Spawn's Monster Quilt

A friend of mine (and her huband) is having a baby.  They know the gender but aren't sharing.  The theme of the baby's room is monsters so.... I made this cute little quilt to be loved on.  I'll tell ya, not knowing gender it's hard to make anything.  I think this one can go either way.  It's not overly blue and it's not ungirly.  I can't wait to find out if it's a boy or a girl.  My guess is on girl.  :)

I used my favorite Sizzix tumbler die for the front pieces.  It just cuts them so nicely, 10 layers at a time, and the corners match up awesome.  So much better than hand cutting!  Now to get it sent off before the little Spawn arrives!  I hope she or he (but I'm still going with she) LOVES it!  :)

 The Front

The Back

Ally's Pillow Case Birthday Dress

I wanted to make a special dress for Ally to wear for her 1st birthday party this Saturday.  I've heard pillowcase dresses are easy.  She needed a butt cover as well and I found a very easy cover pattern.  You can't try to be perfect on the cover.  It just won't work for the legs because they're round and round stuff doesn't sew or iron around neatly.  The dress started out with just the fish fabric but I figured that if I was sewing I might as well make it reversible.  You know, kids have spills and such, so that if it got dirty I could flip it around and have a clean dress.  :)  I found a pattern that I liked and used it to draft my own for Ally's size.  I used bias tape for the hem because I HATE hemming things and I really suck at it.  The fabric is from my stash (I'm on a no spending craft budget these days) and I found the ribbon in my stash too.  Who knew I had 7/8" yellow ribbon?  Random.  All it in all, I think it urned out pretty cute if I do say so myself!  

Take a look below and see what Ally's going to wear for her special birthday party!  

 

 One side is fish.  LOVE this fabric!

The other side is a fun tie dye.  I've been looking for a reason to use this.  I think it's PERFECT!

Ally's Quiet Book

This quiet book has been bouncing around in the back of my head for quiet some time.  Ally's still a bit young to play with it but I figured I had time this summer, so why not make it.  Right?  After I made her bedroom stuff, I finally had time to work on it but knew I didn't want to do it out of felt.  100% wool felt is pretty pricey and I can't get it anywhere locally, only online.  So, I turned to vinyl.  I found some GREAT bright colors of the fun stuff at Joann's.  Most of this book is from things in my stash.  The only stuff I had to buy to make this book was the vinyl and the grommets for the binding.  I even had the rings!  Everything is machine sewn too.  I've linked tutorials and ideas that I used.  If I didn't give proper credit and you know who it belongs to, PLEASE let me know so I can fix it!  Thanks!  :)

The cover of Ally's quiet book.  I used white vinyl that I cut on my cricut for her name.

The barn came from here, I used some GREAT wood grain fabric I had in my stash that a friend sent me last year.

The braiding page came from here, I used some poly rope type stuff I had in my stash.

This idea is from here, I got the beads at Joann's and cut the vinyl with SCAL and my Cricut.
(anyone know how to turn an image?)

The pocket idea is from here, I used a pocket off a pair of old jeans and appliqued a turtle from the background fabric to the front.  I like to put a little stuffed bunny in the pocket for Ally to find.

The zipper page is loosely based on a page found here, I picked these up for 50 cents each on clearance at Joann's years ago.  More stuff from my stash!  :)

These 2 pages are my own design (yes, I know, I'm BRILLIANT, right?  LOL.)  There are lots of ideas out there for these. 

Of course, I had to have a tic tac toe page and a button the flower page!  The tic tac toe pieces can also be used for matching practice.  There are 2 of each and they store neatly in the cool orange envelope.

The flower page has 9 flowers and the extras store in the "grass" pocket.

The dryer page idea came from here, I used vinyl and velcro instead of felt.  

The weaving page idea came from here, I used ribbon instead of felt.

The back cover is just like the front but no writing.

I used this tutorial for the binding.  The pages started out on an 11x12 piece of osnaburg.  The backgrounds are all cut 9 1/2 x 12.  I folded over 1/2" on the edge that wasn't going to get stitched and used fusible webbing to iron it down well all around the edges and in the middle.  I sewed everything thru the background and osnaburg.  I stitched the front and back of pages together with a 1/2" seam allowance.  Then I top stitched it all together too.  The binding part is done measuring 1/4" from the bound edge and stitching, go another 1/4" in and do another line, go in 5/8" and do another line, and a final line another 1/4" from there.  I used my crop a dile to punch the holes and set 1/4" grommets.  Easy peasy!  Then found some binder rings in my craft cave to hold it all together.

Mason's Cowboy Quilt

My friend Leslie had a little boy, Mason, on Dec.27. As soon as I found out she was pregnant, I started on this quilt. I asked what her dream nursery was and she said cowboy/cowgirl. Then when she found out she was having a boy I was able to get it all pulled together. It's been done for quite a while but I didn't want to share it just in case she wandered here and saw it before she got it. I'm so excited to FINALLY get to share this quilt I made for him. Here's Mason's "cowboy quilt". All the squares were hand done by me. The shapes were cut on my (and a friends) cricut to make a template and then I hand cut everything after ironing steam a seam to the back. All the sewing was done with my Emerald 118 machine.

"Howdy" block

Cowboy Hat block

Spur block

Bucking bronco block

Howling coyote block

Brown boot block

Roping glove block

Lucky horse shoe block

Stage coach block

Saddle block

Ladies boot block

Cow block

Rail fence block

Cowboy hat block

Horse block

Red barn block

A sheriff star in each corner

Mason's Cowboy Quilt

The back is done with the boot flannel that is in the coyote square. I tied it at the corners with brown pearlized thread. I hope she loves it as much as I do. I had a GREAT time making this quilt!

How To Make A Taggie

So, you've seen those super cute baby things called "taggies" and you want to make your own? They're SUPER easy to do and you can whip one up in about an hour.

Supplies
1. 2 pieces of fabric cut to your desired size. I like to do squares. Depending on the size of fabrics I have, I like to do mine 15-18" square. Wash and dry your fabrics first. I like to use flannel paired with fleece. 2 layers of fleece is pretty thick for some machines to stitch thru. Use whatever fabrics you want to. Be creative!
2. Ribbons. I tend to like them to be matchy all the way around but I've seen them made with all different ribbons. Try to use different textures and patterns. Ric-rak is fun too.
3. Thread
4. Sewing machine
5. Scissors or rotary cutter & cutting mat
6. Ruler
7. Pins

Ok- ready to get started?
1. Cut your fabric to your desired size. Here, my squares are 18"

2. Cut your ribbons to 6". Fold in half and press with a warm iron. If the iron's too hot the ribbon may melt.

3. Take one piece if fabric and place it face up. Pin the ribbons, folded end toward the center of the fabric, around the outside. I do mine starting 2" from the corners and then about 2" apart. I also do them 2" in from the edge. Be sure to pin them all down. Put sturdy ribbons at the corners for hanging on things.

4. Place your other fabric face DOWN over the piece you just pinned all the ribbons to. Match the edges as best you can and pin the heck out of it. I start by pinning the center and a few inches out from the center then I pin between all the ribbons and at the corners.

5. Stitch all the way around using a 1/2" seam allowance. Be sure to leave space for turning. I usually take one of the ribbons out and leave about 5" open.

6. Clip the corners to get a nice corner when you turn it.

7. Turn it right side out after reaching in and removing all the pins. Trust me, remove the pins before trying to turn it. Poke the corners out. I like to use a chopstick for this.

8. Iron it smooth and be sure to iron the fabric inwards at the opening you left for turning.

9. Pin the ribbon you left out into the opening. Pin around the taggie to keep the front and back neat for top stitching.

10. Stitch around the taggie. I like to do 2 lines. I just use the sewing machine foot for the measure here. One line is the outer edge of the foot and the other is the inner line. I think they're 3/8" and 1/8" (maybe ?)

11. You're done! :) Sit back and smile at the money you saved and the cuteness you created! If you make a taggie using this tutorial, drop me a note and let me know how it turned out.

My Dad's iPad 2 case

My dad just got an iPad 2. He LOVES it but needed a cover for it. Thus the birth of this "one hour" cover. Let me just tell you, it did NOT take an hour! I made it over 2 days (ran out of thread, ran out of velcro.) It would have taken me a full day of sewing to make it but I sew REALLY slowly. I also didn't have enough fabric to make the flap from the piece I quilted so I had to improvise and added on to it. I really like the way it turned out actually! Happy mistake there. :)

Both the inside and outside are quilted with warm and natural quilt batting. The outside is a solid blue cotton fabric and the inside is a soft blue mottled flannel. I LOVE it! There's a hidden jeans pocket (yes, from a real pair of jeans) that closes with velcro to hold all the cords and whatever. The flap folds over and secures with velcro to hold it shut and keep the iPad inside. I put a grab handle on it made from left over quilt binding from my quilt I made for Ally. I think it's manly enough to not be a "bag" but still VERY usable. The handle can also be slung over a door knob. Not having an iPad to actually make it around, I hope it fits when I give it to him!

Outside of the iPad2 case

Opened up to show off the lining and hidden pocket

Close up of the pocket I added

I really like this little tote and think I might just make one for myself eventho I don't have an iPad. it's neat. I've never done anything with the jeans pockets I took off the TONS of pairs of jeans I used for Ally's rag quilt. I have plans for SOME of the pockets but I have almost 30 pockets to use!

I loosely used the tutorial from One Shabby Chick to make this tote. I had to call dad to find out the exact dimensions of his iPad and ended up trimming down the fabric a bit to make sure it all fit properly. I made the outside 1/4" larger all around because of the bulk of the layers of batting and fabric. I also stitched the flap to the lining and then shoved it inside the outside and stitched those together. I used stitch witchery to hold the tops down so I could stitch them together. I don't like the whole "leave a hole to turn the whole thing right side out" and prefer to make complete bags and then fold over and sew the tops together.

Thanks for checking out my iPad tote. If you'd like one email me! :)

Cloth Napkins w/Mitered Corners

My sister has a blog for her sewing group and she's got some challenges up for us to do. This is the first challenge she has for us and I FINALLY got to work on it. They're for her so shhhhh don't tell! :) I think they turned out really nice seeing as it's my first attempt and all. Next time I think I'll do 1/2" fold under tho instead of 1/4" that's recommended in the blog because my little finger tips got singed a bit from the steam of the iron. I made 6 and LOVE the way they turned out. The mitered corners aren't PERFECT but they look just fine. It's a great way to bust thru my stash of fabric too. :)

Yes, that's my baby belly showing in the bottom of the picture. LOL

Baby's Floor Quilt

I made this quilt for us to throw on the floor and play on or to drag outside and put on the ground. The back is denim, the front is soft and cuddly flannel. I still have to "rag" it but I need to figure out what to do with the edges before I do that. The denim is from old pairs of jeans that Greg and I gave to my nana to use and I got back when she moved to Chico. So, how geeky is it that our kid who has our genes gets a quilt made from our jeans?

This is what 16 pairs of jeans looks like when cut into 169 6.5" squares

169 flannel pieces cut from 14 different fabrics

The flannel and denim paired up. It's quite scary looking

All sewn together, this is the front side

All sewn together, this is the back side

Now to figure out how I want to finish the edges- do I bind it or just rag it?
If I bind it, what should I do it with? Denim? Flannel scraps? Cotton fabric?

Cal Quilt

I made this quilt for a friend of mine. Turned out pretty darn good if I do say so myself seeing as it's my 2nd quilt EVER! It's kinda a cheater quilt because the top fabric was already done- I just stitched along the grid lines for the quilting. I'm getting better with my satin blanket edging too. I even figured out (3/4 of the way thru this one) how to hide the part where 2 different pieces of edging line up. Seems to simple to me now! LOL

Top of the quilt


Back of the quilt


Front and back of the quilt

Folded up with the recipients initials on top