Big finish

 This one was a long time coming. Wish I'd had more room to stretch it out all the way! A friend inherited the baskets from her grandmother, but she didn't know how to sew and asked me to assemble the quilt top for her. She gave me an inspiration quilt and sent me the fabric and squares. ONE YEAR AND A FEW MONTHS LATER (I'm such a lame friend) I finally got it finished. It was a fun, special project. It turned into a GIANT quilt and will fit a full sized bed nicely. She's going to hand quilt it, so this is going to be a giant, group effort quilt. I'm excited to see the finished product!

My next finish was a rush order for a little girl with two, very loose teeth!

 So fun! They also requested a down pillow. Must say that the down pillows are much easier to squish through the pocket, but much HARDER to shape nicely once you have.

 I added some really girly details for Grace. My favorite is the butterfly. But that's also because it is purple, and I adore the color purple.

 That dress was a booger to match to thread. I try to just go with what I have on hand, and fortunately I found something that was just right, but it took a while of hunting!

The pocket (sorry so blurry) is the middle rose on the vine. Little pocket, but it will work! Teeth tend to be small. ;)

Fortunately, my daughter didn't try to make off with this one. I think it is because she's gotten used to these NEVER being for her. But unless something crazy happens this next week and I get another rush order I'm going to have some time to sew for her. I've got to make her Easter dress and bonnet. Yay! I think I'll make a pillow for her, too.

After that I have a ton of leftover fabric. I'm thinking of putting together some ready-to-ship pillows. I'll leave the name square blank and wait for the order to get the child's name, add it, then send it on its way. I've got some Sock Monkey fabric, princess, frog princess, and some superhero fabric, so we'll see what comes of all of that. :)

Scrappy Messenger Bag

I received a Gypsy Girl charm pack for Christmas this last year and have been savoring the bright, happy colors for a while. It took me a long time to decide what I wanted to do with those delicious fabrics, but I finally settled on a messenger bag. I'm not a fan of giant diaper bags and as soon as my kids are old enough (i.e. they aren't constantly exploding diapers or requiring that I cart around the kitchen sink everywhere we go) I ditch the giant diaper bag and grab something smaller.

However, I now have two in diapers, and I really did need something bigger than my smaller purses but smaller than the giant diaper bag to tote around town. Thus, this bag was born!

I mostly followed a tutorial I found on Pinterest from No Time to Sew. Very easy to follow, and produced a decent sized bag. I added a back pocket:

I used the quilt-as-you-go method for that back pocket. I stumbled across the method on someone else's blog after they followed this tutorial at Oh, Fransson! I loved the idea and was itching to try it on something soon. My first attempt at a back pocket ended up getting a seam-ripper attack. I realized I wanted something scrappy-looking (like the front flap and front pocket), so I decided this was the perfect opportunity to try out quilt-as-you-go. LOVE it!

Front pocket was so cute and fun to put together! Easy-peasy, though the directions took some puzzling out. Don't know why, really, because once I got it the thing was ridiculously simple. Must have been late...

I deviated from the tutorial with this handle. I knew I wanted it scrappy, so I had to improvise.

So that's my new bag! It fits my wallet, iPod, phone, a few diapers and wipes, and a burp rag and one change of clothes for the baby very nicely. I've got four pockets on the inside, but forgot to take a picture. I'll take one of the pockets and a neatly packed bag later. :)

For now, I'm off! Got to show off my new accessory! :)

Rapunzel

Rapunzel is one of our favorite characters around here, too! Hope Carson likes her princess-themed pillow!

Hard to see, but in the other lanterns (as well as the big one) there is another layer of felt that is a different color and gives (sort of?) the illusion that it is glowing. Didn't go exactly as planned, but still looks cute I think.

Fortunately my daughter didn't attempt to run off with this one because I finished it while she was taking a rare nap (kids have ALL been sick this week. Three sickos is NOT fun!). So she never saw it, so I never had to fight it away from her. Oh, the cleverness of me! :)

Frog Prince Pillow

On the way to a little girl who loves PINK and FROGS is this little pillow. This marks the first time I've done a pillow without a human felt character. Love it! And he's got rubies on his crown (red French Knots with shiny, red embroidery floss). Fun fun fun.

Funny story. My daughter really liked the ballerina pillow I finished a couple weeks ago. But when I finished this one and finished the taking pictures I set it down to do something and she came over and snatched it up. She said, "Issa mine, right?" less as a question, more like a statement. I said, "Nope. That is going to another little girl." At which point she yelled "NnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnNO!" and ran off with it. I had to chase her down, tackle her, and wrestle the pillow from her and HIDE it where she couldn't reach. It took her a long time before she calmed down from that one. I think it really is time that I make her a pillow....

I am Iron Man

Seriously think this might be one of my all-time favorite pillows!!! Used Robert Kaufman's line "Superhero" from Illustration Ink. The tooth pocket is hidden on one of the buildings. Hope the hero-loving boy getting this one likes it! :)

Friday finishes

This week I finished:

1. The ballerina pillow! Yipee!

2. Milli dress and doll for my niece

3. A bunch of Valentine's cards and a corsage for my son's teacher.

I'm working on three more pillows, a shoulder bag, and another Milli dress for my daughter. :)

Valentine's Corsage

Whipped this together for my son's kindergarten teacher Wednesday night for him to give her for their Valentine's party. I hear she liked it!