Baby Room Banner

We had a shower for my daughter who is expecting Baby Velzy any day. I made a banner for her to hang in her room (and we used it as a shower decoration.)
Here is the tutorial-http://www.scribd.com/word/view/39490837

Baby Time

My daughter, Jennilee is having a baby girl very soon. I found some wonderful prints to make a quilt and some other things for her baby shower. The pattern for this quilt is found here. I was so happy to find such an easy but eye-catching design for this quilt. I also used the walking foot and some machine quilting thread to quilt this. It was pretty easy-straight lines. The walking foot allows both sides of the quilt to be fed into the machine evenly with few puckers on the underside of the quilt. Give this quilt pattern a try!

For the Babies

I've been following the lead from my daughters as they make baby gifts for all the special people in their lives who are having babies. These designs appliqued on "onesies" belong to my daughter, Traci. I just copy her artistic style! Some of her darling appliques can be found here.

Amy Butler's Modern Bag for Caitlin

My daughter is having a baby boy and I loved the "Modern Bag" so much from Amy Butler's book Little Stitches for Little Ones as you can see from my previous post. I finished it about a month ago but didn't want to post it until the baby shower was over! Hope you like it. The fabric is Tula Pink's "Hushabye" collection which can be found at my favorite fabric site www.quilthome.com.
I did make a change on the interior side pockets-I put elastic in the upper edges of the pockets so they wouldn't hang out so far.

Modern Diaper Bag

I just finished this bag-"Modern Diaper Bag" from Amy Butler's Book "Little Stitches for Little Ones." I really made this for me, not as a diaper bag but for a large carry-all type bag. Let me tell you, it is huge. It is really like a carpet bag but it will be really great for traveling, toting lots of items, etc. The fabric was purchased at IKEA during the summer and I really love it. If you are wondering why the lining is orange, there is a small orange flower in the fabric and I wanted to pick it up in the lining.

Ragged Squares Quilt

Here is a darling quilt that is pretty basic to sew and the results are great. I originally started it for someone for a baby shower but I loved it so much, I kept it! I do have plans for it, though- heh, heh! The tutorial is found here. Picking out the colors is the fun part-you need about 13 different fabrics for the one I did but you could use fewer if you wanted to.

Another Diaper Bag

I made a diaper bag for my niece who is having twin girls. The pattern I used came from the book:
Amy Butler's Little Stitches for Little Ones: 20 Keepsake Sewing Projects for Baby and Mom by Amy Butler, Colin McGuire

I love the pattern except for one thing-it was a bear to make because of the center divider and how the instructions have you make it. It is so awkward to finish the bag with the divider in the way. I used a lot of muscle! Anyway, I would make it again but I would make the center divider separately and stitch it in by hand. The size and the pockets are really great and it would sew up pretty fast if you take my advice about the divider!

A Bag for Carolynn

I love this diaper bag so much that I made one for my special friend, Carolynn Knoop who is having a baby-a little girl-in October. There is a baby shower for her tonight and I am thrilled that I finished it in time. I must say, it is getting easier to make each time I make it and I am learning a few little tricks to help make the process better. Maybe the next bag will be for me-although I don't need it for diapers! (It really could be a bag for anything)

I love this diaper bag!

A few weeks ago, I made a diaper bag for Jennilee. The fabric is some from the Amy Butler collection and the whole time I was sewing it, I was in love with it! The fabric made me happy. I really wish I could keep it but since Jennilee needs it more than me right now-it's hers! The pattern is one I ordered from Craft Apple. It is pretty easy and can be adapted to meet your individual needs. I'm am secretly going to make myself my own bag in the near future.

Diaper Cakes

From Jennilee's Shower

About 2 1/2 years ago, I was staying with my son and daughter-in-law just before the birth of their last child. Amy (my daughter-in-law) made a darling diaper cake for someone's baby shower. I got to help her make it and learned a few tricks of the trade. With my helpers from home, we attempted another diaper cake for my daughter, Jennilee's baby shower. It really isn't that hard to do. We used approximately 116 diapers (size 1 & 2) and rolled them up, securing them with clear pony tail holders. A few pieces of rolled up packing tape placed here and there(not too much) held them to a cake base and the wide ribbon pulled the diapers all together. A few baby items tucked in between the ribbon and diapers completed the diaper cake.

Amy's Beautiful Diaper Cake
(Winnie the Pooh Colors & Theme)

A Little Preview

We are having a baby shower for Jennilee on Saturday and I made her this banner for the shower and then also for her to take home and display in baby Cache's room (if she wants)! I hope she doesn't see this before Saturday. It's a surprise!

Ragtime Strip Quilt Tutorial

YARDAGE

Main Fabric (back and 1 or 2 front strips) approx. 2 yds.
Other fabric-3 or 4 different-1/4 to 1/2 yds.
Minky chenille-1/4 yd for each strip
Warm and Natural cotton batting (or similar)

For front-cut 7 strips-6 1/2" x 30".
Cut 2 strips 6 1/2" x width of the fabric (at least 40").
I usually use Minky Chenille for 2 or 3 of the strips. It is so soft!

For back of quilt, cut 7 strips-6 1/2" by 30" and
2 strips 6 1/2" by width of fabric (40" or more)

Cut 7 strips of Warm & Natural Batting (or similar) 5 1/2" x 29"
Cut 2 strips-5 1/2" by 39"

Sandwich batting between individual front and back strips-pin in place.


Sew shorter strips matching wrong (or back) sides together-
use a generous 1/2" seam allowance.

For easier sewing-make sure Minky is on the underside of the
seam to be sewn(it feeds through your machine better)

When all 7 strips are sewn together-measure bottom and top edges. With that measurement, cut the 4 longer strips (front and back) to fit each edge. Cut batting 1" shorter than that measurement to fit between strips-batting will be 1/2" shorter on each end. Pin long strips (front-back-and batting) together. Sew long strips to each edge-wrong (back) sides together.
Sew around all four outer edges of the quilt---1/2" in from the edge.

Clip seams on both sides of stitching where the short strips
meet the long edge seam-this will make the next step-QUILTING- easier.

I like to use machine quilting thread for the quilting-more durable and looks great.

Hopefully your machine has a darning foot with free motion capabilities. Check your machine's manual for directions. Attach the darning foot-lower the feed dog and start quilting. Practice first if you've never done it before. Just remember-
it doesn't have to be perfect-This is a Ragtime Quilt after all!

Large loops and squiggles work great-I don't take the time for little intricate patterns.
Quilt each strip to keep the batting in place and give it that quilted look.
Make sure to get close to the seams in a few places so the
batting doesn't bunch with use.

Clip all seams and around the outer edges-approx. every 1/2".
Snip to within 1/8" of the seam (stitching).
Fiskars makes a spring-loaded pair of scissors specifically for rag quilts if you find that your scissors are not sharp enough and you get cramps in your hands.
These scissors work great but are not necessary.
After you clip-wash and dry quilt 2-3 times. Be prepared for lots of "fuzzies"!
Shake quilt between dryings. Your quilt will continue to "shed" for a while.

You are done. Enjoy your quilt!