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??

cuteness

Just taking a few moments to crawl out from under my new mommy rock and say hello!  I don't have anything of the crafty nature to share, but I did turn on my sewing machine for the first time in almost two months yesterday, dusted off the cobwebs and sewed a few stitches!  I still can't believe I have an almost two month old, there are days when I look at that smiling face (yes shes smiling intentionally now!) and am in awe that she's ours to keep!  Since I don't have anything quilty to share, how about some cute pictures of what has been occupying my time??

These were her newborn pictures, so angelic!  You would never have known she was screaming her head off 5 minutes prior!



We are due for our 7 week picture today, I'm really enjoying taking these weekly pictures, of course using a new quilt each week as a backdrop for as long as I can.  Its amazing to see how much she has changed in just 7 short weeks!

I promise every post won't be baby overload, I should actually have sewing related posts soon!  I have two Christmas gifts I'm working on stitching up, and an updated tutorial to the Christmas Tree Skirt mini tutorial with more detailed instructions and fabric requirements, as I've been getting lots of questions lately!  Happy holiday stitching :-)

WIP Wednesday: Newborn Edition

Just popping in quickly to share our newest WIP of the non quilty variety, baby Nora!

We are already so in love with this little 7 lb 7 oz miracle and soaking up as many baby snuggles and cuddles as we can!

N is for Nursery

While we are still waiting for our little lady to make her appearance, we finally had a few beautiful days of sunshine this weekend to get some pictures of her finished nursery!

I really could not be more pleased with how it has come together, the perfect mix of DIY, Etsy purchases and store bought items to feel welcome and inviting, yet stylish and pretty and perfectly "girly" without pink from ceiling to floor, which was my hopeful vision all along.

I've blogged about may of the DIY stitchy crafts here and there, like the curtains, the Drona bin covers, and crib skirt.



This view is from the far corner of the room, between the windows and the closet.  I was a little nervous about how the alphabet bead board project would hold up, as it is pretty heavy, but the heavy duty wire picture hanger combined with some heavy duty Command strips on the bottom corners to keep the behemoth in place when baby eventually is kicking her legs and flailing her arms during diaper changes, seems to be doing the trick and keeping things in place.  The changing pad cover was made using this tutorial, and the basket was made using the Noodlehead Divided Basket Pattern.



I think this is my favorite part of the nursery, the super cozy rocker and paper lantern/tissue pom corner.  I envision lots of rocking, feeding and baby snuggles going on here, and lots for baby to look at during those hours and hours.  The paper lanterns came from Michaels, and the tissue poms were purchased from FiestaPomPom on Etsy.  I had thought of DIYing those poms, but was running out of steam, and this was much much easier!  To affix to the ceiling I just used fishing wire and clear push pins cut at different lengths and arranged how I liked.



While this little lady certainly has a plethora of quilts awaiting her arrival, this was the most recent and final quilt (for now) I stitched up for her, of course matching the nursery colors.  More to come on this quilt in a future post.  The elephant and "N" came from PaperPlanePrints on Etsy.  They are 11x14 and after hunting down a few white frames I liked, and using my new favorite tool, my trusty laser level, hanging them was a breeze without nine million nail holes in the wall!



From left to right:  1.  Wooden letters that were a gift that I recovered using the same method as the ABC wall hanging 2.  Hombre elephant paint chip art a la this tutorial  3.  Name puzzle letters that were a gift, and elephant button art from this tutorial

Whew!  This nursery certainly was a labor of love, and we can't wait to welcome our baby girl home to this warm and inviting space!  Come on baby girl, mommy and daddy can't wait to meet you!!

Modern Bee: 13 Quilts to Make With Friends {Blog Tour}

Hi all!  I am so so excited to finally share more about the book Modern Bee: 13 Quilts to Make With Friends that I had the honor of being a part of!

This book all started when the Mod Stitches Bee was formed just about two years ago, at the end of 2011.  Things started just as any bee usually does, Elizabeth virtually gathered 12 quilty friends, some of whom I had known previously, and some I hadn't, to begin a 12 month quilting bee, making blocks each month for one "bee mama" that would  ultimately result in enough blocks for each member to put together a finished quilt.  

While we were getting started, Lindsay had the awesome idea to turn our bee into a book!  She documented our quilting journey, and not only describes how to create each of the 13 different blocks and resulting finished quilts, but also provides information to start and run your own virtual quilting bee!  Lindsay really is one talented lady, and has a gift for writing, as Modern Bee reads like she's talking to a friend, giving helpful tips and pointers to someone she's known a lifetime.  

This is a picture straight from the book of my contribution, Trellis Crossroads.  I love the look of quilts using blocks turned on point, but usually they require block trimming and adding sashing, and I wanted a design that would come together with just the blocks themselves, no extra work for quilt assembly, and after working through a few design possibilities in my head, this quilt was born.

This was my test block, and as you can see, the trellis design comes together quite simply by sewing together the blocks of each each row and then each row into a finished quilt.

I cannot say thank you enough to the wonderfully talented quilters I had the pleasure of working with, and of course to Lindsay, as without her this book would not be!



And of course no blog hop is complete without a giveaway!  To enter to win, click here to complete the Rafflecopter form for your chance to win a Modern Bee gift bag* filled with sewing goodies from Coats and Clark, FreeSpirit Fabrics, Olfa, Pellon and Timeless Treasures!

*Winners will be randomly selected after October 18, 2013 from all comments received. If the winner lives outside of the U.S., they'll win a Modern Bee e-Book of instead of the gift bag.

Be sure to follow along with the remaining stops on the Modern Bee blog tour for book reviews and more sneak peeks from many of the book contributors!

Modern Bee Blog Tour:

Monday, 10/7:  Sew Mama Sew + Stash Books

Tuesday, 10/8:  SewCraftyJess + Sew Sweetness

Wednesday 10/9:  Ellison Lane + Diary of a Quilter

Thursday 10/10:  Katie's Korner + Pat Sloan

Friday 10/11:  Fat Quarter Shop + imagine gnats

Monday 10/14:  Quilting is My Therapy + Hot Pink Stitches

Tuesday 10/15:  Live a Colorful Life + Craft Gossip

Wednesday 10/16:  SewCanShe + Maureen Cracknell Handmade

Thursday 10/17:  Craftsy + Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Stores

Watermelon Seeds: Completed Quilt

Just popping in (still pregnant!) with one more quilty finish before the little lady makes her appearance!  I'm not sure how many more finishes I have in me before d-day, the basting kills me!  After basting this little guy on the kitchen floor I felt like I'd just finished an hour long workout in the pre-preggo days.  I'm hoping to squeeze in one more finish for the babe herself before she is here, but I may have to enlist the hubby's help to baste that puppy.



This is a super special quilt that needed to be finished, as its for a dear friend who is also expecting a little girl.  She's been my pregnancy buddy and the go to for when weird things are happening that only another expectant mom would not be grossed out by understand.  She just passed her due date this past Friday, so I'm counting on her to go first and tell me the good, the bad and the ugly first hand...although maybe going in with no expectations is the way to go.



Anyways, back to the quilt.  Her little lady's nursery has lots of bright pinks and greens, so when pulling fabric for this quilt, these prints just sort of made a stack all on their own.  These prints remind me of happiness, sunshine and summer, which describes my friend to a T.  I don't think I've ever seen her without a smile on her face, so I'm expecting her daughter to naturally be the same.



I've had this simple rail fence zig zag quilt on my "to try" list for sometime now, and it certainly didn't disappoint.  The quilt top came together so quickly, as in just a few hours on a Saturday while the hubs was working, thanks to strip piecing the prints/white fabric, and then cutting squares from there.  I sort of just figured it out as I went, but I found this pdf tutorial after the fact explaining the process.  I cut my strips at 2.5" wide, so this exact quilt would be even easier if you had an extra Jelly Roll laying around with precut strips!



This quilt is off for a good tumble through the washer and dryer for a proper crinkling, and then it will wait for my friend's little miss to make her appearance!

Quilt Stats

Name:  Watermelon Seeds baby quilt

Pattern: Zig Zag Rail Fence on point (kind of like this tutorial)

Size:  41" x 43"

Fabrics Used: Various fuscia/grass green prints from stash and Kona White

Backing: Amy Butler Love print and leftover strips from the quilt front

Binding: Random pink dot fabric found in my stash

Quilting:  All over loopy FMQ