Tada! Henry's Quilt

So what did I do over fall break? I made Henry a quilt! This was my first foray into quilting (minus a quilt I made for my doll bed when I was nine that was about 9x11)

I bought a pack of charm squares (precut 5x5 fabric) from Missouri Star Quilt Co. About a year ago when I found we were expecting. We didn't know if we were having a boy or girl so I tried to pick something neutral. 

With some directions from a quilting friend (Thanks Elizabeth! inspiremegrey.blogspot.com) I jumped in and finally got to it this weekend. 

I did my layout last week and started sewing on Friday. Got the top put together on Friday and did the quilting and binding on Sunday. 

Then it was Henry's turn to check it out.

I think he likes it! I washed and dried today and it's nice and soft. 

I ended up using the backing as my binding as well. I did simple quilting using my presser food as a guide off of the intersections of the squares. 

I really like how this turned out and am excited to have my first quilt done. I look forward to doing more!

And just because he's so cute. (In my opinion anyway!)

Keychain Fobs and Headbands

Today was a very strange day. My husband took the baby to visit some family out of town while I danced at the State Fair. I got home hours before them so for the first time in 4.5 months, I was home alone. It felt odd, but it gave me some time for quick sewing. 

I've been wanting to try making these keychain fobs for a while now. They looked pretty easy. I started with one for now. 

I had the webbing and fabric on hand so I only needed to buy the hardware. These are so easy! I finished in about 15 minutes. I see more in my future. If you want one, talk to me about how much. I promise I'm reasonable. :-)

I blogged about the headbands already, but they've multiplied. 

One if the others in the group asked me to make some for her. These are also quite easy to make. Interested? $3 each or two for $5. I don't have any extras on hand, but can custom make. 

With both of these I started with several ideas from Pinterest but made it up on my own from there. I'm glad I'm finding time with an infant in the house to do some fun sewing. 

Tada! Hair accessories for Dance Costume

One of my activities outside of crafting and teaching is Irish Dancing. I've been dancing since 2005 and part of Celtic Motion since 2006. I remember seeing Riverdance on PBS when I was in high school and decided I'd like to learn that if I ever had the opportunity. It's been fun and great exercise. 

Recently the group decided to update our costume and go with kilts. Everyone in the group has one that's the same and one they picked out, no two alike. 

We had to create a hair accessory to go with each kilt. I went with headbands. I whipped up both of these today. Came together pretty fast. 

I used a skinny metal headband and extra firm pellon. I did the blue/black (my individual unique kilt) one first and it took about 45 minutes but the green (group kilt) one came together in 20 minutes. 

Folded the fabric around the pellon, folded the ends under. Stitched down the sides, stuck in the headband and hot glued felt on the ends to cover the raw edges. 

They were fun and easy to make. Anyone want a personalized headband? :-)

Tada! Henry's Stocking!

WI think I set a land speed record on this one. Started July 1st and finished on July 28th. By far the fastest I've finished one of these. 

I had the front done on Thursday last week but didn't finish sewing the back on until yesterday. It turned out cute and Henry seems to enjoy it. He smiles when he looks at it. 

One more project off my list. Onto the next project!

Last Update!

95/110 pieces finished! Just a tree and holly leaves at the bottom left before sewing on the back and hanging loop. 

My goal was finished before school starts, but I should have it finished by the end of July! 

Stocking progress!

62 of 110 pieces finished. Anything in the blue section is completed. My new goal is to finish before school starts.

I'm really surprised how fast this is coming together given there's a baby in the house. 

Stocking Update

As of 7/14. On piece 40 of 110. Starting to look like something. 

Stocking Update

As of 7/10. Sewed on piece 20 of 110. Realized that number is deceiving since a lot of the snowballs have the same number. 

Tada! Turtle Toy

About a year ago my sister showed me this picture of a crocheted turtle and asked if I would make it for her. I said "Sure!" She bought the pattern and sent it to me mid July last year. It took me a couple weeks to fun the right yarn and I got to work. I did the spots on the shell right away and proceded to put it aside until mid June this year. I was distracted just a little, but isn't he a cute distraction? 

Anyway, back to the turtle. Once I got to work again, it only took about a week. 

He turned out so cute! He turned out a little larger than I was anticipating but he's still a nice size. 

Now if anyone asks me if I have crocheted and stuffed a turtle tail, I can say "YES!" 

This was a fun project and it has me looking for some similar animals to make. (And use up the remaining 2 sets of eyes!)

Henry's Stocking Update

Stocking as of 7/7/14

Sewed on piece 12 of 110

Henry's Christmas Stocking

Sometimes I struggle with getting projects done on time. This is why I'm working on a snowman project in July. I thought it would be fun to show the progress of Henry's stocking. 

So here's progress after three days. 

Tada! Future Nephew Blanket

Another finished project post! The nesting phase never really kicked in while pregnant. I must have post-partum nesting!

I started this blanket last fall after I found one of my sisters was expecting and due right after me. I had 2 girl blankets finished, but no boy ones. She ended up having a girl so I had one ready when my niece came along. 

I used my favorite zigzag pattern from The Purl Bee. http://www.purlbee.com/the-purl-bee/2011/9/15/whits-knits-chevron-baby-blanket.html

I think this is the fourth one I've finished. The variegated part blends in a lot in low light but stands out in daylight. 

Now that I have this one finished, I want to start another! 

Tada! Birth Announcement Cross Stitch

I finally had a chance to wrap up Henry's cross stitch. I had all but the personalization done before he was born. Strange enough, it took me 7 weeks to add his name, date, birth stats and get it framed. 

I had some trouble when it came to finding a frame. The finished size was 12x12. Unfortunately a 12x12 frame doesn't have a 12x12 opening. I ended up finding something that had a 13.5x13.5 opening and I hit Michaels when frames were 40% off and I had an additional 25%. Score one for Jen!

Few of my favorite parts. 

I love the raccoon. Too bad real ones aren't that cute. 

First piece I could sign like this. Usually I just use a JTE and last two digits of the date. Full year fit nicely here. 

Now that there's a newborn in the house, we'll see how many Tada posts in have now! 

Little Projects

Two of my nephews had birthdays recently and we were at their birthday party over the weekend. I realized I should have something for them late last week. Seeing I'm the master of last minute projects, I decided to make something. Then I realized my niece had a birthday not that long ago. The. I remembered my other nephew also had a birthday in that timeframe. 

I can make 4 last minute birthday presents with a 5 week old baby, no problem. I came across a tutorial for crocheted balls on The Purl Bee (http://www.purlbee.com/the-purl-bee/2013/7/26/whits-knits-crocheted-balls.html). I have a plethora of leftover yarn that needs to be used. 

I made a total of 4 in about 3 hours. I didn't think to take a picture with all 4. Mine didn't turn out the size in the tutorial. I followed the extra small size for the white one and small for the brown.

They were fun to make and my niece and nephews seemed to like them. My sister commented to my niece that it's an "Approved to throw in the house" ball. 

Baby's Room

While I didn't craft anything in this room, my husband and I did arrange everything. On the crib there are multiple blankets that were gifts from various people. 

Pardon some of the mess, it's still a work in progress. 

Things for Baby E!

Seeing my due date is now 9 days away, I figured I should work on wrapping up a few projects. I've been on Maternity Leave for a week now so I've had lots of couch time to work on things. 

Cross stitch Birth Announcement

First finish is the Birth Announcement cross stitch. I've been making these for nieces and nephews but those have been 5x7 size. This one was a 10x10. Took just a little longer. I think I started it back in October, but took a break to work on Christmas gifts. 

It's just missing some information that is not yet determined. I didn't think I'd get this done before baby came. It was from a kit and I just followed the pattern. I'm not creative enough to make up my own. 

Baby Blanket

Second big finish was Baby E's blanket. Not knowing if baby is boy or girl had me stumped on colors. I decided to use together a grey and a variegated of white, yellow/green and turquoise. Those are close to the colors we're using in baby's room and seemed fairly neutral. 

I came across the pattern through a friends blog (http://inspiremegrey.blogspot.com/2013/06/two-easy-crochet-baby-blankets.html?m=1)  that linked back to this blog post. (http://www.aestheticnest.com/2011/12/crochet-sedge-stitch-cowl-tutorial-for.html?m=1)  I did what my friend did and turned the cowl into a blanket. I used the reverse single crochet to put a border on my blanket. 

I love how the colors and texture turned out. I used Bernat Softee Baby yarn which is what I typically use in baby blankets. It's so soft. 

Next goal to finish is a baby blanket for a future nephew. I have 2 niece blankets done and waiting. One of my sisters is due 3 weeks after me and doesn't know if she's having a boy or girl which means I need to be prepared!

Long Overdue Update

I'm not very good at the blogging thing apparently.  Here's a few of the things I've finished lately.

Cross Stitched Bookmarks
I came across a kit to make a bookmark a month.  I'm trying to stretch it out a bit and get multiple months for some.  I'm working on finishing up a few more (okay, 4) for my mom, sisters, and mother/sister-in-law along with my aunt.  I've finished 6 but only through of taking pictures of these 2.

Stuffed Bear
As is tradition, new nieces and nephews get a little stuffed bear for their First Christmas.  There were 2 new nephews this year which meant 2 bears.  Unfortunately I only took pictures of one.  With one nephew it was the 4th bear in the family so he got a necktie.  The other nephew is the first in his family so he got the standard bear.  Imagine this one without the necktie.

Art Smock

When asked what my nephew Walden could use for Christmas, my sister suggested a smock when he paints or something else messy.  I found a tutorial and it sounded easy, but the measurements didn't make sense to me.  It turned out a little big, but he'll grow into it.  I used diaper covering material, bias tape and some velcro.  

Dipped Marshmallows 

I ended up taking a personal day a few weeks back for a Dr. Appointment and had some free time left so I thought I'd try making dipped marshmallows.  I used melted chocolate and vanilla to dip them in and then added a topping when they were still melty.  I used rainbow and chocolate sprinkles, chopped nuts, crushed cookie and mini chocolate chips.  I was happy with how they turned out and they seemed to go over well.  Especially with the nieces and nephews.  

 

Now I'm in the rush of finishing baby things.  My sister is due 3 weeks after me.  I have a cross stitch done for their baby (just missing the name and other info), working on a blanket for a future nephew (I have 2 niece ones in the waiting).  Also trying to finish a blanket and cross stitch for our baby along with possibly a quilt.  The next 11 weeks are going to be busy for sure!