time to post this weeks menu!

Can I just gush for 1 second please?  Tonight will be 8 days in a row that we have had homemade dinner as a family (all 5 of us at once)!  Thats no eating out - no take out - no fast food - no cheater meals.  In fact we havent had ANY fast food in over a week - NOT EVEN IN & OUT...which is kind of amazing.

So, What are we eating this week?
Sunday - Swedish meatballs.  although I don't make meatballs, I just cook the seasoned ground beef like tacos, make the sauce, and pour it all over rice, corn
Monday - Stromboli, salad, fresh fruit
Tuesday  (soccer)- crock pot chicken and rice soup, homemade bread, carrots and ranch
Wednesday - Chicken fettuccine, salad, crusty bread
Thursday - homemade pizza - probably individual pizzas, so the kids can play along, smoothies
Friday - breakfast for dinner.  Probably waffles, eggs and turkey bacon...with OJ of course
Saturday - tortellini Cesar salad, grilled chedderwurst, fresh fruit.  - we are going to some hot springs in Death Valley for the day, so I needed something easy

I GOT MY LABELS!!

...and I love them! 

well besides for the fact that they are upside down  :oP   I checked the proof too, and I ok'd them just as they made them - my bad.  It won't matter too much for the stuff I make.  I will mostly just use them for side labels...and even if I use them in clothes I can still just do a side label instead of a tag on the back - but now I know for next time.

Aren't they pretty?!

FOOD

We are actually home every day this week for dinner!  That's exciting to me.  Not excited that I have to cook all 7 nights, but excited to have a family meal every night.  We try super hard to sit down, all 5 of us for at least 1 meal of the day!

Sunday - spaghetti and meatballs, salad
Monday - cheese steak sandwiches, tots, fruit
Tuesday - tacos, Mexican rice
Wednesday - cheesy shell stuffed shells, salad, bread  (our meatless meal this week)
Thursday - orange chicken, rice, green beans
Friday - roast, potatoes, carrots  (soccer @5, so this will be in the crock pot and ready when we get home)
Saturday - BBQ something, not sure what yet though

hummm - looking over this, I just realized I have no recipes to link...they are all just either thrown together or in my head.

Carrier Tent

Last weekend, Alison and I went to a baby shower for my friend Kristee.  She is having  baby girl Harper in a few months!!

I asked if there was anything she wanted made, and she requested a carrier tent.  Her car seat is black/white and red, so this is what I came up with for her:

The trim and backside are black minky and the bows on top are just pinned on.  They can be removed for washing, or for her next kid - you know the boy that will come next...unless she is like us, and only makes girls  ;o)

I wish I would have had my camera at the shower, but we rushed over after Alison's soccer game.  They had a candy bar set up (Al was in heaven) and a table with all kinds of ribbons and flowers for everyone to make hair bows for the new baby girl - such a cute idea.  Alison LOVED it...Aimee taught her how to use a glue gun, and Al went crazy layering flowers and ribbon!

I dedicate this shirt to my Mom

When I was little, my Mom made a bunch of my clothes.  I never appreciated it until I started sewing.  This shirt looks just like something my Mom would have made for me.  Even the colors are something she would pick out - although I don't know if she could handle stripes with plaid  haha - just kidding Mom.

After making these dresses...I started thinking about what else I could re-purpose.  I can't keep going to Target ( because you know I can't just stick to the clearance clothing racks!)  And if I take any more of Brian's clothes he won't have anything left to wear.  SO...I went to the thrift store and had a look around.  I came home with these: (among other things)

a flat and fitted sheet for $2

and this Mens shirt for $1.50  (it was originally labeled $3.00 but it was on a white tag - and those were all half off that day)

I can't say that I enjoy making clothes.  In my head I like to be able to follow a pattern, sew it, and have it fit (like quilts!)  but clothes are so different.  My kids rarely fit the pattern exactly, I have to try the different parts on them before sewing it, and usually have to improvise a little with each piece.  BUT...they do look cute in it!

This is my favorite part - the ruffled sleeves.  They are just too perfect for my girly girl!

Here is my improv for this piece.  The pattern did not call for a button closure, but it was way too tight of a squeeze to get it on.  It would have been SO much easier if I had planned it from the beginning and left fabric to do it.  It looks ok on the outside, but inside it's a hot mess!

This is Brooke's favorite part - the pockets!  I wasn't going to put them on, but the front looked too plain without them.  I like how the pleats in the pockets match the pleats on the front of the shirt  :o)

The verdict:  She LOVE LOVE LOVES it  (as in she wants to wear it every day)- so that makes me love it. And it reminds me of my Mom, and that makes me happy too. I will make more clothes, but definitely just for my kids.  The inside seams are way too much of a mess to give something as a gift!

Not Too Shabby

So since my sewing  has improved a bit over the last year, I decided to try sewing some clothes again.

My last attempt turned out less than ideal.

I got this plus size shirt at Target for $5...

and this huge mens shirt from Wally World for $2.  Isn't it nice that the wall is in focus but the shirt isn't?!

Here are the 3 dresses cut out and ready to go!  The 3rd one is fabric I had left over from a Christmas project...

And here is the big reveal!!!  Alison loves loves loves hers...

And Ellie likes hers as "a long shirt"...I think it still looks cute with jeans though - better with clean jeans, but still cute.

and when I told her to look at her knees...



gosh I love these girls!

You may be wondering where Brooke is?

Well, the sizing for Ellie's dress fit Al...and Brooke's dress fit Ellie...SO Brooke didn't get a dress this time.  Although I have a dress cut that is way too big for any of my girls...maybe I will just sew it and find someone it fits!

I Appreciate Them!

This week at our school, it was teacher appreciation week.  On Tuesday (we didn't have school on Monday), each of the teachers got a gift card for the school coffee shop & a cup of their favorite coffee drink.  I wanted to do a little something on our own, besides what the school had planned with the money we donated.  SO...I made these coffee cozies. 

I got the pattern here.

I think I might adjust a few things for next time, but overall, they turned out cute - and Al's teachers like them, so that's what counts!  We also gave each of them (and her Kinder teachers from last year)  a homemade scarf.  I know its almost summer here, but Alison requested them specifically, so how could I tell her no?!

The Fabric District

On Saturday, my Mom, Christina and I headed to downtown Los Angeles to the fabric district.  Christina and I have been wanting to go, and it finally worked out that we could meet there.  It's a little overwhelming, and I didn't get as much as I hoped just because I didn't know what I was doing or where to go.  Next time though, I will come home with WAY more fabric!  And "next time"  needs to be relatively soon - hear that Christina?!  I will brush up on my bargaining skills ;o)

This place sold fabric my the pound.  I had never heard of that before.  You picked through dozens of boxes and they weighed it...for $2.50 per pound, you can get quite a bit.  It was about 1:00 when we got here and I was STARVING and had no patience to pick through these boxes.  Christina and I thought it would be funny though to stick your arm to the bottom of the box, pull something out, then challenge ourselves (or each other) to make something with it - next time!

(This is at Michael Lavine Loft)

The next 2 pictures I borrowed from Dana @ Made   I forgot to get them.  Her blog gave us a good starting point about what shops to hit ect.

While my Mom and I waited for Christina to meet us, we shopped around in this store!

They have a bunch of clothes and accessories that are SUPER inexpensive.  I got some headbands with giant flower 2/$1, a peasant skirt for a dollar, a giant bag of beads that I will donate to the school for $4.  But the best part is in the back, behind a wall, they have fabric that is $1.00 per yard!  I totally regret not buying more.  BUT this was our first stop and I didn't know what to expect from the other shops!
Here is the wall of fabric at the FIDM store!

Here is another photo from Dana @ Made that shows the street view.  The shops were tiny with tons of bolts of fabric.  If your looking for something specific, I think it would be hard.  I think it might be easier to just brows and grab fabric you like to add to your stash.

This is the regular Michael Lavine store - pretty much any fabric you can think of, they have here.  The catch?  It's not discounted like the street shops.  The quilting cotton was $8-$10 per yard.

This is the fabric yardage I cam home with...I swear it looked like more when I was carrying it around the street of LA!!

6 yards of knits - gray, dk gray, pink

5 yards of a lightweight woven fabric - white

3 yards of minky - black (only $5/yrd!)

Evolution of a bag

You may remember this post when I shared a bag I made.

I made a similar one for Grandma Karen (my brother's Mom) for Christmas.  Although we just saw her this weekend, so she just now received it!

It had a magnetic snap closure and a pocket inside...

 This week, I made another and added an exterior pocket also.  I need a little practice making the flap, but I'm really happy with how it turned out!

I used some of my $3/yrd fabric and it's a nice weight.  I thought having home decor fabric for both layers might make it too stiff, but it worked great.