Sick Kids = No Sewing

Oh what a wonderful day! Okay, just kidding. This week I had grand and fun plans (it is spring break...isn't that what you are supposed to do?)...that all went down the drain. It started Monday evening with a child with a fever. Then after canceling my day on Tuesday, dear sweet hubby came home 20 minutes after leaving for work saying that the clutch in his pickup went out and he needed my car. Well, in a way sick kids was a blessing. I had already arranged that I didn't have to go anywhere. But here it is Friday night, kids are getting better and still functioning with one car (there are worse things...I shouldn't be complaining). So, most mothers know this already...sick kids=not much sewing time.

So today I share a dress that I had the pleasure of making a few weeks ago. I have had a craving to make a blessing dress for a while. All my sister-in-laws were having boys and all of my local friends were also having boys. I really was praying for a girl for someone. When I found out that a friend from high school was having a girl I promply adopted her. And I am very pleased with how it turned out. I had it finished and hanging in the sewing room for a few days before packaging it up, just because I liked looking at it.I asked my friend for some direction about what she leans more toward (is she a frilly kind of mom or more simple and elegant, that kind of stuff). I bought this piece of fabric that I fell in love with a while ago and so we decided that I would use this piece and surprise her. Like I said, I am still very pleased with how it turned out.

I started with this sheer, embroidered overlay (the piece I loved). I was trying to figure out how I was going to put it together to create this dress. It had a beautiful scalloped edge that I was leaning toward using but it just didn't seem right. So I went with a wide satin band at the hem. I really love it more than the scalloped edge! The skirt is gathered and lined, due to the sheer overlay.

For the bodice I chose these sweet puffy sleeves with a sleeve band and a very simple bodice. I had it plain at first and it just wasn't right. Am I strange that my work just doesn't feel right? So anyway I went in search for something to add as the finishing touches. These simple, sweet flowers were just right. They match the embroidery on the skirt and everything. I think it was meant to be. I just love how it all turned out. Now the sweet little lady is six weeks old and adorable!

Now, just because I am strange...and I like simple things in life. I want to share my newest addition to the sewing room. A thread rack!!! You have no idea how exciting this is. I found it on the damaged shelf at JoAnns. It had one peg missing and one had broken. I really didn't have a problem with that...I have a handy hubby. I paid no more than $2.50 for a $15.00 rack. Love that! And my dear sweet hubby fixed the two broken pegs and hung it on my oh so bare wall. Thanks hubby, I love you!

More Blocks

I am pretty well keeping up with the pace of the quilt along. I am a block behind but if I get some uninturrupted sewing time I could catch up pretty quick I think.

This particular block was very hard for me and I really don't like it. Okay the block itself is fine but putting it together didn't work out so well. In making it I missed a very important step...trim the half-square triangle squares to a certain size. In missing that step my block pieces didn't fit together and it just didn't work out so well.
This one is just fine. I wish I had picked some fabrics with a little more contrast of color.

Hope you are enjoying my show. Someday soon it will be a completed quilt top. :)

Block a Palooza continued...

I am very excited to write this post today. My camera went on a vacation with the husband and accidentally got left there. But that didn't stop me from continuing on with my blocks...just no pictures were taken and posted. So here we go...

I have been learning alot along the way and I have really appriciated that. This block (above) in particular I am having trouble with. The colors I chose just don't really work and they make the block different from the original example. For future reference, putting colors together for quilts is different than putting color together for clothing. I am not very good at the quilt part.

Another thing that I have learned is that as a beginner quilter, working with stripes probably was not a good idea. I am funny about how I want my stripes to go and sometimes I just couldn't make it work.

Again...color and contrast...need some help.

I do love this one.

This one was a nice easy change from the last more complicated block.

Applique was a new one for me as well. Like I said...a learning project.

And last so far...I actually skipped a block and moved on to this one. I am having trouble with my colors and stripes on the block I skipped. So I currently have two blocks to do before being caught up with the quilt along. The newest block was just posted today. I am very excited about the new block...just got to make the colors and stripes work. Challenging...

Block a palooza

So, call me crazy (but I think lots of people do that already), I decided to join in on a quilt-along over at Quilt Dad. I am very excited about it. I decided that I needed to use some of my stash. True, I had to buy the green piece to make it fully work, but I think I am doing pretty good. This is the first of 16 original blocks that will be made over the next 8 weeks. 2 blocks a week. I was pretty pleased at how this one turned out. I have never done flying geese (the triangle blocks) before and that was fun. I only cut off one tip of a triangle. I almost took it out and tried again. Then decided that my first block could have a minor mistake. : ) This second block was a little different. Each of these little squares started at 2 inches...that means a LOT of little squares. I didn't appreciate that so much. But I do like the overall look.

Stay tuned...more to come...for the next 8 weeks or so.

Christmas Happenings...

My world has been very full lately. After I finally felt better after my back injury, I got back on track with my Christmas projects, and added a few others in there too. For future reference...don't stand under basketball hoops while trying to move them. They will always win!

My dear sweet husband asked me what I wanted for Christmas. I think that question gets asked a lot. Normally I really don't want much. Maybe a new pair of pants to replace the ones I wore a hole in the knee (don't ask...I have kids). Or a new sweater to replace the one that I am still wearing from high school. Nothing big or exciting, and usually very practical. This year was a little different (at least in my mind). I really wanted shelves for my sewing room. And here they are. I am SO excited about them. I haven't had time to organize anything yet but it will come. Trust me! Merry Christmas to me!

My sewing projects this year consisted of 11 pairs of pajamas plus matching ones for 7 dolls. Well, due to my wonderful back injury, only 2 of those dolls got jammies (so far). There were 6 pairs of pants and 5 nightgowns. And from what I hear...all the kiddos like them. That is good news. Very fun for me to do.

But when you go to the fabric store and buy 3 bolts of fabric...you get a few strange looks. And yes, I walked out of the store with three entire BOLTS of fabric. It is okay though...the ladies at the fabric store know me and have made comments about watching my kids grow up. Sad huh?

This project I have been very excited to finish. One of my goals for the year is to be better at making a phone call or sending a card for birthdays in the family. Now you must know that with my family and my husbands family that adds up to over 50 birthdays to keep track of. That doesn't include grandmas and grandpas or aunts and uncles...just parents, siblings, their spouses and their children. My relief society did this board as a super saturday project and I was anxious to do one. It only came with ten little dots for people though...Problem! So I did what I could and here it is. I now have more of our family on there but still not everyone. I bought out the store's supply. So my dots will grow and hopefully I won't forget anyone this year!

Christmas Gifts

A couple of my nieces this year got pretty lucky. I was having so much fun sewing for their dolls that I may have gone a little over board. And thanks to Molly, Addy and Sydney, we have a nice little fashion show for you.Molly is ready for bed. This flannel nightgown matches the little girl nightgown that went to one of my nieces.

Sydney, Molly and Addy are sharing with us their new swim suits.
Molly is set to go trick or treating. Her pumpkin is made of fleece with a knit turtle neck and pants underneath to keep her warm.

This box-pleated jumper is 100% wool with a black knit turtle neck underneath. She is also modeling a fleece hat and scarf.

Sydney is showing us her flannel pants with a fleece sweater. You can't see it but it also has a kangaroo type pocket on the front.

Molly is ready for a play date a the park, but not till summer.

Molly and Addy are set to go the the holiday party.

Call me crazy, but I still love to play with dolls. I bet you would never have guessed that. I was so excited to package these up and send them to the lucky little ladies. Hope they enjoy them as much as I did.

Cute Cute Noelle Quilt

As with every quilt that I make, this cutie has a story. This one a little more of a story than some others. It all started with my quilt group. Where else would it start? This particular quilt was put together using a non-bonded batting. That means that the batting will come apart after using it and then you get little bits of batting spread out in globs. I'm sure you have had a quilt like that before. So when you have non-bonded batting the quilting needs to be closer together than if it is bonded batting. With this in mind, I brought the quilt home, ready to machine quilt it.
Then my sister-in-law got really sick and we needed to make the 12-14 hour (depending on conditions of children) drive to Salt Lake City, Utah. Quite honestly, I don't do well just sitting around. I like to have something to do. So I grabbed this quilt, my needle and thread and decided to hand quilt it. I had a few hours to kill.

I didn't work on it much on the drive there because we left late enough in the evening that it grew dark rather quickly. So during the next week, while we were there, I had some time to work on it some more. Then we packed up and come home. My quilt still unfinished by the time we returned home.We got home, school started and life began again. My quilt sat in the closet waiting for me to stop and enjoy it again. That time shortly came when my sister-in-law took a turn for the worse and passed away. We again made the venture to Salt Lake City, with a few hours to kill. I kept at it, this trip was a little more hectic and we came home again with the quilt, still unfinished.

This sweet little one was finally finished this last week. I had a back injury that left me completely down for a week and a half. My that was sure boring. I don't do well with that. But I have a great support system, husband and friends! I love them all! Thanks to them, we made it. And my quilt it finally finished, all done by hand. I don't know how many I will do by hand. They require a lot of sitting around.

One of my other sister-in-laws nicknamed this one the "Noelle" quilt. I think I agree. Too bad another sister-in-law (yes keep counting, there is 6 sisters on my husbands side) is having a boy.