Well, sadly our dress did not win any of the judging categories at the quilt show. But there is still a chance for viewers choice! If you happen to be in Hampton at the show this weekend I would love it if you could drop a vote or two in the box. We know we did a great job on it, which is all that matters.
I have a couple of random knits that I have been meaning to show you all for a while:
The socks that I made for Mom R at Christmas were a little too big for her. While we were out at Michael’s she saw this Paton’s Kroy Socks and loved it, so I whipped her up a new pair of plain socks. I am glad these ones fit so much better! I like the colours in these and have been thinking about making myself a pair. They look cute with jeans.
We got some new Berroco Comfort Sock in the shop, and that is one of those yarns that needs to be knit up so people can see what the pattern looks like. Unfortunately I was really sick of knitting socks, so I decided to knit a tiny baby hat. I think it would be really handsome and modern on a little boy. This stuff is so soft too – it’s the same yarn I used for my Dad’s socks at Christmas.
And with that, I am off to enjoy shopping and company at the quilt show. Have a fabulous weekend everyone!
My boss and friend Whitney has been looking forward to having another little girl join her family. So when I saw the Ruffles Quilt on the Moda Bake Shop (awesome site by the way, especially if you have a ton of precuts in your stash. Ahem.) I knew that it would make a great baby gift. (As always, click for a larger image)
It’s made using a jelly roll, and while the construction is not too complex, it has these sweet little ruffles.
I used moda Glace for the fabric, because I thought it suited Whitney. More vintage than girly. I did make a lot of changes to the pattern though:
- You don’t need to buy yardage for this quilt as the pattern suggests (other than for the backing). Just pick 5 strips from your jelly roll for the strips under the ruffles, and 10 strips to use as the actual ruffles. I used all one colour for the ruffles (in this case cream).
- You need exactly one yard for the backing, not 1.5 as the pattern suggests.
- You are not likely to get all the pieces out of one strip that it calls for (2 x 10″, 2 x 7″ and 2 x 5″). That adds up to exactly 44″, and there are very few quilting fabrics, especially from moda, that are actually a full 44″ wide when you cut off the selvages. You can solve this one of two ways – make one pair of pieces a little shorter (like the 10″ becoming 8″) or use more strips when you do your cutting, which is what I did.
I did some straight line quilting, as I didn’t want to take away from the ruffles at all. I think it gives a nice linear to the very curly background fabric.
I used 4 strips from the jelly roll to do the binding. I love being able to use the strips this way – I think it gives more interest to the quilt without being overwhelming.
I also had some fun with my little baby stamps when I made the card to go with the gift. I have to say, it is nice to know the gender of the baby when you are making gifts!
And I got everything finished just in time, because the baby’s here! I got a great little text from Whit the other day saying she loved it:
Now if only the quilt was half as cute as it’s recipent! Congrats to you and your family Whitney!
Lots of new listings this morning in the shop, including a few rolls made with limited edition fabrics (there will only be a couple of these!). Lots more to come in the next few days!
As promised, I have a ton of cards that I have worked on over the last little while that I haven’t had a chance to blog. Rather than blathering on, here they are!
Yeah, that’s how far behind I am. Here is the Christmas card I made this year. I did 70 of them…..gah.
This one was for my niece – it went with the headband that I made for her. She is a tough age – 14.
I really liked how this one came out. This was for my friend Janice. The bird part is actually free from the card. It swings back and forth.
This one goes with the camo wallet for my nephew. I can’t believe he is 12 already.
This one has a different opening style than I usually use.
And with that, I am mostly caught up! Hope you are able to find some inspiration to make your own cards. They are much more personal than a store bought card, and once you get started, they are less expensive too!
January and February are the busy season in my family for birthdays. I can think of 9 without even checking the calendar. So I have been busy making gifts and cards over the last little while – I thought I would do one big post on the gifts, and then do another huge post on the cards later this week. If any of the Emerson’s are reading – stop now! Don’t spoil Z’s birthday gift.
I love to give handmade things for birthdays; it is less stressful than trying to do them at the holidays and I think it lets me come up with something more personal. Maybe next year though I can just get everyone to spread their birthdays out a bit more?
For Laura I made a small wall hanging to match the logo for her business. One of the cool things she does it turn on a web cam when she is quilting customers quilts. That means that you can watch as the machine works away on your quilt. I thought she might be able to hang this in the background so you could see it on the webcam. It’s about 12″ square or so.
I made my niece a headband using this tutorial, which was really a lot of fun. I used an old handbag for the leatherette and an extra strap that had actually come with a strapless bra I bought. It was the perfect size for the job. My niece was turning 14, so it is probably not as cool as a Hollister gift card, but hopefully she will like it enough to wear it once and a while.
For missbedora, my best friend and makeup guru, I designed a cosmetic brush holder. It is similar in shape to my needle rolls, but had a few different features.
When you unroll it, there is a flap to keep your brushes in place (which is the same as the needle rolls). However when you open that flap…
…it is lined with vinyl to keep the cotton clean and give a nice wipe-able surface.
There are lots of different sized pockets on the inside to hold all the different styles of brushes. And I used a ribbon as the closure to that it could be easily expanded as needed. Plus, if you are in a rush you don’t need to actually tie the ribbon, you can just wrap it around the outside. I am going to be adding these to my shop in the next couple of weeks!
Also, when I was home visiting last fall and was wearing my flannel scarf, missbedora seemed to like it quite a bit.
Hers is made from a super soft flannel in a pretty orange-red colour.
It has a small houndstooth, which I love. My favourite pattern on a fabric. Plus, it is big and fluffy, which is just what you need for winter in Toronto.
The final thing I made was a duct tape wallet for my nephew. I found this awesome camo duct tape, and figured that would be perfect for a 12 year old boy.
It has a little window pocket on one side a lots of card slots, plus your usual spot for money. The great thing about duct tape wallets is you can just add more tape if it ever wears out.
So that is the Jan/Feb gift wrap up – now onto March!
