This little baby blanket has been in my head for a long time.



I picked up the fabrics when I saw the Alexander Henry numbers print at JoAnns, it was just too cute to resist.



Then I saw the Zig Zag quilt at the purl bee but wanted to do a little twist on it.



Diamonds! It is quilted to fleece because I still love that so much. I'll add a few goodies to the package and then send it on its way to LA in plenty of time for the June baby shower. So good to have this finished!

Labels: 2008 Quilts, quilting, sewing

I really love these fabric-ended burprags, so I took some pics last time I made them in case anyone else wants to try.



I like this method because it's really quick and doesn't use a ton of material or Heat-n-Bond while still looking really nice. I usually make 6 or more at a time since it's easy to stack up the fabric when cutting!

You Will Need:
- tri-fold cloth diapers
    (I use the Gerber brand from Target which are 14" wide)
- 11" x 14" piece of decorative fabric per diaper
    (Adjust the 14" dimension to match the width of your diaper)
- 4 pieces of Heat-n-Bond approx. 1 1/2" x 5" per diaper
    (another type of double sided fusible interfacing would work too)



1. Iron diaper and decorative fabric to remove wrinkles.



2. Press in ~1/2" on both 14" edges and then press to form a crease down the center of the 14" length.



3. Following the Heat-n-Bond directions, use two small pieces and press the rough side to each short edge of the decorative fabric.



4. Remove the paper backing from the Heat-n-Bond and position the fabric across the bottom of the diaper as shown. Your Heat-n-Bond pieces should be facing the diaper. Press to attach.



5. Flip the diaper over and apply the remaining Heat-n-Bond pieces to the exposed wrong side of the decorative fabric.



6. Being sure to match the folded edges, fold the decorative fabric up to wrap the end of the diaper and press to attach.



7. Starting at one corner, zig zag stitch the three loose sides of the decorative fabric. Since you lined up the folded edges in step 6, the zig zag stitch should catch the decorative fabric on both sides of the diaper.





8. Step back and admire your handiwork!



Since these rags are often tossed over the shoulder for holding and burping, having the pretty fabric at the bottom looks really nice!

These wash up really well and seem to be holding their own after frequent use. I hope this made sense and you enjoy!

Labels: how-to's, sewing

I got totally caught up in the laziness of the three day weekend, and didn't do any crafting yesterday. I putzed around the house, made coffee cake, took care of some long-needed organization projects... but nothing in my craft room despite several due-soon projects!

The package with my king-size batting showed up so I'll soon be madly basting and quilting the master quilt - a couple other projects are going to get priority, so I might miss my Saturday deadline, but not by much.

I'm back on track, I just don't have much to share just yet! Since I hate a post with no pictures, here's another sweet baby!





52 Nights Update - Night 13 was a miserable failure. I did quite well avoiding technology during the day, but in the evening we decided to see what all the Lost fuss is about and got sucked into Season 1. I'll have better self discipline next week, I hope!

Labels: 52 nights, photography

I was supposed to get the batting for my master quilt delivered Friday, but through a (very frustrating) miscommunication with DHL, it's not coming until Tuesday. So instead of nothing but quilting this weekend, I'm finishing up a few other projects.



I'm a little worried that I won't make my May deadline on my master quilt, but I'm staying optimistic. I'm so anxious to see how it comes out that I'm motivated to work "long hours" on it!





This bag is a familiar design, with a few tweaks - hidden zipper rather than right up at top, and a new pocket method.



I love this bag to death, but it's a gift, so I'll have to be sending it on its way. Which enforces my desire to make myself one soon! Thank goodness for three day weekends. I'm going no tech (if I can) the rest of the day and tomorrow, so wish me luck and see you on Tuesday!

Labels: bags, OPAM, sewing

Monday I had the opportunity to take a few photographs of the daughter of some good friends. This is Izabelle, at 9 weeks:







Even though she was grumpy I still had a lot of fun. I've found a 9-week-old that can't move around much is easier than a squirmy toddler, that's for sure!

Labels: photography

Despite a plan to avoid stash enhancing, I have been having trouble resisting all the vintage glass beads I keep finding on etsy.



They are just so pretty and colorful. I get mesmerized and just keep clicking "add to cart."





I have a few upcoming projects that will be a lot easier with a well-rounded bead stash, but that's a pretty poor excuse. I know I would buy them anyway.


Luckily these aren't all new, I have a teeny bit of self control.

Since a lot of these will get used in the near future, I can't make myself feel too guilty!

52 Nights Update: Night 12 I switched it up a little - after work I headed to a friend's house to take pics of her sweet 9-week-old daughter. Izabelle was pretty grumpy, so we're going to try again one morning since she's usually happier! Then home to work on some projects and make dinner. I had a few nights last week with an open schedule that I could have worked on projects and instead got sucked into the Tivo backlog, so it felt good to get back on track!

Labels: 52 nights, beads, jewelry

Thanks to everyone who signed up for RME with my referral! I reinvested in crafty folks by going on a little etsy spree.

Going with my new motto "finished is better than perfect" I have been trying to check a few things off my list!


Starting a very belated baby gift.


Getting the master quilt and new quilt tops finished.

And can I just share something with you guys? There are limited folks in my life that will appreciate this:





Can you see that? Angled piecing, without cutting off any corners! There's a reason I don't attempt fancy blocks, as much as I would love to try Amanda Jean's star quilt-along - I usually chop the tips off of any points I try to piece. So, yay! I'm excited!!

It feels really good to get to some long-awaited projects! Hopefully I'll actually have some finished projects to share soon rather than all these works in progress...

Labels: bags, OPAM, quilting, sewing

Thanks to Beki for the headsup, there's a new paysite in town! If you sign up for Revolution Money Exchange (RME) before the end of the day today, May 15, you'll get $25 free deposited into your account. RME is like Paypal, but with no fees. Once you have an account you can spend your money online, or transfer it into your checking account. Here is a list of some retailers accepting it.




If you click the button above, I'll get $10 deposited into my account, too! What are you waiting for??

Labels: misc

For Mother's Day I made my mom and sister matching pouches for their Christmas totes. Mom needed a larger one and Katy wanted a coin purse sized one.



You can't see it in the photo, but the small one is pretty crummy. I definitely need practice with zippers. Luckily she still likes it! She's so sweet and enthusiastic about receiving all my imperfect prototypes.

Labels: bags, family, sewing

Last night was officially Night 11 of my 52 no tech nights, but I had an award dinner for work so I wasn't even home to be tempted. So tonight is no tech night instead, other than popping in here real quick for a master quilt update.



I've somehow squeezed in piecing of the first few strips! I hope to make a good dent in the piecing tonight and finish tomorrow or Thursday.

And did I mention that I'm being unfaithful to my dear, basic little Janome?



To tackle the king-size quilting in my near future, I am borrowing my mother-in-law's totally amazing machine. I'm getting spoiled!

Labels: 52 nights, OPAM, quilting

I love having both my mom and my mother-in-law in town, but it made for a busy Sunday! This morning we had brunch with Pete's mom, and I made a new make-ahead French toast that was so delicious.





The recipe is here except I used real eggs instead of egg substitute. Very yummy. And Mint Bellinis, too. We also went out to dinner with my mom and my sister's family, so it has been a day of eating!

Among all the cooking I did get time to work on a new project.



I do have all the pieces cut for the master quilt and I'll try to piece the top this week. Then I'll have three weekends to get it quilted to meet my May goal. It's nice to be able to still work on other projects, though!

Labels: cooking, family, quilting

A coworker of mine heads to Russia soon to pick up his new son. I wanted to make a little gift for the occasion and thought it might be fun for his little guy to have a little bag of goodies for the plane ride home.



I made a simple tote with a fold over closure, and filled it with goodies for the long plane ride.



I made a slightly different version with a flap/magnet closure to send for my cousin's older son when I get my act together and send a gift for her new baby. I'm not 100% thrilled with either of these - I was going for easy construction for me, and easy "operation" for the kids. I need to figure out what to modify before I try a third bag...

Labels: bags, sewing

My sister was able to deliver my grandma's purse and necklace to her over the weekend, and was thoughtful enough to capture this for me:



If people ever ask me why I enjoy crafting, I want to be able to show them this picture!

52 Nights Update - Are you sick of these yet? Night 10 I ran a ton of errands, worked on my quilt, and made dinner. I did cheat - I played a few games of the new MarioKart for Wii. My first slip in 10 weeks, not bad! And I still got so much done, which wouldn't have happened before with something like MarioKart to distract me. I look forward to Mondays, and I am treating more nights like no tech nights. I think this weekend I might make Sunday a no tech day - a whole day! On Mondays I don't count time at work since I need the computer. I'm not sure I can handle a whole day...

Labels: 52 nights, family

It seems like so long ago that I signed up for Michelle's animal-themed embroidered button swap. At the time, May 10th seemed so far away!



I kept putting off work on my buttons, because I couldn't come up with an idea I was pleased with. I threw away many sketches.



Finally, just last week, I came up with a plan that I liked and set to work getting it in thread!



See all six on flickr.

So though I had moments of doubt, times when I thought I might be a dreaded bad swapper, I got my buttons to Michelle on time. I can't wait to see what I get back!

Also... I redesigned the blog! If you check in a feed reader, be sure to click through to look.

Labels: needlework, swaps

Some nights I want to play around in my craft room, but am not motivated to work on any of my "to do" projects. Does that ever happen to you? At times like these, I usually pull out my beads.



I've had a ring blank around forever, and finally made it into a pink party ring to go with a new skirt.





I also figured out how to make my own earwires from silver wire. I love the flexibility this gives me!



And I did eventually sort back out all those tiny silver pieces the cat dumped onto the carpet...

Labels: jewelry

One of my favorite photoblogs is that of Tara Whitney. She is so creative, and everything of hers is always so colorful and cheerful.

She suggested a challenge - One Project a Month or "OPAM". I take this to mean a bigger, on your list forever, type project. And I have a long list of them.



I am going to jump on the bandwagon. We're still in the middle of the floor project, but to count that, I'd have to ignore the fact that I haven't really helped with it much. Thank goodness for my father-in-law! So my May OPAM is the quilt for our master bed. We have gorgeous bedroom furniture, and no bedspread because I keep meaning to make a quilt!


I can't believe I'm showing my messy bedroom!

I've gone around in circles and been paralyzed with all the pattern options, but one quilt has stuck in my head for months, so I'm just going to start cutting. As Fiona quoted from one of her comments, finished is better than perfect. I think I need to make that my new motto! I'm a little nervous about making this goal, since I have a sudden onslaught of handbags to make for folks, but I think I can still do it.

Feel free to join in! Leave Tara a comment so she feels the love.

Labels: OPAM, quilting, sewing