Pillowcase dresses for Kiwi

Today I made this dress for my Granddaughter Kiwi. It's her Birthday soon and while  I was packing up all of her wrapped presents I just couldn't bring myself to send it without a dress made by Grandma.  I added an apron made from a thrift store find of a Queen sized eyelet lace bed ruffle...

What a find! The bed ruffle was a buck, 1 dollar.....I've been making dresses and night gowns like crazy. And the apron can be used on her other dresses too like a pinafore.

                        Kiwi loves Rapunzel so I used heat-n-bond, cut her out and ironed her on.

First place Champion Ribbon at the County Fair

I was so excited when I walked into the arts, crafts, and needlework building at our County fair and my Husband noticed that I had gotten this First place Champion ribbon for my embroidery quilt that I blogged about here. The ladies had such nice comments and invited me to join their quilt guild. It was so much fun to see all of the winners at our County Fair. Thank you again Clara & Jennie for hosting such a wonderful Quilt Embroidery Along, this was my first embroidery and they said that it was very well done.

My Granny Square start

I am making my grannies out of Riley Blake's Marguerite fabrics. I have been coveting everyone's grannies for quite some time now so I am thrilled to be started on my own......I cant wait to see how the others turn out and I hope you enjoy seeing them too.

This one is quite light, We'll just have to wait and see how it will look in the whole quilt.....

Sweet Critter Purses Tutorial

These were very fun and easy to make. I hope you can make yourself some for a very sweet critter lover in your family. The critters aren't any bigger than five inches big....I bought these (at the dollar store).

Purse Pattern:

Just cut the body fabric 17x11 inches and a piece of batting 17x5 inches.
2 bottom pieces with the corners rounded off at 8-1/4 x 3-1/4 inches with a piece of batting the same size. Then 2 straps at 9x3 inches to be folded in half width wise right sides together with a piece of batting 9x 1-1/2 inches....Sew straps right sides together and bottom right sides together with batting on the bottom and sew 1/4 inch around leaving space to turn right sides out....Use the great straw method to turn straps. Then you can sew your opening closed just by top-stitching close to the edge.

Now Here's the hard part.
Lay your body batting down. then lay your body piece down on top with right side facing up......I put mine on my mat so I could eyeball the middle....now lay down your ruffle, right side up. I bought one and made the others (not shown below) with 3 inch wide coordinating fabric, hemming and overcast stitching one long side and ruffling the other....Put ruffled edge on top edge of top of body fabric. Now keeping in mind that you'll be folding body fabric in half width ways and  in half to make lining and front and back all in one. So, lay your straps at the top at 2-1/2 and 6-1/2 inches for one strap and the other goes at 10-1/2 and 14-1/2 there abouts....

Now bring the bottom up to the top and sew the top and one side, then turn inside out and sew opening closed, if you turn in the raw edge and topstitch it it will be a nice clean edge inside also......Now sew the bottom piece onto the bottom of the body with the ruffle on the bag facing up.....sew up that last side of body and turn inside out.

 I hope this tutorial is helpful, because I doubt its good instructions. Let me know how I can improve and believe me the way it turns out so cute and clean is all well worth it. Enjoy!

Finally my finish!

The quilting, the binding and the Label. I really enjoyed this my first embroidery quilt....I've blogged the top before. I got the QAL from here at Clover and Violets-embroidery 101 

Having a little trouble with blogger tonite.....so I'll just post a few more pictures and let you enjoy....Im working on Garden Steps QAL at Jennie and Clara's site too so head on over there and see their beautiful things.

Three little traveler bags

I was wondering what I would ever do with this National Parks fabric and then one day I saw this tutorial at tidbits. I had so much fun making these for my Grandkids Talon, Daven and Kiwi. The way that they just hang onto the headrest of the seats in your car and detach so easy  are just as handy as pockets on a sock! The kids can just take them into the doctors office with them and have something to do the whole time, providing they have packed their bag with some great stuff!

This was such a nice pattern/tutorial and so easy to follow. The one and only thing that I did different was that I made all of  the top pocket into two pockets, instead of one big one. The hardest thing for me was finding as big of buttons as I wanted, but who doesn't love going through their buttons? I do!
Anyway visit Cami's website, and whip up some of these for yourself............

If I knew how to post these on Cami's website I sure would. I would take anyone's advise or Cami's response.

Have a Great Day everyone.

An Easter dress mooboo

This is a mooboo that I made for my granddaughter. She wore it for Easter and looked like a princess. These are super easy to make, and now they have them all ready to make in kits in super pretty colors. Try one for yourself.

Duffel bag for Tammy

I made this duffel bag for my neighbor Tammy's Birthday. I put a zipper in it, (whoa, brave for me) and its loaded with pockets on the outside, It's lined with the same fabric, (my husband's old camo pants (cheater). I put short straps on it so my not so girly-girl friend next door could "load it up" for her target practices that she loves to attend, and it would hold up, and NOT look like a purse.

I would've liked to have remembered to take pictures of the inside and back for you, and I would've like to put pink piping all around. The back has nice big buttoned pockets and I made a drawstring bag to go with it for her binoculars or camera for trail riding. Maybe next time I could make the bottom and sides a little more boxier.

Snappy Bag Fun!

Aren't these snappy bags so cute? I got the tutorial here. It was alot of fun to go pick out these fabrics and tear apart my hubby's broken measuring tape, and CREATE!!!

I just wanted to show off the added beauty to my newest first-time embroidery quilt.  Tia is her name, and she's very smart.
 But here is a closer and uninterupted picture of this quilt that I enjoyed stitching up.

The quilt along is here at Clover and Violet's blog. This one is over, but they are starting up another one. I bought all of the fabrics for it, and Im so excited to get started tomorrow!!

Those dreaded granny fabrics Im trying to get rid of

Here is my start to getting rid of my stash. Remember the quilt is Here that I am making. The gray fabric in the bottom left corner is my background for the stars. Today I get to start sewing them all together. I cant wait, I hope it still sparkles with it being calicos and from my stash.

I did change the size of each star to 41/2 inch squares so I only needed 48 instead of 80, and 8 singles, 4 doubles and 8 halves (or 3/4 stars) for the ones that are running off of the quilt. I wanted to be able to use my accuquilt Go! cutter, What fun!
I wasn't sure if I had picked an easy stash project at first, but I think that was due to the fact that I decided to change the size of it all so I started out with a piece of graph paper and drew a quarter of my pattern with the new size to be sure of the math. Now I have cut everything out and sorted out how to organize everything and I think it's coming right along. I'll be sure to link it up at Oh Frannson! when I am done.

Ok so this is the reason Im tired of old fabric and I want to get new! I just got these patterns from my local quilt shop. Thank you to Cozy Mountain Quilts, Katy and of course Amanda Murphy! So NOW do you see why I want new fabric, that old stuff just won't work. I'm so excited.

Oh so tired of my Calico fabric

http://www.ohfransson.com/oh_fransson/2012/01/sparkle-punch-quilt-along.html

I wanted to post a picture here from Oh, Fransson but I was afraid I shouldn't without asking. I'm very tired of my old Calico fabric, my whole stash is nothing but. (I'm very thankful Grandma for giving me my start). So, I think I'm going to have to abandon my dear friends, Sara, Kim and Amy and their Solstice stars project and Do this wonderful sparkle punch quilt along, for I am coveting all the new modern bright fabrics that you all have and I'm desperate to get rid of my old stash.
Thank you Elizabeth for hosting this beautiful sparkle punch quilt along.

My Camara is no good!

I have gotten so many things done on my new Husqavarna sewing machine and I am so ready to really be a blogger but my camara is messed up. This is really the only decent picture Ive gotten. I finished this lovely patio table quilt and it was fun!

I also finished a beautiful bear quilt for my brother and got that sent off. And Ive gone bag crazy!
Want to see? even if the pictures are awful?.

I'm also starting a new craft that I've never done before. Embroidery! Thanks to the inspiration of my Best Friend who has shown me how to do all that I know. Siss! I just love her. Also thanks to Clover and Violet.....Our blissful lives' blog. She has an embroidery quilt along that she hosted awhile back. I wasn't around back then. But I am sure glad I can still access it.

Maybe my camara is the operator, Im not sure, but I will work on it and try to get better at it, But the real sad thing is, Is that that bear quilt was sooooo made with perfect stitches on my new machine and made with aurifil thread, how sweet that is!! That thread!