The Cora Cloche

Last May on our drive to Cape Cod, I knit Isabelle The Cora Cloche. At the time, I was 7 months pregnant and dreaming of how adorable my baby would look in the hat. Yesterday, I got the chance to finally see her in it.

I knit the cloche out of a white cotton yarn from my stash. Not sure what the brand is. The ribbon is a 1-1/2" wide pink satin. I wish I could tie bows better.

I didn't get a great picture from far back to show the full effect of the lace details and the ruffle gathering near the bow. But, with a baby on the move, this was as good as it will get for now. :-)

On a personal mom note, I recently started cloth diapering using bumGenious and LOVE it! My only regret is that I didn't start sooner. The upfront cost can be a deterrent, but the diapers will eventually pay for themselves from the cost savings of not having to buy disposables. Anyway, if you're considering cloth diapers, I highly recommend giving this brand a try. I bought mine at Cotton Babies and plan to buy more at a local shop in Troy, OH called samozrejme this weekend!

Fabric Garden

I decided to give applique a try again.

Using this tutorial by Don't Look Now, I am using fusible interfacing and am planning to raw-edge applique the pieces to the background fabric. My machine only has a straight stitch, so I couldn't do a blanket or satin stitch if I wanted to. But, I like the organic effect of raw-edge applique and think I'm going to be happy with the finished product.

I plan to use this thread by Gutterman to match as closely as possible to the different colors.

Too bad my real garden needs tended to more than this one on this sunny spring day... ;-)

In Bloom(ers)

My mom made a special quilt and outfit for Isabelle.

She completed the quilt top and made the outfit. I quilted and bound the quilt.

She followed a tutorial for the quilt top, selecting the pattern to show off the feature fabric in large blocks. This is her first complex pieced quilt, and she did an outstanding job!

Mom has an Etsy shop, LivvySue, where she sells adorable children's clothes, like these bloomers. Her craftsmanship is perfection. You should definitely check her items out!

Isabelle, who turned 7 months last weekend, already likes snuggling on her new quilt.

She will grow up knowing she has an amazingly generous grandmother who takes time out of her busy schedule to make lovely things for Isabelle and her big sister, Olivia.

Appreciation

I love when my customers leave "appreciation photos" in Etsy. Seeing what the fabric they bought from my shop becomes truly makes my day. I am inspired by the sewers' creativity.

Recently, Jenna left me a photo of what she made with Tanya Whelan Sugar Hill fabric  that almost had me in tears. Maybe I was emotional because I am a mom to girls?

Photo Credit: Kimberly McNabb Photography

Olivia wants a tea party for her "five birthday." This photo sparks tons of ideas for a garden party we can throw her. I also have a Pinterest board on the topic.

In other news, I am pleased to be featured on Rachel's Stitched in Color blog. She created a lovely bundle of fabric that is available to purchase here.

Have a great weekend!

A Star is Born

I was going to start this quilt, but ended up going in a totally different direction. While on the Fresh Lemons blog, I got distracted by Faith's Solstice Stars. I decided to pick one block - the Ribbon Star - and build out a whole quilt.

The Ribbon Star is probably the simplest of the tutorials available, but I haven't done much with triangles. This feels like a good place to start.

The quilt will be 4 blocks wide by 5 blogs long. Each block measures 12". I organized the 20 blocks onto paper. I think this is a method Elizabeth from Oh, Fransson! recommends, which I believe is where I picked it up. The organization really helps!

Four are completed with a fifth in progress. Each one takes about an hour to make.

This brings me to my weekly finishes and goals!

SEWING FINISHES:
1. Mug Rug - blogged here
2. Cut fabric for the Ribbon Star quilt
3. Organized knitting (I know it's not sewing, but it needed to be done!)

THIS WEEK'S SEWING GOALS:
1. Finish binding on Isabelle's quilt - a carry over from last week. Just a few inches to go.
2. Complete 10 Ribbon Star blocks
3. Cut fabric for this applique pillow
4. Buy supplies to make a market tote

What are your quilting/sewing/knitting goals for the week?

Hexy Mug Rug

Finished!

My mug rug for the Cincinnati Modern Quilt Guild March swap was made mostly of Anna Maria Horner fabric.

I used pearl cotton number 8 in pink to outline the perimeter. The hexagon paper pieces came from Paper Pieces.

The back is a green with an organic yellow dot I bought long ago. Not sure of the line. If anyone knows, please leave it in the comments!

Getting creative and resourceful, I made a scrappy binding. I think it adds a nice touch of interest.

Hope my swap partner like it!

Pinwheel Art

A few years ago, I made a quilt for Olivia's twin-size bed out of Heather Bailey's Nicey Jane fabric. I saved all the scraps and have made a few accessories out of it over the years - quilts for her baby dolls, toss pillows for her bed. It's been on my mind to make pinwheels for her wall for quite some time. After seeing how quickly they can be made, I don't know why I put it off for so long!

Olivia was able to help with putting the fabric in pairs and choosing buttons for the middles.

I used this tutorial, and made several different sizes - basically whatever my scraps would create.

3M Command Strips worked perfectly to secure the pinwheels to the wall.

Last week, I blogged what I was going to get done by the weekend. This was really helpful getting my projects organizing and keeping me focused, although I fell a little short of my goals. Even so, I'm going to keep posting crafting goals. Nothing like public accountability, right?

SEWING FINISHES:
1. Plus Sign Quilt - blogged here
2. Pinwheels - done!

THIS WEEK'S SEWING GOALS:
1. Mug Rug - need to finish binding
2. Cut out fabric for this quilt
3. Finish binding on Isabelle's baby quilt (my mom sewed the top, I quilted)
4. Organize yarn for next projects

What are your sewing goals for this week?

Plus Sign Quilt for My Plus One

Poor Bill hasn't received any handmade item from me. Ever. Until now.

This is a Plus Sign quilt I made using this tutorial and the Hometown by Sweetwater line. When that line arrived in the shop, he said it was his favorite. Not a big surprise among all the feminine colors and prints I tend to bring in. He said if I ever made him a quilt (hint, hint), that he would like this fabric. Subtle. Real subtle.

So, I got to work making this pattern. I picked it because I liked that it called for one rectangle and two squares to make each plus sign. This is less work compared to many of the other plus-sign quilt tutorials, which tend to call for 5 squares. Less work, and less chance of messing up!

Laying out the pieces in the "right" order was the hardest part. I wanted to make sure the quilt had color and print balance. This was a mind bender, but staying organized by pinning rows together once I had it "just right" made it a little easier.

I free motion quilted it in a stipple. The binding is scrappy using left overs from the fat quarters I started with.

So now Bill has a quilt. Still need to knit him a hat. I'll get around to it. Someday.