New Quilts

I am busily preparing a bunch of things for a craft sale coming up at the end of November. I hope to prsent several different types of things, and get an idea of what people want. Here are two new quilts sewn and ready for market!

Rag-Time Homespun

Awhile ago I mentioned that I had purchased some new fabric called "Homespun Fabric". Here are a few pictures of it. Aren't the colors great? I actually really love the country feel the colors bring forth. I can't wait to start that project. I am actually awaiting another order from http://www.jublieehomespun.com/, since I decided that I would use these colors to make a blanket for my brother. I needed more than I had originally ordered. I also order some different colors in pinks and blues to make a few more baby blankets. I can't wait to get them in! They are going to make such beautiful baby blankets!

Spring into Spring #2

I have posted a picture of this quilt before. But this is a much nicer picture. This is a rag-time style quilt made from 2 different pink flannels and 1 dark brown flannel. I was probably not functioning on enough sleep the day I bought the flannel and I didn't buy enough!!! So anyway I improvised and went with a tie style quilting, instead of sewing the sandwhichs together. This uses less fabric. I now know how to properly calculate the yardage needed for these type of quilts so I won't make that mistake again!

Anyway this quilt will fit flat inside the crib. A very stylish starting point for your baby girls room decor!

FOR SALE $50.00

Spring into Spring

Ahhh today is a nice day at the beginning to April! Finally I feel like Spring is here. I decided to go outside and retake some pictures of some crib blankets that I have made. These are all FOR SALE!

Citrus-cicle!- This sweet little blanket with fit in a crib. It was made with left overs of some fun and beautifully bright colors of flannel that I wanted to use up. My mom helped me finish it up since I was bogged with a few projects. She tied it nicely with orange and green yarn. I love it. It is so cheerful that it is sure to put even the crabbiest baby (or mama) in a good mood.

FOR SALE- $35.00

Pink-Brown Diamonds- This blanket again was made using up some leftovers that I had. I hate to waste! It is sized to fit in a crib and is sure to keep your little princess warm!

FOR SALE $35.00

Easy Rag-Time Baby Pillow with Initial POST #1

This is a fun and super easy project you can do in very little time. It can also be a great way to use up a few odds and ends!
To further make this a "green project" stuff your pillow with all the left over scraps you have in your sewing room. Or if you have an old pillow that you don't use or like anymore, make this project to cover it and give it new life! HAVE FUN!

1. Select a fun flannel from your stash for the body (front and back) of your pillow. Also select a contrasting color for the letter you will sew on the front. For the letter you can use craft felt, denim or another fabric of your choice.

2. Cut fabric to the desired size with RIGHT sides OUT and wrong sides together. Be sure to allow for approx 3/4 inch seam allowance.

3. Using a word processing program on your computer, select a font and the letter you want. Increase the size to as size that will fit onto your pillow. Print and cut out the letter.

4. Place the paper cut out onto the fabric you picked for the letter. Make sure you orientate it properly so that when you flip the fabric to the RIGHT side, the letter is correctly positioned.

Continued in next posting...

Easy Rag-Time Baby Pillow with Initial POST #2

5. Center or orientate the letter on one piece, the front, of the pillow. You can baste this in place to help keep it from moving while you sew. Or you can use a heat bonding product between the letter and the pillow fabric and iron it down. (see photo below). It will now stay in place while you sew.

6. Sew around the edge of the letter. You can use an applique stitch, zig zag stitch or a straight stitch. OR if you prefer, you can hand stitch it with embroidery thread. Get creative!

7. Once the letter is sewn in place clean up any thread ends. Place the front and back pieces of the pillow together, with WRONG sides together and pin in place.

8. Starting approximately 2/3 rds of the way down on one side begin sewing leaving the 3/4 inch seam allowance. Continue to sew around the entire edge of the pillow leaving an opening on the side you began with.

9. Using sharp scissors or fabric snips, snip the edges (seam allowance) approximately every 1/4 inch. DO NOT cut through your seam. Do this all the way around the pillow.

10. Stuff your pilllow beginning with the far corners and working your way toward the opening. Stuff the closer corners well.

11. Pin and sew the opening shut.

12. To get frayed or worn edges, the pillow should now be washed and dried. NOTE- if you think that your stuffing will get lumpy after washing, then wash the casing first to fray the edges. Press with iron, stuff, and sew shut.

NOTE: It is not recommended to have soft items such as pillows and stuffed animals in the crib with a sleeping baby. Always remove these items before putting baby to sleep. These decorative pillows look great on a rocking chair, or atop the dresser. Also a great car pillow! ENJOY!

Baby Boy Blue Quilt

Here are a few pictures of the squares I have cut out for a baby boy quilt. This quilt is being made to order for a friend. I will post pictures of the finished quilt later. Each square has been cut from cotton flannel and each is 6 inches by 6 inches. Once all the squares are cut, I build the fabric sandwiches that will form the quilt. Top layer- blue patterned flannel, Mid-Layer- some type of batting cut 1 inch square smaller, Bottom layer- backing fabric.

Once all the sandwiches are formed then the quilt is pieced together! Yay! That's the fun part!

Mommy loves big bibs!

FOR SALE!! 4 in the pattern above and many more can be made to order!!

I hate that many of the bibs you can find in the store are so small. They are great when baby is very young to clean up a little milk dribble and maybe catch some drool. My baby is a real drooler! But when it comes to meal times, they just don't cut it.

I had found a bib at a garage sale which ended up being the best bib of all...because it actually covers him! So I traced it out onto some paper, then began to sew! And voila! Here is a bib I like, and I am sure you moms out there will too!

They are big, soft, and made of flannel. I have yet to find a suitable waterproof material for the back. Some plastics are nasty. So when I do, I might modify I bit. But for now, these absorbant-buddies are my best friend.

Orange Crush

Yesterday amoungst the normal day-to-day activities, I managed to complete a baby blanket! I made it for a friend whose baby could be being born as we speak...I am not sure! She was feeling like the baby might come at any time, but I haven't heard anything yet.

This was a great project to do because it was so easy and quick. Instead of using squares of fabric, I just chose a print and used one big rectangle for the center. Then I bordered it with some fun funky orange flannel. The back is green, and tied to the front throughout the quilt. This tying method is quick and not nearly the work as actually machine quilting. I sewed the front and back in a envelope style so that the edges are finished and not ragged as they are in the middle.

I am really pleased with the way it turned out! It was fast and fun to do. I love that baby stuff now can be any color. And orange is a fun color to work with.

If you know of someone who would like one of these for their baby...or if you are having a baby...I can make something like this for you. What colors would you like?

Sew Special

As I said in my previous post I love to make ragtime blankets. Here is a special one that I made just for my new baby.

The story is that I hunted all over to find the perfect crib bedding while I was waiting for my baby to arrive. The trouble was that everything I found that I loved was just too expensive. I really didn't see the necessity of spending $250 or $300 dollars on a crib set. Especially since they included bumper pads which most people don't use anymore anyway. I kept hunting, but the cheaper ones just weren't very nice. I was really disappointed.

Anyway I finally decided that I would just make the blanket and cribskirt myself. Everything turned out great and honestly I don't think I spent more than $50 on the whole thing. I ended up with a sweet blanket, cribskirt, and matching rod pocket curtains. With a little bit of extra I made curtain ties and a cover for the changing table pad. So now everything matches in a green and yellow print of froggies and stripes.

I really like it and it actually means a lot to me that my little guy is warm under a blanket that I made for him. The best part is that I can easily make another for baby number two (someday).

Sew Much More

Well since I started this little project...the blog..I have mostly talked about and displayed crochet items. I also do other things as craft hobbies. I actually really like to sew.

One of my favorite projects to work on are ragtime quilts. These quilts are pretty fool proof because the effect of the frayed edges hides any crooked cutting! I love that! These projects so far for me have been all made from flannel and for various babies including my own.

Each time I have made one I have worked differently on the layering to try out various techniques. For some I have used quilt batting, and for others I have layered many layers of flannel. I am not sure which is my favorite method yet.

So as you can see you sew the quilts so that all your seams are too the right side of the fabric. Once that is done and your quilt is all together and quilted you then work on the fraying. This is done using a special pair of snippers (able to cut thick layers). You snip along all your seams. Then the fraying is done just by washing and drying your quilt.

All of the fraying gives the quilt a beautiful distressed and textured look. I have seen lots of projects done this way from pillows to bags to blankets. I love them. Another great fabric for this is denim. It's a great way to use up old jeans.

Here are two pictures of a pink and brown quilt I made for a baby girl.