SEWING FOR THE BABY

I have had so much fun sewing for my grand- babies.  I recently made these adorable black velvet booties.  They are very easy to make - really they are.  It only takes about 15 mintues a shoe.  I did my own cross-hatch quilting about 1/2" apart with the velvet fabric on top, a cotton polka dot on the back and a layer of warm and natural batting sandwiched in between. 

Jayne was visiting one day and I had to stop at my local quilt shop for fabric.  She was so excited to see the hundreds and hundreds of bolts of fabric.  I told her she could pick her favorite and then I would make her a dress.  She told me exactly what she wanted and picked the eyelet trim for the bottom.  So of course when I finished her dress I had to make a second dress to match for the baby.  And, of course a matching diaper cover from eyelet fabric to match.  You can find the perfect pattern for the diaper covers here.  I've got the cutest grand babies in the world.

LIFE IS GOOD!

Yes - especially when you get a new PFAFF!  I recently scored a great deal on Craigslist for a Pfaff 1200 grand quilter and frame.  The guy had bought it and thought he would add quilting to his in-home embroidery business but never got around to it.  So it sat in his garage for 2 years.  He had no idea how to use it and could tell me nothing about it.  So I took it to my local Pfaff dealer to show me a few details, watched the DVD and then set it up.  Spent half a day just playing with it and then took on my first project.  It was a blast!  I have done machine quilting for years on my regular sewing machine so to be able to stitch 1600 stitches per minute was just amazing.  This quilt is actually from a pattern you can find at the Moda Bake shop called the Lumiere table runner.  I made it for my sisters birthday.  She has a large round table and wanted a large square size table topper.  So just changed the size of the center to square instead of rectangle and then put in on the frame to stipple.  It turned out great and I'm excited to put the next quilt up tomorrow.  The next one will be Taryn's first quilt she made from the French General collection.

PURPLE-FANTASTIC

This new baby is going to be sleeping amongst the softness of minky and bathed in purple.  It would be so funny if when she can talk - she choses pink. All the fabric in this baby collection is from my favorite quilt shop called Fat Quarters and it washes up so beautiful.  The pattern I used for the quilt is Trip Around the World.  It really is beautiful.  There are minky bumpers, a quilt, pillow, dust ruffle, diaper changing pad and blackout lined drapes.  The chamois sheet in purple is soooo soft!  It was ordered online from potterybarnkids. Custom baby bedding is awesome!  Not another room like it.

CUPCAKE HEAVEN

I always think my cupcakes look homemade - cute, but not beautiful.  I love the idea of the cupcake but never quite got the hang of it.  Well, I finally got it.  All it takes is the right recipe.  I made these for Tiffany's baby shower.  SHe loves purple so of course they are frosted purple - even the rose and sugar sprinkles are purple and they looked and tasted soooo good.  Ther perfect frosting is the magnolia bakery vanilla butter cream.  It is amazing to frost and eat.  Click here for the recipe. For the cake I did a chocolate cookie dough.  It too was unbelieveably good.  Everyone - even non cake eaters love it.  The receipe is from Trina and is on her blog.  Try it here.

Another fun thing I made for the shower was a diaper cake.  I used about 60 newborn diapers and fold them and placed them into layers holding them together with ribbon.  I deocrated them with cute purple shoes, pacifiers, socks, ribbon's and flower.  It turned out really cute and was so fun to make.

SPOOL QUILT

I am taking a quilt class that my good friend, Julie Isa, teaches every other Friday night.  It is fun to get together with a bunch of quilters and make something beautiful from cut up fabric pieces.  We are going to make some of the most awesome quilts this year and I am so excited about the quilt patterns she has selected. This SPOOL QUILT pattern is the first of the year.  I chose to do mine smaller than the pattern so I could use it as a wall hanging in my sewing room and hang it above my cutting table.  I love looking at it while I'm cutting up fabric.  The thread area of the spools is from a charm pack called Wiscasset by Moda.  I loved all the fabrics. I'm going to make a table runner from the extras. To me, quilts are artwork and should be enjoyed and cherished either while your sleeping, sewing, or whatever you are doing.

LIGHT SUPPER FOR 160

It has been a long time since I've posted to my blog. I have made so many fun quilts and projects since my last post and I can't wait to share them with you. I promise to catch up soon. I've decided to post not only sewing projects - but other fun craft or cooking projects as well. I thought I would start with this very unique assignment I was given. I was asked to be in charge of a light supper to be served at 2:30 in the afternoon for 160 men. They wanted a light healthy lunch with finger foods that could be served and eaten in less than 30 minutes. The theme was artistic and elegant. Wow. I've stressed about this for two weeks and now I am breathing a sigh of relief because it was over yesterday. I have to say that it turned out exactly as I had dreamed about it. Thankfully, I can dream about things and work out the problems in detail ahead of time which saves a lot of crisis later on. Oh, for the menu it was whole wheat turkey cheese wraps, chicken croissant sandwiches, fresh fruit, and all my favorite desserts which included mini cheese cakes, mini pecan pies, caramel chocolate covered pretzels, strawberry trifle, chocolate crackle cookies, chocolate peanut butter bars and chocolate chip cookies. It tasted as good as it looked. There were 4 separate food tables and all men served themselves at the buffet and ate in 25 minutes. It was a miracle. Thank you to my friends who are all wonderful cooks, hard working, talented, and willing to serve. THANK YOU!