Combating Winter Blues

I am not a big fan of the dreary season of winter. I love being able to play in the snow but I seriously miss the greens and vibrant colors of the spring, summer and fall. This quilt was made at a class almost 2 years ago and I think it will be a fantastic couch quilt to help brighten up this winter!

 

Crafting day with a friend.

Today was a lovely day crafting with my friend Maria. She finished a beautiful afghan for a baby. While she was doing that I was at my sewing machine sewing up a storm!

First I started off with one of the blocks from my block of the month. It won't lay flat so I am pretty sure some un-sewing will be in my near future. Then I decided it was time to tackle my UFO pile. 

I had several quilts sandwiched and just waiting for the quilting. 

Now I just have a big pile to trim and bind!  

Family Time

Today my husband, son and in laws went for a walk and I enjoyed tagging along slowly behind them. We went for a walk around Lake Scranton where I had the opportunity to take several pictures of flowers and some nice shots of the family too. 

I know normally I show you photos of quilts but today I will share with you some of my precious photos. 

 

Butterfly Angels

I have this wonderfully talented friend. She asked me to test out a pattern for her and of course I said YES! I love trying new things and I have not done a traditionally pieced mini quilt before. The center blocks only finished out at 3 inches. Go check out her blog here. She is running a contest to help name her block. The prize is one she has made. 

Here's my block.

I am in love with Michael Miller fabrics!

Yes the title just about says it all. I have found a new love and it is Michael Miller fabrics (sorry hubby.) So I ordered some of them from this wonderful seller. Now I had no idea what to do with them. Then my friend at Grace Parfait made these great quilts and I had inspiration.

Here's the quilt top I made this morning!

The quilt is pictured on its side. The stripes are horizontal not vertical as shown in these pictures.

Haley's Purse

I adore making things for my friends. Particularly those who will appreciate the gifts. My best friend Haley found some neat fabric that she liked and asked me to make this bag. I said OK and tried it. I've never done anything pleated or gathered before but thanks to her request I can now add that to the list of things i can do! YAY!

Here are some pictures of the progress..... oh and the finished purse too!

A new purse and some "Creatures"

  

Using an excellent tutorial found here I made this bag. The only thing I really did differently was that I didn't do the zipper pocket but added instead a pocket for my calendar that I carry around to keep track of all of my appointments. If you just cut out two pockets the size she listed the second one will fit a travel calendar. Just don't secure it in the middle like the other pocket.

 Then after some conversations with friends I had inspiration. Well it was more than inspiration it was a NEED to make some very special creature quilts. These will end up as a wall-hanging trio.

First meet Sasquach!

 And his good friend Nessie of Loch Ness!

 Last but not least we can't forget the wonderful creature Champ from Lake Champlain

Sorry that the creatures are sideways but I forgot to flip them before uploading and I couldn't figure out how to do it after.


Happy Sewing!

Sensory Box for H!

So I was looking in blog land for ideas for a friend who has a toddler and wanted to do something fun with them and decided that I needed to make H a sensory box to play with. I took pictures of the process so that you can make one too. If you want you can start by coloring your rice using this method.  We live in an apartment so space is LIMITED! I just used a plastic shoe box and things we already had around the house to make this one but you can make it to fit any size or theme you want.

First collect an empty plastic tub, any size will do but I used a shoe box because like I said space is LIMITED!

 Add something fun texturally like fabric scraps from your latest quilting project. Don't have fabric scraps? Ribbon will work well too if you have that. Even the paper ribbon from gift wrappings works. 

 Add some animals and trees (or anything small that will peak your child's interest.)

 Next I added clothespins. I don't have child size tweezers so H is going to use the clothespins to pick up some of the items in the box. Great fine motor practice. Plus he's been asking to be able to play with them for ages and now he can.

 Then I added rice. If you want to use colored rice make sure you color it a day or two before assembling your box so that it has time to dry. I used about 2 pounds of brown rice (because that is what I had in the house) for my shoebox sized sensory activity.

 Mix all the items up in the rice so that things are buried throughout the rice.

 Then it is fun time! Enjoy playing!

We are LIVE!

I am very pleased to announce that you can now follow me more ways than just on this wonderful blog here. Follow my insipirations at Pinterest or you can follow my facebook page..... Feeling bold? Follow both! Can't wait to see you there.

12 for 2012

I am participating in a challenge. Finish 12 UFOs in 12 months sponsored by sewhooked.
This month I finished 2 projects. One is a donation quilt and the other is a bag for my son's dance shoes. (There are no dance bags available for boys :( )

Dragons, Crowns and Bags..... Oh My

Yesterday was my son's fifth birthday. Of course you have to mark a birthday with crafting. H wanted a dragon cake just like last year. I made a slight variation in color and flames from last year. But with the help of my best friend it came out great!

 I used this tutorial to make the cake.

I also made a crown for him using this template

 And last but not least I made H's dance teacher a bag for a Christmas present. I had originally made cookies but since I forgot to take them I used some fat quarters to make this adorable little bag..