Christmas Gifts

I was long overdue for making my mother-in-law a quilt so this Christmas I decided it was time.  It's a large throw blanket in a pattern that I love and will absolutely be using again.  I hope she is as excited to have it as I am to give it!

The Weekender

I DID IT!  I MADE AMY BUTLER'S WEEKENDER BAG!  
(Yes, the exclamation points and capital letters are necessary!)  


Day One...  Bought the pattern.  Read the directions.  Scratched head.


One weekend later...  Thought about it.  Though about it.  Thought about it.  Re-read the directions.


Two weekends later...  More thinking.  Chose fabric and bought peltex, cording,  interfacing, zipper, ribbon, etc. etc.  Now thinking...  "Those Vera Bradley bags are really pretty."


Three weekends later...  One whole Saturday!  A whole Saturday just cutting out the pieces!


Next day...  started sewing.  AND re-reading the directions slowly, step by step.


Next weekend...  more sewing but eventually all done!  Who needs Vera Bradley?


Next day...  mailed the pattern to Kristin with a loving, heartfelt, "have fun!"


!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This one I will carry and proudly say, "Oh, this?  I made it!"

An addition to my sewing room

Ok, so it's more like a sewing corner than a room but I LOVE sharing this space with my Nick on days when he is busy at his desk and I am busy at my sewing machine.  It's great to spend time together even if we aren't focused on the same task.  Yesterday however, I required his focus in the sewing corner to assist in the hanging of a few things on my walls.  It may have been more me assisting him than him assisting me but who's really keeping track?!?  My cousin Olivia made us the gorgeous quilt as a house warming gift and I couldn't think of a better place for it than in my sewing room.  It fit perfectly in the space and it warms my heart and reminds me that "good sewing cannot be rushed" every time I look at it.  We also hung the antique drawer my mom bought to hold my threads.  Obviously I need to find more thread to fill it but that will come in good time.

More Gifts

Is it just me or does it seem like everyone is pregnant right now?  I have made more baby blankets this summer than I thought I would and now I'm starting to feel like anything bigger would take an eternity to complete!  Here are some pictures of the more recent quilts I've gifted.

The multicolored quilt at the top is for our dear friends Andy and Sarina and their baby that is due in November.

 This quilt was really made by my friend Lauren who is expecting a baby boy in October to be named Robert.  She joined our family for a sewing day because she wanted her baby to have a quilt made by it's momma.  All I really did was coach and I must say that she did an amazing job.  That is just another of the many lucky babies I look forward to meeting this year.

Gifts

 I love to make personalized gifts for my friends.  Here are just a few of the items I have made recently and now that the gifts have been given, I can show them off!


A Baby blanket and bag for my good friend Katie and her upcoming baby girl!

A lap quilt and bag for my San Diego best-ie Emily and her fiance Chad.

Another Quilting Sleep-Over!

Kristin hosted the first of many future quilting weekends in their new home!  Everybody took a project from start to finish before the weekend was over!  And, we laughed!  Yeah, there was lots of laughing!

Sewing Lessons

This Spring Emma asked sweetly, "Aunt Becky, when can I come over to your house and learn how to sew?"  These are the moments that make an Aunt's heart leap...I've said it before and I'll say it again...we love that our nieces and nephews request time with us.  She wanted to make a quilt for her doll, Julie.  Emma measured carefully, pondered over which prints she wanted from the scrap basket, arranged them to her liking and began sewing, verrrry verrrry slowly.  Gradually, the hum of the old Kenmore increased and she was sewing and pressing and pinning without instruction.   Before the end of the day, the quilt was finished and it's owner and her teacher were bursting with pride!

A quilt for my Suellyn

This is me.  This is my Suellyn.

Suellyn and I first met 20+ years ago in the hallway of Jefferson Elementary School.  Within a short time we were working together at the helm of Carl Sandburg Elementary School.  We quickly became forever-friends.  In those years she has encouraged me, taught me, mentored me, counseled me, cried with me, laughed with me, and loved me just as I am.  

I could go on and on and on and on...and it would never be enough to thank her justly for all she has given me just by letting me know her.

So, I let this quilt do the talking recently for my cobalt 'n cream lovin' friend.

I'll make you a deal!

Three projects are sitting in front of me. I have the fabric for each and am ready to get started on them. There's one little problem. Each requires me to applique in some way, a skill I have not yet acquired. So what do I do? I call up the applique queen and tell her I will trade her a homemade dinner for a lesson on how to applique.

Aunt Becky and Uncle Alan came out three nights later and were greeted with the smells of homemade lasagna! Yum! We all ate and laughed and ate a little bit more. Before we knew it the pan was empty and our tummies were full. Dad and Uncle Alan headed for the living room to watch the game while Aunt Becky and I started a project. "What better way to learn to applique" she says "than to make a birthday hat." So we picked out some scrap fabric and got started. An hour and a half later we had a hat worthy of a soon to be 4 year old and I was confident I could maybe pull off the applique required for my three projects.

Our big 4 year old wore her birthday hat all day long during her birthday extravaganza!

The next day I sat down to work on the applique for project #1 and was a little nervous. I decided I needed a little more practice. So I grabbed some more scraps and made mom a present to cheer up her hectic day, a new sewing machine cover!

Now here we are about a month later and the three mentioned projects are completed and off to the quilters. Pictures will follow when they come back to me!

~ Olivia ~

Cousins don't shake hands! Cousins gotta SEW!

Since we couldn't get it to work into everyone's schedule, Olivia and I decided to have our own sewing day just us!

She slept over last night and we got up early to sew all day!  We were at our machines by 7am and didn't even stop for breakfast!

We stopped for lunch and I took Olivia for her first experience at a FIVE GUYS for burgers and fries!  It was de-lish!

We made it to one quilt shop and had an unsuccessful WalMart stop (where we saw the car to the right with the lovely words written on the back!) before it was back to the homestead.

We solved all the world's problems, got a little sewing done, and laughed as we recited some of the best "Nancy-isms".

By the end of the day, Olivia had all the blocks ready for her next quilt project, and I had curtains for my kitchen window!


-Olivia and Kristin