Score

I am not a particularly lucky gal. Well, let me clarify. I am super lucky in that I have a wonderful family, healthy 3 month old, swell sidekick dog, food, shelter, hugs, kisses, fairy dust and all that jazz. I am not so lucky in that I win raffles, contests or find huge wads of money laying on the side of the road, but I did get lucky this past weekend. I found a Maya Sling at the Goodwill. I can hardly believe it myself. I also snagged these super swell Pyrex bowls at a yard sale. I love the green and white flower Pyrex. I have a couple in my kitchen, but I am always on the lookout for the red rooster pattern. How about you, score any good deals recently?

Sew Not a Sewing Project

Sew I have been working on a project of the non sewing kind. In an effort to reclaim some of my living room from the massive piles of baby stuff accumulation I came up with this. I picked this little dresser up on Craigslist for a little more than a song. At first I thought I would just clean her up and use her as is but when I got it home she turned out looking a little more orangy than I would have liked, and the top needed refinishing anyway. She also needed a little TLC, so Robert performed some minor surgery on her undercarriage to get her in good working order.


A few coats of paint and some new knobs later and here is she, in all her glory in my living room. I admit at first I was kinda skeptical about a purple dresser in the living room but it works. She sits in a corner that just collected dust tumbleweeds anyway and is small enough to look like she belongs. Plus I can change the baby right on top without bending over and all the crap is hidden in the drawers.

She also matches this super awesome rug I just picked up on Overstock. Its a psychedelic explosion in my living room and it hides all the dog hair. Is it strange I just called a dresser a she this whole post? Happy home improvements to you all.

Little Lovlies

Check out this beautiful stack of fabric I just picked up for my "secret" project. I am falling in love with all of these reproduction fabrics. They are just so bright and cheery.

I just had to share this picture. This is my dog Lilly helping me sew. She loves blankets, fabrics, clothes and pretty much anything that smells like a person. I turned my back for one second and she had buried herself underneath this pile of fabric. It's nice to always have a helper.

Baby Quilt Complete

The embroidered baby quilt is finally complete. I finished hand sewing the binding on this weekend and was able to take some pictures of it outside in the bright sunshine. It was a joy to work on knowing my little girl will have something handmade from her mama to keep her warm at night or to snuggle up with at nap time.

Here is a shot of the back of the quilt. I used the left over bear paw quilt block to piece the back, along with the leftover fabric from the front sashing. The wonderful quilt blogs on the internet turned me on to pieced quilt backs and I just love them. Not only are they beautiful, it's a great way to use up every little piece of fabric.

When working on the front of the quilt I knew I needed 2 more blocks to round out the 7 days of the week blocks so the quilt would be a square. Since the embroidery was of little bears I thought a bear paw block would be fitting. I used this incredible book by Jinny Beyer to help draft the block. There is no way I would have been able to do it without her instructions. If you don't have it yet, this book is an essential to any quilter/sewer/designer. There are so many quilt blocks to use for inspiration. The first block I made was the one on the right. However, when it was done I knew the paw was to large and the block needed a frame around it. The orange fabric right next to the pink sashing was too busy. So I redrafted it to accommodate a border and still fit in with my quilt. Not one to let anything go to waste I just used the cast off for the back of the quilt.

Here is a close up of the Sunday block and the quilting. Im pretty new at quilting on my machine but this one turned out nice. I wanted something simple so I just followed the seam line.

To finish it off I always add a quilt label. I didn't always do this so there a few floating around that don't have one :(

I love the look of a hand embroidering the label. I think it adds a nice personal touch for whomever you are making the quilt for. I just choose a font and size I like in Word, then print it off and trace it onto my fabric with a water soluble pen. I most often do this on my back sliding glass door. I wonder what my neighbors think when I start taping bits of paper and fabric to it to trace?

Its a Secret

I hate when you read blogs and you have no idea what the people who write them look like, so without further ado.....here is a picture of me and my little babe. You can see my sewing chaos in the background. Maybe one day ill do a post of my studio. Studio being a fancy word for a messy corner of my dark, wood paneled basement.

I am working on a surprise for a very dear friend of mine. Only its not so much a surprise any more since I can't keep secrets and already told her I was working on a secret project. Here is a sneak peek. I am trying my best to finish the baby blanket but this is calling my name. It is taking acts of extreme restraint not to run to the store to pick up supplies and start working on this. I made a new years resolution to not start a new project until the one I am working on is complete. That is working out only so/so since I make up all sorts of excuses to jump around.

Hmmm...what can it be?

Beach Thrifting

I went to a wedding this past weekend in Deleware. My super awesome mother came with and we turned the week into a 3 generation vacation, with lots of eating, playing with my wee little babe, resting and shopping. We hit just about every thrift store in Deleware. I loooooooove thrifting, but my husband does not. What I refer to as my treasures he calls "other peoples old crap". I often have a hard time finding anyone who wants to spend and afternoon treasure hunting, so if you are in MD and would like to go drop me a line, pretty please. I have visions of what I refer to as my forever house, with a huge farm kitchen with open shelves so I can display all my stacks of green and white pyrex bowls, rainbow fiesta dishes and orange tupperware canisters. Throw in the perfect laminate and vinyl kitchen table set, which I have yet to find, and if I did I would probably only get into the house if my husband was in a coma or I bribed him with a shiny new pick up truck, and you would be living in a vintage paradise. Doesn't it makeyou feel all warm and fuzzy inside. I get all smiley and happy just thinking about it.

On our Deleware thrifting extravaganza I made some good finds. Here are a few pictures of what I picked up for a song.

A beautiful yellow vintage tablecloth. A new ham for sewing. I got this for .75 cents. Can you believe that? 2 sets of buttons and a brand new dresden plate quilt pattern.

A close up of the craziest buttons I have ever seen. Not quite sure where I am going to put these but I am sure I will find them a home.

So I Lied

I know I promised this blog was not going to be dedicated to baby sewing, but it seems thats all I have posted about. I just can't help it. Babies need lots of things and baby things are expensive. It's like wedding and funerals. The minute you tell someone you are getting married they jack up the price for whatever it is that you need to purchase. Here is a quick little project I finished one evening.

I needed some car seat strap covers and they were $10 at the local Target. I figured I could just make some myself with a few scraps I had in my stash for free. I found this great tutorial at The Sweet Life and was able to whip some up. Like Alisa said the hardest part is deciding on the fabric. The fleece was a freebie from my husbands Aunt Tiny and I figured it would feel nice against big fat baby cheeks. The floral I got on sale but couldn't tell you what it is. They turned out great and I just might have to make another pair for those unfortunate times when the baby spits up all over the seat.