Wednesday, September 29, 2010

x's and o's

It's hard to believe that it's already been four years since I met you at the end of this aisle and promised to spend the rest of my life with you.







In the time since that day, we've made some big changes and welcomed a son.  We've struck out on our own, to make a life for ourselves, to have an adventure.  It has been an adventure, to say the least, and I know we're going to have many more before long.


In four years, we've seen good things and difficult things and I can't imagine anyone I'd have rather been with through it all.  I love you more than words can say and I'm so glad that you chose me to be your partner, your friend, the mother of your child, and your wife.  I can't wait to find out what's in store for us down the road because as long as we're together, we can conquer anything.  Happy anniversary, Nate. xoxoxo

Friday, September 24, 2010

(nearly) Instant Gratification

I love the instant gratification of making kids' clothes.  Ok, so I suppose it's not instant instant, but they come together faster than big projects like quilts or embroideries.  I love that I can start a project on my lunch break and have a finished item before bedtime.


This is a cashmere sweater that Nate refused to wear.


For Peter, I've been focusing on upcycling clothes that Nate and I don't wear anymore.  I don't want to spend money on new clothes for him this year.  Not only does he outgrow them so fast, but kids clothes are expensive considering how small they are.


In progress
 So, I cut up this sweater as well as a green knit fabric I had left over from another project to create the Urban Sweatshirt by Heidi and Finn.


I thought all the colorful little pins looked cute.

I did make a couple of minor adjustments to this pattern to save time and because of constraints I was presented with.  To save time, I used the existing ribbed trim on the bottom of the sweater and the sleeves and I found out my sewing machine won't sew a button hole on this particular fabric, so I left off the buttons as well.  I still think the resulting toddler-size sweater is super cute.



All done!



Action shot!

The length is a little long on Pete, but it will fit him for at least 2 years this way and that's a-okay with me!  The only downside to making his clothes is that when he grows out of them, I'm so sad.  Oh well.  I'll hang on to them--at the very least, they'll make nice heirlooms to pass on to Peter when he has his own little one someday. 






Thursday, September 23, 2010

Rebecca's Quilt Top


It's so appropriate that I finished this quilt top just in time to photograph it on a slightly misty morning since that's what inspired the palate.  I am completely in love with the lavenders, grays, and blues that make up this quilt and I can't get enough of the block.

Oooh, I love the colors of the quilt next to the fall leaves on the ground


Usually after finishing a quilt top with a specific quilt block, I don't feel the need to revisit it, but this particular block has gotten under my skin.



I wouldn't be surprised if you see it again, soon.  Now, all I have left to do for Rebecca's quilt is quilt and bind it.  I have a pretty clear idea for how I'm going to quilt it, so I'm excited to get started.

Tonight I'm bringing the finished Piano Pillow to my customer and we're going to discuss the next pillow he's going to have me make.  I've suggested a Cathedral Window block pillow and I hope he takes me up on it.

Monday, September 20, 2010

Piano Pillow

I finished up my first of four commissioned pillows.


I lowered the lid of the piano by about half--the only alteration from the original design.

The recipient of this first decorative pillow is a piano teacher.  I adore the black and white checks surrounding the embroidered center panel, and I have to say that grand piano looks pretty darn good.  It's my own design rather than a commercial design and it came out beautifully.  To those of my friends who didn't believe my art degree would pay off, I offer you evidence to the contrary.

I did some straight line quilting on the top to emphasize the diamond motif.

To finish, I hand-sewed a couple of buttons on the back and the tassels at the corners.
Hopefully I'll be starting on the second pillow soon, and in the meantime, I have been working on Rebecca's lavender quilt.  I'm pretty excited to get all of the blocks done and the top sewn together.

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Dapper Dillinger Trousers

Over the weekend I took a break from quilting and whipped up a cute little pair of pants for Peter.  I used the Figgy's Dapper Dillinger Trousers pattern in size 2-3.  They came together fast and they were really fun to make.


I adore the details of these pants.  The cuffed legs, the cute detailing on the waistband, and the wide-legged fit.  I love them so much, I couldn't stop wondering how hard it would be to size them up to, say, a momma-size.

I especially love the little pockets
I chose a charcoal grey denim and I used one of my favorite Folksy Flannel prints for the pocket and waistband facings.

Folksy Flannel


The only problem with this little pair of pants is that...well, they're just BIG.

Where did his feet go?

The next pair I make will be the 18 month size and I'm thinking I'll have to put these away for next year.





Saturday, September 11, 2010

Current Projects

I've got several projects queued up for the next couple of weeks.  I'm working on a quilt for Nate's cousin, Pete's daycare is having a fundraiser and I'm hoping I can get a quilt ready to donate to the silent auction, and I'm starting on a commissioned piece, as well!

Rebecca's quilt is going to be a stunner.  I decided to choose colors that remind me of a misty early morning--the kind of quiet dawn that just makes you want to snuggle deeper into your bathrobe and drink a cup of coffee.



I've got all of the fabric for her quilt cut, and I can't wait to start getting it pieced together.



If I get a chance to get to the fundraiser quilt, I plan on finally cutting into my stash of 1930's reprints that I've been hoarding for the past year or so.  I had originally planned to do a block that was popular in the 30's and then realized that pretty much everything done then was hand-cut.  I'm not sure I have the patience for that kind of project.

Lastly, the commission I'm working on is the first of four pillows.  The recipient is a piano teacher, and the customer wanted to have a grand piano in the center of the pillow.  I was so relieved to discover that I can still do a half-way decent drawing when I sat down to come up with an embroidery design last night!



I'm just waiting on the final approval before starting the embroidery.  Keep your fingers crossed for me!

I hope everyone has a great weekend!  I can't wait to show you some finished projects in the coming weeks.

Friday, September 10, 2010

Pajama Day

Little Man striped jammies


You can see his slippers (made from a pattern in Sweet Booties) peeking out from under those pants. 

Today was Pajama Day at Pete's daycare.  I thought about sending him with cards that said, "Like my jammies?  Call my mommy!"  That might have been tacky, don't you think?  When you have a model that cute, though, a mom has to wonder how a thousand pairs wouldn't sell.

Thursday, September 9, 2010

Log Cabin Quilt--finished!

There's just something satisfying about finishing a quilt.  I love how you can start with this:

And finish with this:


This quilt, for my friend Dan, was my first attempt at a log cabin block.  I've been wanting to try a log cabin quilt pretty much since I started quilting a few years ago, but I never had the right fabrics.  When Dan asked for his quilt to be made with black, white, and gray, however, I knew it was time to give this block a try.

Can you believe that each of the blocks took me an hour to make?  I was shocked by that.  However, I'd say that the end result was well worth the effort.  I'm mailing this off to Dan today and I can't wait to get his reaction.