han solo

Han has been my sons favorite character from the beginning.  

sherbet quilt

My daughter's sunday school teacher just had her first baby, and the girls wanted to do something for her, so I made a quilt top and the girls got together and tied it.

I think it turned out so cute, and it is so soft and cuddly.  Plus, the girls had such a fun time together tying it, they wanted to do another one right away.  (I do think it could use a few more ties, maybe on the corners, the fabric/batting shifts a little...not terribly though.)

It almost feels like tying quilts has become a lost art. You don't see it much anymore...or maybe it's just because I don't do it anymore.  

It was so fun to listen to the girls chatter away as they tied each thread.  Nine year old girls are a very chattery bunch.

We didn't even use a frame for for this, I don't have one and it was small enough that I basted the quilt and sewed the binding on it, then had the girls tie it.  It worked out great.

I very happily used all fabric from my scraps and stash.  I should be doing more of these.  I love these squares.

Master Yoda

I'm pretty excited about this quilt, another Star Wars quilt for my son.  He has a bigger bed now and his old quilt doesn't fit.  I like this one better anyway, for some reason I never really liked the first Star Wars quilt I made him.  I don't even know why, I just don't like it.  

I found the pattern here, it's actually a cross stitch pattern, but I'm using it as a guide for a quilt.  Next up is Han Solo, and then Chewbacca.  We will see if we have room for more characters.  

I contributed to a fun "one word" blog post here about blogging and quilting, a fun read if you have time.

Pirate Pow Wow

Yep, another Pow Wow, for another baby.  What can I say, it's a favorite, and one of the quickest quilts to put together from your stash.  You can use what you have, mix and match colors, or use fabrics from one line.  I love it.  (I still have one more pow wow to show you after this one.)

I don't have a lot of pictures of this one, I snapped 3 quick ones as it headed out the door to it's new owner.   I was hesitant about this darker background fabric at first.  I didn't know if it was too brown for a baby, but it was all I had at the moment, so I went for it, and I like it.  It's not too dark (which was a big concern) and it's different.

The Pirate fabric on the back was the starting piece for this quilt.  I knew I wanted to use it, it's a bright tomato red nice surprise on the back.

On another note, I have been getting a lot of spam comments lately, and am thinking about turning comments off completely.  I really don't want to, but it's just so irritating.  Anyone else having these problems?  Any suggestions?  I hate to turn comments off, they are fun, but I also get so sick of them clogging up my inbox.

flower quilting

I'm finishing up another baby quilt, and decided to quilt it with these fun flowers.  I found inspiration from this book.   

I'm making another pow-wow quilt.  I know, I make this quilt a lot and I still really like it.  It's perfect for quick simple baby quilts.  You can use your stash and mix whatever prints you want together.  It's my favorite pattern right now.

geranium dress(es)

As promised, I got some pictures of my girls in their Geranium dresses.  

This is my youngest daughter.  I swear she was born yesterday, and I almost cannot believe she is as big as she is.  We still baby her though, and probably always will, but just yesterday she told me she wasn't a baby anymore...

This is the first dress I made.  I decided to start small, so if it looked terrible, I wouldn't waste too much fabric, but I actually liked it and thought I'd even let her wear it to church.

I made this one with the round neckline, gathered skirt, and ruffle sleeves (those are my favorite).

Her favorite color is orange, and I love the color of this print by Sarah Jane, Wee Wander.  It's just perfect for a dress.

As it goes with children, you can't give something to one without the others wanting it too.  My middle daughter asked for a dress too.  This is actually my favorite of the three, but she likes her sister's dresses better.  I think this print is perfect for a dress too, and I love the freshness of the white (also a print by Sarah Jane, Wee Wander)

She was also my least willing model.

I made this dress exactly like the orange one.  Rounded neck, gathered skirt and flutter sleeves.  I also added lining to the skirt (the bodice is lined in the pattern, but I was afraid the white would be see through).  I just used muslin and pretty much made the pattern exactly as written, but with two layers.  I'm sure there was a better way, but this seemed to work well, without any problems, and I am new to sewing clothes, so I just did what I thought would work.

Pink for my oldest.  (Yep, Sarah Jane, Wee Wander, again...clearly I'm a bit obsessed).

After she saw her sister's dresses she really wanted one for herself.  I was a bit reluctant at first because I was afraid it was a little young for her (she's 9)...I mulled it over for a bit and finally decided that if she wants me to make her a dress, I will, and if she is willing to still look young, then I should be cheering.  Kids grow up too fast nowadays anyway.  There is nothing wrong with keeping them young.

I made this one with pleats instead of gathered and cap sleeves instead of ruffles.  I also added the cutout in the neck.  Just these little changes make it look so much more mature. 

I considered lengthening the bodice, so it would hit at her natural waistline, and then shortening the skirt...but didn't have the time or experience to make those kind of adjustments.  I would like to try it sometime though, I think it would be perfect for this age.

dresses

I'm not a clothing maker.  I wish I was, but it's really intimidating...  Somehow, though, I talked myself into trying out the Geranium dress by Rae of Made by Rae.  You know what, I love this pattern.  It is easy.  If I can do it, and make it look good (not perfect), than anyone who can sew can do it!  

I started with the orange one for my 2 year old and liked it so much I made the white one for my 4 year old.  Then my 9 year old asked for one, and we decided these would be their easter dresses.  I'll try to get better pics of them on Sunday.