More Christmas finishes

Sudoku Quilt:

Quilted and bound, wrapped and mailed.

Dreamcatcher:

Wrapped and delivered
Inspired by this dreamcatcher and this dreamcatcher

Easy messenger bag:

Following this tutorial

Pocket bag:
Following this tutorial

Christmas finishes

Sudoku quilt:

 This was a fast and easy quilt. The hardest part was solving the sudoku puzzle that I based the quilt layout on. And then I had to remember which fabric corresponded with which number. So I made a chart:

 Made life so much easier.
Now I debating whether or not to add a wide, cream border to the sides. Right now it is a small lap quilt, but borders would make it a decent lap quilt. So still trying to decide if I want to call the top finished now and get to work quilting, or if I want to add that bit of length and width to it. What do you think?

I finished this quilt last night. A friend gave me the top, which was still in the middle of assembly when she inherited it. I just squared it up and added the block with the initial.

 It goes back to the friend for her son, R, tonight. Hope she likes it!

Final finish of the week goes to two CTR capes that I finished yesterday:

WHEW! Sewing with an infant around is really difficult! Only another week of sewing before I need to have the quilt and a bag done for Christmas gifts to extended family. When I get back from my sister's wedding I'll finish my kids' gifts. I hope.

BIG project crossed off

So my biggest project of the year got crossed off my list:

I turned this....

 .... into this. :)

Little P arrived October 18th at 12:32 a.m. He weighed 8 lbs 6 oz, and we were so glad he came out hollering! I've been enjoying a long babymoon, but I'm really getting back to work now. I've got two weeks to get a bunch of Christmas stuff done, but I'm not going to pressure myself because, let's face it, not a lot of work gets done with a newborn around. They are just such fun to cuddle with! ;)

They liked it!!

Got this letter in my Etsy inbox:

Hi Caroline,
 

I just wanted to let you know that we got the pillow in the mail today...and both Jack and I LOVE it!!! Thank you so much for making such a keepsake for us. It is exactly what I was looking for. It is very obvious that a lot of work went into this, and it is just beautiful! I loved that you put the family crest on the shield..this is truly a work of art. Thank you again!!! I have one more little boy and will be ordering again from you as he approaches the age where he needs a tooth pillow ;-)

Enjoy your summer!

M

 I'm just so glad they liked Jack's pillow! Made my day to get that news. :)

Knights and Dragons pillow

I really love doing custom pieces for my Etsy customers. There are some very imaginative and creative people out there, and I have so much fun creating keepsakes that are as fun as they are.

I have to say, that little knight was the MOST complicated felt character I've done. I thought the pirate was complex, but the knight had so many tiny pieces to him that I had to start and stop several times to makes sure I was putting him together correctly. Putting the felt characters together is sort of like building a puzzle backwards. I have to start from the bottom layer up. I always take a picture of the character "assembled" before I start sewing so that I can come back and look at it to make sure I'm getting all of the pieces on correctly!

I think this one turned out really cute! I had originally planned on giving the dragon felt flames, but the name panel wouldn't fit the felt. Instead I did the running stitch flames, I think it turned out pretty well. At least I'm satisfied, we'll see what Jack thinks! I hope he likes it. :)

Dress

I had some leftover fabric from making myself a couple of maxi skirts so I decided to make my daughter and her dolly matching dresses. I drafted a bodice top on my own, gathered a panel to fit the top, then attached it to the back panel that I had shirred across the top. Then I followed a tutorial to get the braided straps.

She and I both like the dress enough that I'd like to make another one in a regular cotton instead of a jersey knit. This dress is perfect for goofing around in, but a nicer one would be great, too. And she loves that her dolly matches her and that she can easily get the dress on by herself (to an independent 2-year-old that is a HUGE plus).

I'll get a better picture soon and post some close-ups of the dress. She wouldn't let me get too close with the camera the other day. ;)

The other bear bag

 Much the same as the last one, but a lot harder to finish for some reason. :/ And I think it looks a bit goofy. The other one had good length/width ratios. This one is a little short and wide, but I REALLY don't feel like going back and fixing it. I'm ready to get on to other projects....

Either way, I'm sure my son will love them both.

Took on a 10 minute project for my son's teacher on Friday. She's moving, and he's really enjoyed having her as his teacher every Sunday at church, so I decided the day of her going-away party that I really needed to make her something. I went to my superhero, Pinterest, and it saved the day for me. Cute, easy tutorial here: Skip to My Lou.

I love when a project comes together so quickly and looks nice in the end! We put the bookmarks in a little "book" card that said "You're the best in my book!" I thought it was cute, but then I'm pretty cheesy sometimes. She liked it, though, and that's what counts. :)

Next up:
Toothfairy pillow (which should ship out Tuesday)
Shoulder bag (which is all but finished)
Quilt (the beast that I am dreading at the moment...)

Picture Clocks

I made these picture clocks for Father's Day this year:

I always have problems thinking of things to do for the grandpas for Father's Day. They always have everything they need, and I don't like to give cutesy gifts to grandfathers; they need something a little more practical. This year I followed a tutorial at Rosy Red Buttons and made picture clocks for all of the men folk. I hope they like them! :)

The first month of Christmas

1. Shepherd and sheep to add to the cousins' Nativity set they got last Christmas.

2. Play diaper bag part of the diaper bag set for my daughter. I've still got wipes, diapers, and a blanket to go. I followed this tutorial: diaper bag.

3. Bear sleeping bag. One down, one to go. I'll probably finish that one tonight. :)

Crafting to Christmas

With a new baby due in November I've kind of put my project list on hold. My priorities have shifted to Christmas, which MUST be completely finished before this babe makes it earth-side. SO! That means that my next few months will be occupied with Christmas crafts for the kids and family. The goal?

May:
1. Nativity set additions
2. Bear sleeping bags
3. Toothfairy pillows

June:
1. More Toothfairy pillows
2. Play diaper bag set
3. Simple shoulder bag

July: Quilt

August: Two more gifts depending on Secret Santa drawings from the in-laws. Still don't know if hubs and I will be crafting for guys or girls.

September: Finish my family's gifts

October: Ornaments.

Maybe this is just nesting talking, but I really think I can do this!

So forgive the long absence, I blame morning sickness.

And we're off! Christmas is going to be great! :D

Baby quilt - Check!

Another one crossed off the project list...

This one measures 34x47 and is super soft. I usually use a solid flannel when backing these but there was a sale on some of the nicer flannel prints that made it cheaper for this starving student to get the nice stuff rather than the boring stuff. I'm really glad I did, now, because it feels so much yummier! The only downside? This stuff shed like nobody's business. I had to take a lint roller to the quilt top AND my lint trap was super full or hot-pink lint. Never had that happen before...

So this one is off to my niece! And then I have a month before I need to have another one sent off to a new baby in that same family. (See, this one is two years late, but my excuse was that I was hugely pregnant when E was born and just couldn't get it together, especially since we moved twice in the six months since E arrived, and one of those moves was across the country. But better late than never!)

Next up on the list are some little things that I've been putting off: iPad cover, fixing a tooth fairy pillow spelling error, and knocking the premie quilts out of the way. I think I can get all of that done in a week...

Edited to add that I'm linking up to Amanda's Finish it Friday link party!

The Buckle Book

I've been wanting to build a book for my daughter for a while that would sort of teach her how to dress herself. I'd wanted to do that for my son, but he sort of learned how to dress himself before I made the book.... Younger ones always get more. ;)

 With Moda hosting another challenge I decide now was as good a time as any. Their requirements were use Moda pre-cuts, at least one buckle, and some batting. Thus, the "Buckle Book" was born. Ready... set... SEW!

I used a Frolic (by Sandy Gervais) layer cake with a couple of Fig Tree's Whimsey squares thrown into the mix. I first sketched out how I wanted each page to look, then I assigned fabrics for each page and assemble each individual page. (I had plans for three more [I really wanted a shoe page!] but I had a hard time finding the extra buckles. So I left some extra room in the book so I can add extra buckle pages later.) Then I sewed the pages together two-by-two. After that I attached four pages at a time to Pellon. I really wanted the pages to be reinforced, especially because some of the pages needed some extra help to balance out the weight. After that I top-stiched each page and then sewed it into the book cover. It was a bit more difficult than I'd originally thought, but I really like how it turned out.

 My favorite page is the overalls page! I have this thing for overalls, I don't know what it is. Kids are just so darn cute in them! Those are D's overalls from when he was a brand new little baby. They are so tiny! I can hardly believe that my big boy was actually that small at one point. This was also the hardest page to put together because those overalls really added some weight and I broke two needles (DENIM NEEDLES!) trying to get that one top-stitched. It also really messed with the page I sewed it to.... It puckered and I couldn't get it to fix. :(

I quilted the outside covers to give them some texture that the other pages didn't have. I really like the squares on the front cover.

So now I'm getting it submitted. The competition is really stiff, and I really love a lot of the projects that people have submitted, so I'm totally intimidated. I can't wait to see the tutorials for those crafters who make the cut! :)

Super busy

I've made a bunch of capes the last little bit and have been super busy crafting on those. This week I finished three of these puppies:

 Finished one of these:

(Mind you, I finished all of those capes within one 24 hour period. I didn't want to, but each time I sat down to do them one of my kids got sick and we had two E.R. trips while I was supposed to be making these. I finally sat down last weekend and decided enough was enough, I was finishing these if it killed me.)

To take a break from the capes I started in on this:

It is seriously the easiest baby quilt ever and I've been using this same pattern since I was 16. My first one took me two months to complete; with this one the top was assembled during one Grey's Anatomy episode (guilty pleasure) and a few churchy talks on Mormon Radio (I had to repent for the guilty pleasure somehow). But this is the 11th baby quilt I've made with this pattern, so I didn't expect it to take too long. It is going up on my quilt frame tonight and I'll tie it while catching up on some Grey's and talks. A wash and dry later and it will be headed off to my niece. :)

Another break from my current cape norm was this:

 SOAP!!! I made soap!

I used yogurt cups as molds and I definitely like the oval ones better; the little Union Jack/Tie Fighter design is kinda cool. I scented it with rosemary essential oil and it made my basement smell very yummy for a couple of days. And in a couple of months I'll actually be able to use it. :)

And for the first time I am going to link up to Crazy Mom Quilts for her Finish It Up Friday link party. Yea! Hi! everybody!!

Have a great weekend!

Five down...

My camera ran out of batteries or I would have posted pictures of the other two I finished (green/gold and an aqua cape with white/red shield). But I've gotten two other orders in the last two days and have two more blue/lime-green capes to make this week.

Just as a side note, ironing glitter fabrics is really hard to do. And the purple cape is my new favorite. ;)

Birthday cards

Birthday cards are done for the year. I feel very on top of things this year! I filled out the cards, stuck them in their envelope, and filed them in birthday order. Now all I have to do is take a picture of the kids to stick into the card the week before I send it out. And I guess I have to get them out on time, but having them made is half the battle. :)

HP Quilt block 1 of 30

Thing 1 and Thing 2

For a friend's twin nephews. Doing one more for their little brother.

Dress for H

Got two cape orders today. Fabric shopping tomorrow! :)