Finished one and started another

Posted on February 20, 2013 by Katie

I posted my newest finished quilt on both facebook and etsy last week. I meant to post it on here as well, but after struggling with the internet connection and etsy, I just gave up for the time being.

So, here is the finished quilt. It’s 35×46, which should be a nice fit for a crib or toddler bed (which are typically about 28×52). I used one of my favorite fabric lines for kids, Out to Sea by Sarah Jane. Purchased from here and here.

It’s so fun and whimsical….girly pirates, mermaids, narwhals, just all sorts of nautical goodies!

The layout of the patchwork was something I thought about a lot when I picked out this fabric. I wanted to include some tiny squares as well as some very large squares to really emphasize all of the different sizes of prints.

I’m hoping someone out there will love it as much as I do. It’s a really sweet little blanket that I put a lot of thought, love, and quality materials into.

While working on that pirate quilt, my son asked why I never make him quilts….which made me feel bad, and ask him what kind he would want. Of course, he says Mario! And how do you make a mario quilt, you ask?? Well check out this blog…my husband thinks I won’t attempt it, but I plan to follow through with this one. I just have to find the right colors and get started.

My daughter jumped in too, saying she wanted one with a laundry list of colors and prints. I showed her some pictures of my favorite patchwork designs and she let me know which ones were ok with her.

Before getting started on either of those I have been cutting strips for the “Scrappy Trip” quiltalong. It’s all over flickr and instagram…neither of which I am a member…but I had seen pictures on all my favorite blogs, and it was hard to resist such colorful, fun blankets. I followed the same tutorial as everyone else, found here.

Here’s what I have so far…

I love the crazy prints and bright colors. Hopefully I will have time to add more to it later today. I have a feeling this quilt is going to take me a while….I’ll post some pics as I make progress :)

Well, I better get back to the kid’s and their schoolwork. Gotta get school out of the way to make time for sewing, right ;)?!

It’s been a while…

Posted on February 8, 2013 by Katie

So much has happened since the last time I posted that there is no way that I can fill it all in. 1. It would be a super long post, 2. there’s a good chance I don’t remember a lot of it anyways….I have a terrible mommy-memory.

So skipping over Christmas and New years and all that, I’ll go straight to the best part of the last couple of months….my little boy turned 5! Time is just flying by these days. It’s so hard to believe that I am the mother of a 5 and 6 year old. Apparently it’s just as hard for them to believe that their mother could possibly be 29!! They thought that was so crazy on my birthday…one of them even said, “there aren’t enough candles for you”.

All he wanted for his birthday was a Mario cake, a bounce house, and a pinata. He’s pretty easy to please, and I was happy we were able to get everything he wanted. He was genuinely appreciative of his party and had a great time with his friends.

After all the cake, running, jumping, pinata smacking, and candy eating, this is what we were left with….a bed full of sleepy kids and dogs :)

After his birthday I was worn out from the cake building and food making, so I took some time off from making anything! I seriously just focused on the kid’s school work and keeping the house at a manageable level of clean. I also started running again, and have been fairly good at staying on task with that. However, I forgot to fit sewing, knitting, or any other crafty things into my days. So the past couple of weeks I have been recovering from my crafting slumber.

Here’s what I’ve got to show for the last couple of weeks…

I saw a picture on pinterest about half square triangles and how to make them super fast! (Click here for the blog with the tutorial) . It worked, sort of. I mean the tutorial was awesome, but I cut mine smaller than what the tutorial said and they were all so tiny! Anyways, now I have this block of half square triangles and it’s not big enough for a blanket, and I’m out of this print…so I’m thinking maybe a large throw pillow or maybe I’ll just hold on to it and see what happens.

So after I finished learning how to make half square triangles I wanted to figure out how to make cathedral windows. I have always been fascinated by them, so I found about a million and five tutorials, all doing it a slightly different way…so I picked and chose the way I wanted to do it, and this is what happened! Too bad I ran out of white….I need to make a few more before it can become a pillow and be sent to it’s new home.

This one is for my mom. She said she needed a bag to carry books to Sunday school. I just happened to have this little block of hand embroidered goodness laying around and no idea what to do with it. Worked out pretty perfect…my mom used to sing ‘You are my sunshine’ all the time, and I loved hearing it. Hope it fits her books. And, yes, it is missing the strap….my daughter is a supply thief and she stole the material I was going to use to finish this…so I’m on the hunt for a replacement strap.

And it has these super cool eyelets for the straps….they are so shiny :)

Next up, a wallet for Steven. He originally intended to help me make it, but he was distracted by legos. So I mostly made it solo.

DSC_0600 (681x1024)

This quilt has been a work in progress for a while. Well, it’s still technically a work in progress…but the top is finished and that’s an accomplishment, right!? I used the ‘Out to Sea’ collection by Sarah Jane. It’s so pretty, and girly. I just can’t wait to finish it up!!

I <3 patchwork quilts!

And last for now….a checkerboard! I have had the idea in my head for a while, but today I took the time to test it out. My kids are into board games and card games right now, so I figured they would like it, and I was totally right!! They played with it for a couple of hours today. Here’s what I came up with:

We didn’t have any actual checkers so we used Adelyn’s buttons. The other side has a tic tac toe board (which is also a fave around here).

I used iron on stabilizer on both sides, but didn’t quilt it. It is completely finished on the inside as well, so you can store all the game pieces inside of it….or stuff something soft in there and you’ll have a checkerboard pillow!

I think next time I make one I will only use one print, and the other will be a solid. I just really love the ‘Fly a Kite’ collection and it was right on top of my fabric stash. I ran out of the cathedral window looking one and had to use off white…which is how I knew that it would have looked better with the off white and red/white polka dots. Oh well, the kids loved it and that’s what counts!

Well hopefully I won’t wait so long to post again. I already have another post that needs to be made…all the projects my budding sewist has been working on. Adelyn is a little worker bee when it comes to crafting…she has been sewing like crazy and has more finished project than I do at this point!

My baby girl is turning 6

Posted on October 18, 2012 by Katie

It’s true…tomorrow I will be the mother of a 6 year old! My first born is having a birthday and she couldn’t be more excited. She’s been counting it down for over a month now. I’m excited for her, but sad that the time has just flown by. Seems like yesterday that we watching her do this:

Now we get to watch her doing this (she just scored her first goal!):

It’s hard to believe how big she is getting. In the last few months she has been learning to read, she loves math, she recently decided she would learn to crochet and to sew (so proud!). She is an enormous help around the house, choosing to do dishes in return for an allowance, and she is even learning to spend her money wisely and only if there is something she really, really wants. She is generous and kind to her friends, family, and strangers. I am in awe of the amazing little girl she has become, and if you couldn’t tell…I love her to pieces :)

So, for her birthday I really wanted to make something special for her. She really loves to make gifts for others and she genuinely enjoys receiving handmade gifts as well.

I have known for a while that I wanted to get her a sewing kit and fill it to the brim with colorful supplies. I got the idea of using a train case or suitcase from a post I found on Pinterest. I love old suitcases so this was right up my alley!! I had planned to go thrifting and find one in rough shape to fix up, but my sweet mother remembered that she had one in her attic. It belonged to my great grandmother whom Adelyn is named for.

She had used this case to hold her important papers. It was in excellent condition on the outside, but the inside could use some updating. I originally planned to modge podge some fabric all around the outside of the case, but I just couldn’t do it. It was too special to me to do that, so I just ripped out the stuff on the inside, cleaned it up, and left it to air out a bit with a bowl full of baking soda and a few drops of lavender oil.

Since I took all of the liner out, I had to replace it with something. It had been lined with cardboard….think of something around the thickness of cereal box cardboard…. and then that was covered with vinyl. My husband suggested using cork board instead of cardboard, which turned out to be an excellent idea!! The pre-cut pieces were exactly the right size, and the ones that had to be trimmed down only required a small amount of cutting.

Once the cork was cut down to size I slipped it into place, then spread glue on the bottom half of each piece. I didn’t want to glue the top of the cork yet because I was making a fabric insert to slide into place. I didn’t get pics of the whole process, so sorry if it’s confusing….

Anyways, I chose to use the pink version of Riley Blake’s Fly a Kite collection in the case. I chose my fave 4 prints and cut them into 3.5 in strips, sewed them together and added a 5th fabric to be the bottom. I sewed the 4 sides of the box to the bottom fabric and then slid it into the train case and folded the excess fabric over the back of the cork, then glued the top of the cork and the fabric all into place against the side walls of the train case. If we ever decide to change out the fabric it should be pretty simple….just slide the knife between the fabric and the wall of the case and it should come loose, allowing me to make a new box of fabric to slide into place.

And….waaaalllllaaaaa! A brand new, old sewing case :) It’s special because it belonged to someone that was so special to me, and to be able to change it up a bit and give it new life was as much a gift to me as it will be to my daughter. I hope it is something that will be a keepsake for the rest of her life…..and if it’s not, that’s ok because I can always use a super cute sewing basket!! :)

I can’t wait for her to open it tomorrow. I know she’s going to love it.

Hope you all have a fantastic weekend, I know we are going to….birthday celebration, camping with dear friends on the beach, and soaking up as much sunshine and campfire as we can!!!

A couple of finished projects

Posted on October 2, 2012 by Katie

I was finally able to check a couple of things off of my to do list this last week!! I love that feeling. There is still more to do, but it’s always nice to know you completed something :) So here is Meredith’s Naval Academy quilt! I love the colors and prints, Most of the prints are from the Lucy’s Crabshack Collection, and the chevrons are from Riley Blake Designs. The weather hasn’t been cooperating very much the last couple of days…but since I was going to send it off today no matter what, I had to just take a couple of shots even though the wind was blowing 100 mph. That’s why my little helpers are holding the sides….really they just wanted to be in the picture ;) Meredith, I hope your family gets lots of enjoyment and snuggles from your new blanket, and I want to wish you the best of luck on a smooth and speedy delivery! After finishing the quilt I was pumped and wanted to finish another project that has been put off time and time again….and this time it was a project for ME!! I figured if I was going to make this gypsy skirt I better get to it, because cooler weather will be here before I know it, and it will be too cold for skirts. So, here it is: I used Pat Bravo’s Indie collection. It was hard to pick my favorite 4 from this collection, but I eventually decided on these and I’m very happy with how it turned out. I love the colors, I love the flow-y feel, I love the fabric….I just love this skirt! Originally I had a wide (2.5 in) elastic waist band that was covered in knit fabric, but I cut it a little too long and didn’t want to redo it, so I just decided to make a drawstring top instead. I’m glad I did that, because like I told my friend Tiffany, I’ll never be too big or too small with this drawstring waist….I can always cinch it up or let it out.

Plus…it’s fun to twirl :)

Quilts and fabric

Posted on September 24, 2012 by Katie

I was hoping to have this quilt finished this week. I finished the top of it on Friday and was planning on finishing it early this week, but I realized Friday evening that I hadn’t ordered enough fabric for the backing and binding. I was about a 1/4 of a yard too short, so I had to order some more.

But here is a sneak peak of the front, and hopefully I will be posting a finished product very very soon!

I apologize for the bare feet and poor color…I would have cropped my feet out, but I don’t know how to work the stupid editing stuff on my husband’s new laptop. And I can’t complain about the color too much, my photographer is 5 and my phone does not take amazing photos :)

This one is pretty much like the others I have made. None of them are exactly the same, but they are all very similar….just little tiny differences. The first navy quilt was more narrow and had a name instead of subs, the second was wider and had a bigger N and star, and subs….this one is the same width as the last but the N is not in the center because it (and the star) are slightly bigger and they wouldn’t fit next to each other if the N was centered. I like them all equally, and I hope the recipients do as well.

While shopping for more fabric for the back of this quilt, I might have also purchased some new fabric I have had my eye on for a while….take a look:

I was looking for this exact collection about 6 months or so ago. Katelyn, I wish this was available when you ordered a purse…I mean it’s almost exactly what you were asking for!! Oh well. I will be making it into bedding. I see a simple scrap style quilt with a matching pillow (with the world map panel as the pillow front). If anyone is interested let me know….

Anyways, I couldn’t resist. I LOVE this collection and I think a lot of other people will love it too. There are two other colorways to choose from, which you can view if you click on the picture above because I linked it back to Sarah Jane’s blog (which is amazing!)

After reading through some of her blog, I was even more in love with her work. I read her story and it sounds similar to my own…although she has actually been very successful, and I have been….let’s just say less successful than she ;) It’s still a very inspiring journey that many people who have decided to turn their hobbies into a business might appreciate and enjoy reading about.

Why am I like this…

Posted on September 18, 2012 by Katie

One minute I am so excited to be working on something and the next I am completely over it. Is anyone else like this?? I mean, I can seriously start a new craft, and be moving on to the next thing in my mind before I even complete the project I am working on! I think it’s an illness. No wonder I am so disorganized…and distracted.

Is there a cure for this behavior? Is it crafting/DIY ADD?! Sigh. Lately it’s not just crafts that are distracting me…it’s crafting, cooking and making everything from scratch, reading Nourishing Traditions (which is kind of a text book and kind of a cookbook), homeschooling-type stuff, and outside activities…just to name a few :)

This natural living thing has sort of taken over my mind lately. I am still using baking soda to wash my hair, and I rinse it with lemon juice or apple cider vinegar. I made lotion bars, and I LOVE them! I used this recipe as a guide. I have been trying to make a super conditioner (made with stuff from my fridge) to use occasionally but I haven’t found one I love yet. I also have a canister of henna waiting for me to dye my hair and I just haven’t found the time. I’ve been dying to make soap and I truly do not know why, it just sounds fun. Long story short, everything I see, I wonder if I can make it.

Today I actually didn’t have any crunchy, tree-hugging plans, I’m supposed to be sewing all day, but running out of Windex sort of propelled me into finding a natural recipe for cleaning my windows. I found one here, and I tried it, and I will not be buying any more Windex! Seriously, it worked, and it worked well. It even smells like the Vinegar Windex you can buy at the store. I love Crunchy Betty, this site is packed full of recipes, diy, and I just love the ‘chatting over coffee’ style of writing on this page. I could sift through the archives all day long.

I know I’m not alone in my highly distracted (or you could say I am just very curious) behavior….right? Am I going crazy with this natural living stuff? Make me feel better…what kind of things do you insist on making rather than buying?

Oh, and P.S. I made pickles yesterday!!!! Isn’t that exciting?! If they are delicious I will share my recipe….and then make more pickles!

On the work table…

Posted on September 10, 2012 by Katie

I am excited to be back home after visiting Texas. It was a great trip, although a little on the short side…there were lots of people I wanted to see that I didn’t get to, and a lot of things we had planned to do that didn’t get done. That’s just how it goes sometimes. If you are one of the (many) people I didn’t get to see…I really am sorry, I will catch you next time, promise!!

Right before we left for Texas I had a ton of boxes arrive all at once. It’s so fun to go to the post office box and see 5 or 6 boxes with your name on it! It wasn’t all for me, but a couple of them were…and they were FULL of fabric! :) I washed it immediately and then folded it up to be stored while we were gone. When we got back it was just as exciting to see it the second time around, especially because this time it’s all ready to use.

So I will be working on a Navy baby quilt this week, and hopefully making a skirt for myself (if there is time). I haven’t decided exactly how I will be putting it together, but the fabrics are gorgeous, so there isn’t really a bad way to do it…..at least, I think.

The other fabrics I bought are for another quilt….most likely to sell. I have been anxious to make a quilt that doesn’t look like the Navy quilt. Not that I don’t like that one, but sometimes you need a bit of variety in your sewing. I found a couple of options, but I haven’t decided just yet. I have narrowed it down to these two:

Or….

I found both of these on pinterest and have been waiting patiently to get the chance to make one or the other. What do you think…or do you have another suggestion for me?? I would love love love for you to leave me a comment :)

Oh…and if you love to look at quilt-y goodness be sure to click on the pictures of the quilts above…I tried to link them back to their creators, so if that link doesn’t work let me know asap! I want to be sure they get the credit for their beautiful work :) Plus, both of these ladies show you how to cut some corners and save yourself some time at the cutting table…worth the read!

Did you know…

Posted on August 23, 2012 by Katie

Did you know that you could use gelatin and water to replace your store-bought hair gel or mousse? And this mixture won’t dry out your hair or put a ton of chemicals on your head like the store-bought variety will.

A little back story: I decided to stop using shampoo and conditioner to see if I could improve the health of my scalp. I had itchy, flaky, dry scalp, and no matter what special shampoo I used, it just got worse and worse.

I was google-ing home remedies for dry scalp when I happened across a few sites that talked about ‘no-poo’….no shampoo, that is. So I gave it a try. I now use baking soda and water to clean my hair. It’s difficult to spread around, so I have it in a squeeze bottle and I just squirt it around on my scalp, rubbing it in as I go. Then the tricky part…rinsing it all out. It’s difficult to get something as fine as baking soda out of your hair, especially if you have a lot of hair like me. So it takes a little while. Then I pour apple cider vinegar (diluted with water…about 50/50) on my hair and let it set while I finish up the rest of my shower. Right before I get out I rinse my hair, and that’s it. I do that once every 7-10 days….in between those I just rinse my hair with water, and scrub my scalp. So far, I love this process. The apple cider vinegar stinks, but only while it’s wet…once your hair dries it doesn’t smell like anything. I think sometime I will try a super treatment with some coconut milk to make my hair smell (and hopefully feel) yummy.

I’ve been doing this for a month or so and I am very pleased with my hair and the health of my scalp. I don’t have the itchy, flakiness. My hair feels healthy. It’s a super cheap alternative to hair care products. Up until today I had still been using store bought mousse when I wanted to leave my hair curly. Most days I straighten my hair or pull it back in a pony tail. But today I wanted to try something I had read about on those ‘no-poo’ pages….homemade mousse.

1/4 tsp gelatin
1 cup of water

Bring to a boil, let cool. Use!

So easy, took about 2 min to make. I was expecting it to be thick, gel-like…one website even said ‘fluff with a fork before use’. Well it never got any thicker than water, so I was disappointed…until I put in in an old spray bottle and put it on my hair. It worked. Once my hair dried, it was curly and soft. I added some lavender essential oil in hopes my hair would smell flowery, but it’s such a soft scent you can’t really smell much…or at least I can’t. Maybe next time I will add more.

Don’t believe it will work…just look:

Curls that aren’t crispy, and though it is mildly frizzy…well that’s just how it goes with curly hair. Did I mention it’s 82% humidity out there? (That is according to my husband’s weather station.) So I’m pretty happy with the results of this little experiment. The best part is how incredibly cheap it is…less than $2 for a huge box of gelatin, I can’t even imagine how long it will last.

And now all I can think is….what else can I make??? Soap, lotion, lip balm, laundry soap….there are lots, LOTS of things I want to try to make, but I don’t have the time to make them all at once. So, I’ll keep you updated, because I know a few of you might be curious too.

What everyday items are you wanting to recreate at home??? I would love to hear your adventures too!

Weekend fun

Posted on August 21, 2012 by Katie

We spent the last weekend hanging out with great friends and celebrating their little girl’s third birthday. My friend, Tiffany, is an amazing organizer and party planner….her kid’s parties are always amazing! And equally talented, her husband Matt, is the engineer that makes her dreams and ideas come true. Together they throw an impressive soiree! Just look….

The ice cream parlor theme was a huge hit. The kids loved the toppings (all 11+ of them!)

See those adorable little ice cream cones in the bottom left of the picture?? Matt made those little beauties by scooping sugar cookie dough with an ice cream scoop and baking them. He even flavored them…mint chocolate chip, strawberry, and chocolate. He took regular size sugar cones and cut just the ends off so they would be small enough for the cookies….they were as tasty as they were cute.

And the cake….

you can’t tell me you’re not impressed! Those giant scoops of icing look just like ice cream and had the kids fooled :)

The party was such a success, the kids all had a blast. I wish I had snapped a picture of all the ice cream themed goodies in the goody bag….but they were taken apart as soon as they hit the kids hands.

The rest of the weekend was spent hanging out and trying to see all that Charleston, SC has to offer. We visited the Angel Tree again, and it was just as beautiful as the first time.

We tried to get a quick family picture, but as you can see…well it always just always turns out this way. No one is looking in the same direction, and everyone is complaining about something…oh well, there we are in front of that massive oak tree.

After all this fun the kids were all exhausted and losing their minds, but once we were back home Tiffany was able to talk E into trying on her outfit I made for her birthday. It was so cute on her…she could wear anything and make it look cute. I was so happy that it fit and was exactly what I had pictured it would be like in my head.

I ruined so many of the photos by making a shadow, but you can still see how adorable she is :)

This is working out to be a very friend and family filled month!! Next we are off to see our good friends, the Armour’s, and then the long trek to Texas to visit family! I’ll most likely be dragging my machines and fabric along with me, but I can’t guarantee there will be much sewing going on…I anticipate canning, visiting, swimming, shopping, snuggling, playing, ect will take up most of our time…and I can hardly wait!!

Hope this week turns out as fun for you and your family as it will for me :)

New projects

Posted on August 17, 2012 by Katie

Thanks to a birthday for a sweet little girl and a quilt order in the works, I have completed a couple of smaller projects and have a few others in the works.

I love the planning that goes into a quilt top. It’s not complicated, it just takes time, and lots…LOTS…of emails :) I am always worried that this process will annoy my customers, but I think they also feel the same way. We are both concerned that we are filling up the other’s email inbox, but that’s pretty much what it takes when there are literally millions of fabric options. It’s just like shopping with your friends in real life! You search, you try some stuff out (thank you pinterest!), you put some back, you check prices at different shops and make sure everyone is getting the best deal. It’s fun :)

Here’s what my most recent collaborators and I came up with for their new baby’s Naval Academy quilt:

So excited to see all of these come together!!

I have also been thinking about back to school clothes, and I finally took the time to work up a patchwork skirt that has been on my mind for a while. It took a birthday party coming up this Saturday to get myself in gear to get this done :) I love the way it turned out and I will be making some more soon. Maybe I’ll make up a dozen and then have a flash sale….we’ll see, stay tuned for more on that. But here’s a pic of the skirt, and I’m hoping to complete an embellished shirt to match later today…..

So, it’s not much on the ‘completed’ side of my list, but I really loved making it and it got the gears turning again. I guess there is just something about planning new projects and working with beautiful fabrics that inspire you to get back to it! I have a new project in the works for myself, as well! I am definitely my most difficult customer…I am never happy with something I have made for myself. Or I love it on the hanger, but am disappointed that it doesn’t seem as flattering on my body as it might on someone else’s. Well I’m giving it another try. This time I am attempting a gypsy skirt. I have always loved them but never made one because I knew it would involve lots of ruffling and pinning…and I can be pretty lazy sometimes :) After seeing my friend Tiffany’s new skirt last weekend, I was excited to make one for myself….and the fabric choice was inspired by a quilt made by one of my all-time favorite bloggers, Maureen Cracknell! I had seen some pictures of Indie floating around, but until I saw it all put together in that quilt top I really didn’t have much interest. I’m so excited to get started…I ordered the fabric from Intrepid Thread this morning!! It took a while because I was picking which four I was going to use with the virtual pin board on their website. I LOVE that you can put any fabrics side by side to see how they go together, because even when fabrics come in the same collection, some just go together better than others.

So here’s the blank canvas version of what I want to make:

But mine is going to be exploding with cool hippie colors!! I can’t wait to finish it up and wear it to the farmer’s market. Not sure why I have it in my head that this skirt is market-wear, but that’s just how I’m picturing it. I’ll share pics as soon as it’s finished up! Maybe you’ll want to make one too :)

Edited to add…..I finished the shirt!