Nora by the numbers

I know she's only 3 months old, but this weekend Nora made her first DIY project!  Ok, she may have had a little help with it, but I'm thinking if I start her young she'll be my DIY/sewing buddy for years to come.  I'm already eyeing this Hello Kitty sewing machine, although getting it for her first birthday may be jumping the gun a little bit!



From before she was born, I knew I wanted to make something like this, and had saved a spot on the wall in her nursery for our first joint Pinterest project.  I had pinned this footprint artwork for reference and used it as inspiration for creating Nora's.



As for the how-to's, I used PicMonkey, which I use to edit my blog photos to create the text.  I selected the "design" tab, and selected an 8 x 10 canvas and played around with different fonts and colors until I had a layout I was happy with. Then I saved it as a jpeg file and was able to print my finished page on white cardstock.  I really couldn't be happier with how it turned out, it looks quite professional if I do say so myself!



As for Nora's part, I purchased a pink washable inkpad from Michaels and we went to town covering the bottom of her foot in pink ink and then stamping her footprint onto the cardstock.  I did print a few copies so we had a couple chances to get a good set of prints.  It took about three tries, daddy had the job of holding Nora, and I would guide her foot into place on the cardstock.  Even after three tries we still could only get 4 toes to show up on the right foot, that fifth toe apparently wasn't in an arts and crafts sort of mood.



I am so happy I put this little project together, it looks so nice framed and hanging on her wall, and when the little lady gets older and decides she doesn't want it displayed anymore, it will make a great addition to her baby book to remind us of how tiny those toes were once upon a time.  

Christmas in January

Christmas 2013 may be in the books and packed away in boxes, but I wanted to share the few handmade Christmas gifts I gifted this year.  My sister in law has been hinting that she wanted a Christmas tree skirt like the one I have for about a year now and I decided this Christmas would be the year I pull through and make one for her.  I have been wanting to update the tutorial I put together for it also, so I figured two birds, one stone.  

Pardon the cell phone pictures, I worked up until the last possible second to finish, and pictures were not in the timetable.  I am really happy with how it turned out, I think I like it even more than the one I have!  I had stocked up on a bunch of Christmas fabric last year when they were crazy on sale and picked through my stash for a bunch of bright red, green and aqua holiday fabric.  My sister in law loved it and it looks just perfect snuggled under her tree.

 

As I mentioned, I did spruce up the tutorial for this tree skirt which can be found here, and also now have a printable PDF copy that is available here.  I suppose its never to early to start Christmas sewing for next year!

 In addition to the tree skirt, I also put together two simple patchwork holiday pillows using the same Christmas fabrics.



Nora helped me with these, its never to early to learn how to quilt, right??  Here's an action shot, I think she was helping me decide whether to use an envelope back or a zipper :-)



I think this little girl has a future in sewing, as she was in agreement on the envelope back decision.

And with that, I think Christmas 2013 is a wrap!

looking back, looking forward

Happy 2014!  I realize I may be a ten day(s) late with this post, but better late than never, right?  I wanted to take a few minutes (and words with pretty pictures) to sum up 2013 before jumping head first into 2014, and what better way than with a photo collage of a few of my favorites from the past year.



I definitely slowed my pace this past year, both in blogging, and in churning out finishes, but it seemed to be a pace that was a little more comfortable, and allowed for a little more "real life," and things that weren't quilts or made of fabric...and who am I kidding, allowed for my tired pregnant self to do a lot more vegging on the couch, as I realized I was pregnant for all but 3 months of 2013.

I did finish a few full size quilts, published two patterns (Lucky Square and Ring Toss), churned out a few tutorials and made a whole slew of baby quilts for both my little lady and various friends and family who have also recently had babies, and how could I forget, had a quilt in a book!



On a personal note, 2013 was consumed with this little lady.  From watching her grow and relating her size to various fruits and vegetables as the weeks ticked by, to her arrival in October, it's been all about Nora.  She is the most precious little girl who is loved more than she will ever know.  She's the apple of mommy's eye and already has daddy wrapped around her little finger, and we wouldn't have it any other way.  We already can't believe how big she has gotten, and see changes in her every day.  We love to hear her "talk," and her smile just lights up the room (pause, while I wipe my tears!).  It's amazing to think of where we were last year at this time, not pregnant yet, and not convinced we would ever have a baby, to now, where it feels like she's been part of our lives forever.

As for 2014, it starts with heading back to work in a little over a week.  My sewing time will be extremely limited so I'm being super picky about what I want to work on.  There's no time for projects that I feel just so-so about!  My  brother has actually asked for a quilt, so I'm really excited to dig into that project, and am beginning to look around for "manly" quilt inspiration.  I'm thinking of a plus quilt possibly, as I just saw Brooke's quilt for her brother, and love it to pieces!

I am very excited for what 2014 has in store for us, and if nothing else will share lots of pictures of our gal as she continues to grow entirely fast!  What are your stitchy plans for 2014??