New Plan

So I tried making the Abundantly Blessed quilt, and it's no surprise that it didn't work out. Those leaf shaped pieces are impossibly hard to sew on, and it just wasn't looking good. Maybe I am using batting that is too lofty. I wonder if I would have better luck with my table runners if I used the same filling that mom uses. I am thinking it doesn't pay to take the cheap route. Why don't I just get the proper supplies in the first place? Apparently this is a lesson that I am having a hard time learning. Maybe I will try again with the better batting.

Wow, this blog is amazing. I was planning on just writing that I gave up on the Abundantly blessed quilt, but somehow, after typing it out, I found my solution and now I want to try again with the right kind of batting. Thank you blog.


To be continued.

Some Unfinished Projects

I finally finished piecing my Christmas quilt.  Overall I'm pleased with it, except I wish it had more red adn green and less brown.  But I wasn't planning on making this quilt when I picked out the fabrics.  I'm sending it to Mom for quilting. 

I'm making an advent calendar with the left over fabrics.  I'll make little stuffed figures for the kids to move around the pockets.  I wish I would have thought to put some wording on it, like "Merry Christmas" or something before I quilted it.  But that is what happens when you don't have a pattern.  Now I just need to finish this before Dec. 1. 

Pillows

I saw these over at PBTeen, of all places, but I just love them, think they would be pretty easy to make, and think they have so many uses:

• Throw pillows for Claire's bed
• black felt for Halloween
• red felt for Christmas or Valentines day pillow
• fall colors, for a Fall decorative pillow
• Really cute tooth fairy pillows
  

Give Thanks

I really want to make one of these. I can't decide if I should make it out of paper or fabric. I think it would look nice hanging above my sliding glass door in the kitchen.

For Tiffani

Tiffani, I saw this and thought of you. They copied your color scheme, your crib, your name. Wait, is this your nursery? Check out Design Dazzle to see the rest of the room.

Christmas Pillow

This would be a fun, quick Christmas project.
from designer Sheri Falls

Crayon Roll

I made the crayon roll using this tutorial, all from scrap fabric and ribbon (hence the reason the ribbon doesn't really match). 

What I learned: 

1.  Rick rack is cute, but hard to sew on evenly.  Maybe I will improve with practice. 

2.  Put the cute fabric either as the pocket or as the outside (not behind the crayons as I did here -- you can barely see it). 

3.  This is a quick sewing project -- less than an hour. 

4.  If you have more than 16 crayons (the number used in the tutorial), just add an inch for every additional crayon to your measurements. 

A Monster Who Swallowed a Fly

I was in charge of Claire's Halloween Party in Kindergarten, so for the craft/activity, we made a monster face, that you can sing, "There was a blue monster who swallowed a fly."

I cut out the face out of that foamy paper stuff and glued it to a stick. I made one of these for each of the kids and then I cut out a bunch of different shapes for hair, eyes, nose, and ears- all in different colors and shapes, so the kids could build their own kind of monster (kinda like mr. potato head). These were all cut out in the sparkly foamy paper, that had a sticky back. So no glue, no drama, no mess- easy-peasy, and it turned out pretty cute. Here is the one Claire made:


And then once everyone made their monsters, we pulled the paper through the mouth to sing the song. The kids liked it and had fun.

Finally Starting My Christmas Decorations

I'm starting with my Christmas quilt, using my figgy pudding material. Here is the beginning. I'm actually thrilled with the way that it is coming together.

If I have enough left over fabric, I'd like to make a table running with the Christmas trees.  Maybe add a border with some sort of pieced squares.  Oh how I wish I had more time to sew!

Easton's Block Revisited

I used the remaining scraps to try making another block, without the minki this time.  It went together much better, although if I could make it again, I would iron the block befoer stuffing it.  I also made a "taggie blanket" with more scraps. 

Mike's Trick or Treat Bag

Mike wanted to be a "happy scary monster" for Halloween, so this is the bag that I came up with.  I found the picture of a monster on the intenet, printed it off, blew it up, and used it as a pattern for my applique.  Mike loved it, even though 2 days before Halloween he told me he changed his mind and he wanted to be a dinosaur.  Argh!

Quilting re-done

After spending a couple hours unpicking my previous quilt job and re-doing it in boring straight lines, my table topper is done. Even though I used boring straight lines, it still turned out very nice, much nicer than before. It lies flat, and it really looks good. I just wish I wasn't too chicken to try the curly-Q's and pumpkins again. I think my biggest mistake before was not putting the safety pins close enough, and I not turning off the feed dogs.



p.s. At least I didn't turn it into shorts!!

Abby's Halloween Costume

I'm almost embarrassed to post this, after Brooke's darling creation. 

Originally, I was going to have the tutu with a poodle skirt over it (see below), but it looked too much like a red mushroom, so I scrapped that idea and just sewed a few dots on the tutu.  She'll be wearing a black onsie and black tights under this.  I'm also toying with the idea of removing the black spots from the tutu and just leaving it as plain red.  What do you think? 

The poodle skirt that I don't think I'll use. 

She'll be wearing two pigtails (like antennas) with these two flower barrettes. 

I spent more time on the bag than I did on the costume, but I liked how it turned out.  I made it completely with scraps from the Harry Potter Capes (and last years Halloween Project).  Total cost of everything:  $7.  Yippee

PS.  I don't know what is wrong with my camera, but the pictures turned out funny.

PSS  I know my spelling is atrocious (see!), but I can't figure out how to spell check with this new blogger format.  Any help?

Ladybug Wings

I had a lot of fun making this costume. I love to make the felt dresses, as they are easy and don't require finishing the edges (my kind of sewing). The wings turned out nice, without any major hitches either. Stress free sewing (which isn't quite the case with Claire's fairy costume I am making). Here is a sneak preview. It isn't all the way finished, because Morgan refuses to let me put it on her, or even hold it up to her. So we may have some problems come Halloween Night.

{my favorite part of the costume- when she spreads her arms, the wings spread apart and underneath are her shimmery ladybug wings. If only she would put the darn thing on.}

Felt Monogram

I was perusing the links to the left, and I found this project, which I think is so cute. I want to do something like this for Claire and Morgan, and even for little Luke. I made sparkly glitter letters that spell JOY that I put up for Christmas a couple of years ago (which I love, by the way) and I think these felt letters would be fun to put up for autumn decorations, like the word FALL.

A blanket for Easton

Last winter, Elizabeth showed me this quilt that she wanted to make (no, this isn't the one that I made for her, I wish i could come up with something so cute).  She told me that she had hunted down most of the exact fabric and was planning on making this.  So I hunted down the safari fabric and made . . . .

this not-nearly-as-cute blanket and toy block. 

But it is soft and coordinates, which is what I was going for. I found the tutorial for the block here. Minki is not easy to work with, or so I discovered. It stretches and it is very slippery. And I will not be using stretchy fabrics for the blocks anymore because when you stuff it, it stretches and stretches so that it looks more like a ball than a block. I'm going to send the block anyway and maybe their dog will find a use for it. :) The block really looks that bad. Oh well.

To make this blanket, I sewed the rights sides together, flipped it right side out, top stitched around the edges (which also closes the opening) and quilted a square in the middle so that it wouldn't pull apart. It would have been super easy but for the problems with the minki. But I learned something new as I usually do. 

Mike's Bedroom

I'm not much into decorating, mainly because I don't know what I'm doing and I don't like spending money on it. However, I used scraps that mom sent me to make these wall hangings for Mike's bedroom (you can't tell, but they are the scraps from the quilt on his bed that Mom made when he was born). The picture frames were $1.50 at Ikea (they are plastic and cardboard). I figured while I was at it, I might was well show you the rest of his room. Like I said, I'm not very good at decorating (but at least a lot of it is educational).  All of our furniture and bedding in this room are hand me downs from Tom's parents (yes I'm very spoiled), so that is why Mike has a king sized bed.  As you will see, there are plenty of bare spaces  on the walls for a charcoal sailboat or an oil painting (BIG FAT HINT, HINT, HINT Dad and Monica!!!!)

The quilt Mom made for Mike when he was born.  Its one of my favorites (of course all of Mom's are one of my favorites). 

I think he is pointing out earth

Halloween Phantom

You probably live in a cooler neighborhood than me. Well, not probably. You for sure live in a cooler neighborhood than I do, but just in case no one has started a Halloween Phantom yet, here is a poem that I wrote a couple years ago (well, I kinda wrote it stealing lines from other poems). If you have never Phantomed (which includes leaving a plate of goodies on a porch, running the doorbell, and running like heck so you don't get caught), it is such an adrenaline high. Both you and your kids will love it!

And it always reminds me of when we first moved into First Ward and we got phantomed every night. I knew I would love that ward!

And now for a cookie quandry:

I wanted to make pumpkin cookies to decorate with gumdrops, candy corns, and red hots (like when we were little). So what is the best pumpkin recipe to make that with? I am not much of a pumpkin cookie connoisseur, so I need some advice.

Help Me!

What did I do wrong?? I have been tryin to make a table runner, and it all went well until I got to the quilting part. I bought the least lofty batting I could find, I safety pinned it together at the counter, putting safety pins every 5 inches or so. I even practiced quilting pumpkin shapes and was somewhat comfortable with doing them. But it turned out like garbage. The material on top is too bunchy and there are parts that stick up (check out the bottom picture).

I already started unpicking it because I want to redo it. What do I need to do differently? What did I do wrong (besides not sending it up to mom to quilt)?

Thanksgiving table setting

I love this. Especially the place mat circle things. There is a tutorial at Moda Bake Shop.

And by the way, remember in my previous post I said that the abundantly blessed quilt was made up at the quilt store with 2 different types of fabric? Well, the fabric recommended in this tutorial was one of the fabrics, and it was so pretty.

Easton's Quilt

I loved this quilt that Mom made.