Birthday Girls! Baby Doll Sling, Diapers; Tea Crown and Pretend Teabags

So we are on a great schedule now.  Though it is sad that Elijah is down to just one nap a day now, it works out great when that nap is from 12:30 to 3:30 when Theodore is at school.  I'm allowed two to three hours of mama time that has been used lately in my "new" sewing room/office/craft room.  I really disliked this room when we first moved in, but I've finally gotten it all organized and it is now my favorite place in the house.

Reveal:

Inspiration and computer station on the left, sewing desk on the right.

The closet is packed full, with all sorts of crafty supplies, fabric, and tools.  I decided to use a bunch of glass jars I had to organize my materials slightly.  And the bags from Ikea were helpful in organizing extra fabric and all my "recyclables" that we keep for projects.

The striped box contains all of my stationary and different types of paper.  The boys craft materials and busy bags are housed in here as well.  Above the desk are some bulletin board areas where I post reminders, inspirations, Theo's homework, and announcements.

This wall is still blank, save for a temporary family tree print off.  I'm planning to hang some of my favorite old (50 years +) family photos here.  The bottom row of the bookshelf is full of my genealogy research.  Both of the wicker boxes here are stuffed full of fabric, with each kind wound carefully around a piece of cardboard to keep it all neat.

After Natalie's quilt was finished up, I got to work on birthday presents for two of my other nieces.

For Annalyn, who turns two, and is about to be a big sister in a few months, I picked some accessories for her baby doll so she can get some practice in.  The tutorial from Little Giggler for this sling worked out great, and the idea for baby diapers from Make It and Love it was perfect.  I may have to make some extras of these as my boys have always loved diapering their dolls and stuffed animals.

For Maci, who is now three, I gained inspiration from her recent tea parties with dinosaurs and grandmas.  I decided to make some of the cute little teabags that I've saw on pinterest.  And, of course, she needs a princess crown for when she is playing tea party, so I added that as well. Click on any of the links above for tutorials!

For the teabags, I basically just used pinking shears to cut out small squares and hexagonal pieces of fabric in the shape of a tea bag, and sewed them together adding a bit of stuffing inside and a bit of twine to connect the two pieces.

What has mama done to me now?

  Hoping they love them, and that their mamas send me photos since Eli wasn't the most happy model.

Miss Natalie Ann's Quilt

 As a second daughter, I have a special place in heart for my newest niece, who is also born into being a younger sister.  Having an older sister can be tough, but I would not give it up for anything.  And I'm glad to have younger ones as well-best of both worlds.

Wanting to celebrate her birth, I spent the week before she was born and a few days after (first baby on our side who came before her due date) crafting this beautiful quilt for her.  I must say it is my favorite quilt I've done, and I hope she loves it as much as I do.

Here she is at 11 days old!

I got the tutorial from Diary of a Quilter here, though I did modify the dimensions a bit (the squares are 4.5" rather than 5") when I decided I loved the Dainty in Red Aqua of the Scrumptious Collection by Bonnie and Camille for Moda print enough to make it the backing (but only had a yard of it).  I quilted by simply stitching around all fifty squares (in the ditch).  So cute!

Now I'm in the mood to start working on more...

With big sis.

Eli loved meeting the baby.

Toilet Paper Roll Snowmen & Indoor Snowball Fight Links

I cleaned out my art supplies area last night, and found out we have about 20 toilet paper rolls.  I think I can quit saving them for a while.  Since we don't have any snow here, but are stuck inside by the cold temps, we decided to make some snowman for inside.  This was a great little tutorial I found on www.CraftsbyCourtney.com, and we already had everything at home (except for white paint-that is going on the next shopping list).

Here are how ours turned out:

Theo loved helping glue all the buttons on and designing them.

We then kept the theme for a indoor snowball fight later with this activity from Toddler Approved.  Theo really still needs to work on identifying all his numbers, and this was a fun way to get him to do it.

Easy Baby Blanket

I'm worried about this second child not having anything of his own, but it doesn't make sense to re-buy things that are still perfectly usable after Theodore.  So, I have picked up just a few select things, and decided to make him a blanket.  I was thinking maybe an elephant print, but we found an owl print at Joann's and decided to go with that.  Theo approved it.

I used a fleece for the background, rather than a minky fabric, just to give it some variety.

I followed the steps on this tutorial:  http://quiltingintherain.blogspot.com/2011/07/easy-baby-blankets.html.

Considering I found out that my rotary cutter is rusted over when I began the project (during nap time) and I had to cut all the edges by hand, it turned out pretty well.  I am the worst straight cutter in the world. 

Theodore has already test run the blanket.  Hopefully he is okay giving it to baby and not stealing it all the time like he does his blankets when they are on us.

Sewing Pile

So on the bottom of my to-do list for the last year or two, has been "sewing pile". While I've been home on maternity leave it has been moved to the top of my to-do list. I decided that I couldn't make any more baby items until I finished the old stuff in my pile. So, I've made good progress on that goal. I've done the following:

-make a mini-taggie blanket
-finished the binging and hangers on a fall quilt
-fixed a pair of maternity pants
-fixed the pocket on my winter coat
-made a reversible bumper for baby's crib (picture coming soon)
-made a crib skirt (picture coming soon)
-finished the binding on my patriotic/summer quilt


I am most proud of the last item, because I finally took the time to do a binding correctly. I learned how from a tutorial here, and though it took a little longer than machine stitching, it was definitely worth it to have a nice finish.


Now, if someone can teach me how to do mitered corners perfectly, I might be pretty good at quilting.

Newest Quilt

This quilt isn't done yet, but I went ahead and hung the pieced top until I have time to finish it. I still need to actually sandwich the top, inside padding, and backing, do the actual quilting, and put the final binding around the outside. My inspiration for this was creating a patriotic themed quilt for the summer season.

Mini Quilt: St. Patrick's Day

I haven't done any quilting in a while, so I did a small project to get myself back in the hang of things. I made this little ditty for St. Patrick's day, and it can be used in the kitchen as a hot pad or in some kind of centerpiece.

It was my first time working with setting triangles, and I learned a lot. I did a little better getting all of my square blocks to line up. I still need help with my binding, especially the corners. I am always so anxious to be done by that point that I don't put a lot of time into it, but I really need to get better before I try my next wall quilt. I'm planning one with a star design, that uses golds, blues, and red fabrics. It may end up being my July quilt-if the motif ends up looking too patriotic.

Needlepoint

Needlepointing has been a hobby of mine since I started 4-H about 15 years ago. It is about the most creative thing I can do-and of course it is really just following a pattern. I have recently decided to start working with this craft again, and have already completed a few needlepoints that will be Christmas gifts. Following are some of my creations.

-This was the last needlepoint that I did for 4-H. It now hangs in my home, which is especially fitting since I now live close to the coast. I especially like the way this one is framed, and the stripes on the tower.

-This was a needlepoint I just completed this August. I had bought it on clearance years ago, and decided to work on it when I was reorganizing my house. I modified the design, changing the brunette to a redhead.

-I made this one years ago. When I was looking at it back home, I realized it looks almost exactly like my cat, and decided I had to hang it in Kiki's bathroom.