Happy Mother's Day

I celebrated my first Mother's Day with Ella by sewing a sweet little dress (pictured) for her.  So far, I've only made one clothing item, pajama bottoms, in a class where the instructor worked with me from start to finish.  Here, I purchased an old school Simplicity pattern and did it completely on my own without ever having used or even read an "old school" pattern.  It was quite an ordeal and very time consuming.  I spent a lot of time looking up sewing terms and reading and rereading the instructions several times.  But, I did it!  And I love the dress and especially the smiles.  Miss Ella kept grabbing it and pulling it up to kick her legs so now I need to sew a diaper cover to match!  

Another Work In Progress

I finally began working on my sweet daughter's quilt for her crib.  Hopefully she won't be out of the crib before I finish it.  I'm using the Buggy Sue & Walter pattern by Zan Taylor Designs which incorporates a lot of applique.  I was making excellent progress until my ZigZag stitch setting went out on me.  So, the "work" is no longer "in progress".  Don't you hate when that happens!  I miss my machine and the small bursts of time I utilized to express my "creativity" ahem "boredom" when Ella is sleeping or bouncing happily while watching me sew.  Hopefully, I will be re-inspired when I get my machine back.  For now, I will use my time to read and then obsess over which fabric to use for the border.  In case you can't tell from this AWFUL iPhone pic, the color palette is reds, pinks, and a little black.  I love that it's girly but not too babyish.  Hopefully this little quilt will stand the test of time for my little one and carry her through her toddler years.

Oh Deer, A Work in Progress

I began this quilt just shortly after finishing "Let's Play".  I bought a couple of OH DEER by Momo for Moda Fabrics charm packs and some yardage for the back but I'm undecided as to how big it should be, who it's for, should I add a border or just leave as is.  I think it would be a charming baby quilt but then look at our bedroom, and think maybe it will be for us this time.  And so on and so forth.  I will probably just press pause for now and pick it up again when I'm inspired.  I do like how the plus signs (+) came together and the colors.  Ella also supervised the pinning and sewing of the rows.  She's a real trooper.

Let's Play!

I finally finished it! I started this gift project several months ago for a dear friend's little toddler boy but parenthood took over and I had to put it down for the last few months. It felt great to be sewing again and I finished it in record time with Miss Ella watching from her bouncer. She was such a sweetheart letting mommy work in 30 minute increments! I call this quilt "Let's Play" because it features all the things that little boys love to play with - helicopters, cars, dinosaurs, robots. It will also be fun to play I SPY with this one at bedtime. I didn't use a pattern. Instead, I just let it organically come together with rows of 5inch squares and 2inch white sashing. I used the big red dots as outside "Side" borders and the binding is green fabric with red dots. The back is primary color dots on a background and I quilted it with horizontal and vertical "in the ditch" lines using red, green and blue thread on the back and white on the front. I loved how it turned out and especially enjoyed the bear hug and thanks I received from my sweet and gracious friend!

QuiltCon 2013

Miss Ella was a hit at QuiltCon!  It was her very first quilt convention (and mine too).  She cooed and gurgled at all the ladies and was a real gem in the exhibit hall while Mommy participated in a few craft projects - zipper bracelet and door hanger.  We had to have our picture taken at the Moda BakeShop and scored some amazing Red Riding Hood fabric and other pinks and reds for Miss Ella's quilt.  We also were fascinated by the quilt displays.  Amazing work.

A Stocking of Her Own

In the midst of feeding and diaper changes, I used some of the fabric for Ella's nursery to sew a Christmas stocking for her. I made my own template by tracing one of our stockings onto some cardboard. The tricky part was the cuff. Thanks to some guidance from my mom (who is staying with us to help with Ella), we got it figured out. I loved how it turned out.

Miss Ella Rose

It is our absolute joy to announce the birth our baby girl. She was born this past Saturday morning and we are in love. She is an absolute delight and in perfect health. We are truly blessed.