Finito!

It took way longer than it should have, but I finally finished my quilt.  

As it is now summer (in Southern Arizona no less!) I decided to hang it on my wall.  I went through all that work and I am going to enjoy my quilt anyway I see fit.

Also I received a gorgeous little quilt for Ivy (my new girly) from my talented friend.  I am in love with the colors she picked.  I need to get photos pronto.  Soon I will be cutting into fabric for my cutie pie.  Good thing I've given myself a year (well, now 10 months) to finish.  What a slowpoke :)  

Deja Vu

Whilst on a thrift trip a few months ago I spotted this yellow striped shirt.  Bold stripes, yellow... looked like a nice summer t-shirt (it actually had sleeves but I chopped them off).  After I brought it home something seemed familiar about it... what was it?  Oh!  I had made a dish towel that looked EXACTLY like it.  

I was actually going to make it gingham print but after painting the horizontal stripes I ran out of paint and decided I would just leave it as is.  The color and width of stripes is as close as you can get.  Freaky.  And somewhat embarrassing that I have a shirt that matches my towel.

Postpartum Refashion

I've done a tiny bit of sewing and thrifting since my newest little cutie was born.  Sewing and thrifting are therapeutic to me I think, they help me de-stress if I've had a long day (or week).

Anywho, during some needed breather time one evening I stumbled upon a beauty.  Just kidding.  It was pretty bad but I liked that the top half unbuttoned (convenient for a nursing mom), the print was kinda cute, and it had pockets.   The skinny: I took the waist up about six inches, removed shoulder pads, took in the shoulder width, and chopped the sleeves...and I love it!  A casual (and comfortable) dress that is also functional.

In other news I am dangerously close to actually finishing that quilt I started eons ago.  Seriously I probably have like two feet of binding to finish...lets get on that.

Vintage Kitchen

Some pretty things joined my kitchen family recently.

I have been admiring Cathrine Holm (or is it Cathrineholm?) enamelware for a while.  It seems collectible so I was admiring at a distance (translation, high etsy prices).  

Whilst browsing the odds and ends at Bookmans I stumbled upon these two.  The price was higher than I'd pay thrifting--but we had some instore credit from a recent media purge.  So I didn't actually pay anything for them, nice!  The green bowl is my favorite.

Quiet Book Volume 1

Originally I had sketched a myriad of page ideas (probably close to twenty) for my little quiet book, but quiet book volume one will just be five pages long.  I am okay with that.  I've constructed the book in such a way if/when I create more pages I can easily add them, which is super.


The book isn't perfect, but I think that gives it charm (or is that just what people who make imperfect things say to feel better?).  I didn't use any patterns, just had fun recreating the sketches I started with.  There is a thin layer of patting in each page giving it some stability, but keeping it soft.  There are no loose pieces, I didn't want to go crazy trying to keep everything together.


Here's the cover:

The classic mailbox page:

The Velcro bee page:

The elephant page (you stick your fingers through the back to be the elephant trunks):

The family picture page:

The zipper pouch (back of previous page):

The button frog page:

And as an afterthought I added another little file like pouch on the inside back cover to hold a notebook or a small book:

Handmade birthday gift:  done!  With 7 weeks to spare!  On to the next project...

Toddler Raglan Tee

After making the basic toddler t-shirt I decided to make a raglan tee as well (why not)?  I used this tutorial.

My sewing wasn't perfect (gathers and such), but I like the style.  I will definitely be making more of these.  I'm also going to use the pattern I made as a guide to a dress I am making for Easter and my baby sister's wedding this May (another project that was not on my official "make this before baby" list, oops!).

Toddler Tee

Despite the fact I sat down and listed all craft projects to complete before baby # 2 arrives I keep starting new things.  


The other day I decided I needed to make some new t-shirts for Ellie.  I wanted to work out the pattern now so post baby I could whip them out as needed.  I used a well fitting shirt as a guide to create the pattern, and then used an old grey t-shirt to construct.  

It was looking a little ho-hum so I added some little pockets in front.  As well added some stretch lace trim (from my vintage stash) to the sleeves and pockets for a feminine touch.

They are so quick and easy I want to sew up a storm making some more.  I'm going to resist for now and get some other projects done with my shrinking free time (t-minus 8 1/2 weeks if baby is on time!).