Gingercake

Simple HST Quilt in Solids

 

 

Last month my oldest turned 10.  TEN!  Hard to believe ten years have passed since she was a little tiny sweet baby.  She is a great girl and into style and trends and all things bright and beautiful (like most 10 year olds!).  I made this Half Square Triangle quilt for her gift and it is a big hit.  It is similar to this picnic blanket I made last year.

I used this technique to cut my HSTs and I used bella solds from Bloomerie fabrics.  The fabric was wonderful and the colors were so bright and bold.  It was exactly what I wanted.  The fabric colors I used were zen grey, amelia orange, peacock, peony, purple and buttercup.   I ordered a 1/2 a yard of each of the six fabrics and then cut the 1/2 yards into 18'' squares that were cut down into the 8 HSTs.  I used the extra 6'' strips to make squares to mix in and fill empty spots.

Although I shopped and shopped online for the backing and binding, I ended up just going to Joann fabrics so that I could make sure that the colors matched.  I knew that I wanted something with a bold print for the backing and this cute peacock fabric worked great.  Also, the polkadot orange for the binding was fine.  I would have preferred a stripe but I just couldn't find one I liked at Joann's so this had to work!  

Below is my poor attempt at the classic outdoor photo of the quilt floating in the air~

The colors are wierd and the photo quality is poor since my fancy new camera still baffles me sometimes.  But at least you can see how all the squares fit together.  Although it was my intention to put it together randomly, I still paid attention to mixing colors and letting some triangles and squares block together.  I really liked how modern it felt in the end.

Quilts are a challenge!  The biggest challenge for me is how time consuming they are and also the actaully quilting. It's a pain to wrangle all that fabric on my machine.  But this half square triangle type is a simple and fun construction and a twin size is not too hard on your regular home machine.  Making a quilt always makes me admire quilters who create complicated tops and the even more complicated quilting patterns!  

TooSweets Tulip Pinafore for the Sew Fab Pattern Sale

This simple and sweet pattern is part of the Sew fab pattern bundle that I am promoting this week.  Read all about the bundle details here.  I really loved making this fun (I learned some new tricks too!) and easy pattern.  I made it during a naptime with extra time to spare...

TooSweets did a great job designing this pattern.  It is simple and straightforward and I love Miss Marion's new top!

This is just one of the several things I sewed from the bundle that I will be sharing this week!  I used Leah Duncan's Tule line from Art Gallery fabrics.  Art Gallery fabrics are wonderful for garmet clothing since they are lighter and softer than many of the quilting cottons out there.

It was really fun to make this fully lined garmet that involved not one bit of hand sewing!  Well, with the exception of the button, but you could do a snap and completely avoid getting out your needle and thread.  That is one problem with lined garmets for me- having to handsew in that lining to get a nice finish is always a drag, right?

And, she's running out the door!  Obviously the end of our photo shoot :) Get your sew fab bundles while they last!

AND- don't miss out on those amazing giveaways! 

Holiday Gifts Sewing Series: Lots of Pink Here Takes on the Art Caddy!

Today we have Amy Dunn of Lots of Pink Here.  Amy is a great friend and very creative sewer.  Her choices in fabric are always amazing!  In fact, Amy has her own adorable fabric shop called Pinked Fabrics that I love!  Amy took on the Art Caddy Sewing Pattern which makes a wonderful gift.  Head over to her blog to see how she made sewing the Art Caddy Easier AND leave a comment for your chance to win the pattern for yourself!

One for the Boy...

My poor boy.  His sisters get new stuff from Mom all the time but the last time we went somewhere, he had to pack his stuff in a reusable grocery bag!  If you have a boy, you will know that they just don't seem to care about that kind of stuff.  At all.  They care a lot if their sisters get more bacon than them on their breakfast plate, but not so much about sisters getting new handmade clothes or duffle bags.  He needed this one though-  Our lake trip is only a week away and now he can pack his bathing suits in a duffle bag instead of a grocery tote!  

The fabric is  AnnKelle's new funbots in royal.  It is so so so cute and fun.  Kelle's fabric makes everything adorable and the kids are always so happy.  I swear, all the favorite kid things are made from AnnKelle fabric.  AND- Cal loves the new bag!

 

Sneak Peek- Owl Bag Fans Mark Your Calendars!

This variation of my Lola Owl Bag will be in Simple Quilts and Sewing Magazine in September 2013.  How exciting to be in such a cute magazine!  The body is more curved and I did the belly, eyes and beak differently.  Instructions to make the bag with 4 fat quarters will be included in the magazine!  I made these with Summerhome by Red Rooster which I chose together with the editor of the magazine.  It was so fun to receive a stack of fat quarters in the mail and turn them into owl bags! 

Today is the last day of the Lunch Bag Sale!  Head over to the shop to get $2 off per pattern is you have not already bought the lunch bag patterns!  Sale ends tonight.

Some Weekend Sewing- Mushroom Short Pants

Over the weekend I sewed a couple things for the baby.  She is so cute right now and it's fun to pick out fabrics for her.  I like sweet but fun fabrics on babies and this ann kelle print is perfect!

I followed Made by Rae's baby pants but added a panel to the bottom for some extra space.  I also shortened them for a shorts/ bloomers look.  I made a bunch of these pants before the baby was born.  They look so tiny now!  

I added a 7" piece of 1/4" elastic to the hemmed pant openings and stretched it to make a simple ruching. They turned out really cute!  More baby clothes cutenss later in the week...

Fabric: Ann Kelle Woodland Pals Bermuda

Color Block Triangle Quilt

It always feels great to complete a quilt.  Even the simple versions of quilts that I make!  I love how this one turned out.  Cal was ready to celebrate too...

I made this by using a 1/2 yard of six solid fabrics.  For inspiration I visited this site which is great way to guide you for mixing solids.  I never would have thought to add the navy and it really makes the whole quilt pop.  

Cut the 1/2 yards of fabric in 18" x 18" pieces (each color will make 2 squares for a total of 12 squares).   Match up the pieces with 6 different combinations.  Then use this method to make your HSTs.  Awesome tip!  The only change I made was to increase the size of the squares to 18" x 18".  I like the bigger pieces and it comes together really quickly.  Then just mess around until you have a fun pattern.  

I quilted it by stiching in the ditch (along the seams) along the zig zag and then down the center of the triangles.  I like the fun pattern it made on the back!  The binding is simply more of the solids and then finished using this method by Jeni Baker.  You would have to purchase a little more than 1/2 yard of the solids to make the binding the same way.  

I used Bella Solids by Moda.  They are lovely!  The backing is just pink flannel.  The finished size of the quilt is 47" x 62".  It's not big enough for a bed but more for the baby to play on the floor and for picnics or a cuddle on the couch.

Infant car Seat Head Support - AKA no more wobbly head

The car seat head support for your newborn is another useful little item to have.  Seeing their little heads all wobbly back there makes a new mama so nervous!  Like that little head on that tiny body is just going to roll right off.  HA!

My awesome sis in law gave me a carseat in nice neautral colors.  Perfect!  To spruce it up a little I made my own head support thingy.  AnneKelle makes everything look more fun and cute, huh?

This was ridiculously easy to make.  I took pictures for a tutorial and hope to share later.  Tutorials are a lot of work though so leave a comment if this even interests you.  Worth the wrok if people want to make one though!  These only cost about $15 at the store but the colors are always to blah.  

Another thing ready for this tiny person!  The baby room is almost done and hope to share pictures of the bedding soon!

Contoured Changing Pad

Although I think the full changing table is bit much, I did find myself using the changing pad with my other kids.  Of course, I got rid of it 4 and a half years ago when I thought I was done with all that little baby stuff.  So when I bought my boppy, I also bought a nice new changing pad.  I had a really nice cover for my old pad- a nice cover but a bad fit!  Washing it was a hassle since I really had to work to get it back on.  This time around I wanted something easier. 

I used this tutorial I found on Pinterest.  I used AMH Folksy Flannel.  This is such a soft and lovely flannel and I recommend it for sure.

 The table is my fabric cutting table that has open shelves underneath for storage.  I made curtain from a vintage sheet and used a $2 tension rod to hold it up under the cabinet.  My messy sewing stuff is still down there but now it is covered and pretty!  The hoops were also already there but I changed a few out to go more with my baby colors.  

The tutorial was well done.  I had to use elastic on the bottom corners to really give it a nice fit.

I also serged all exposed seams since I know I will be washing this cover every week or so.  The last thing I had to do was make button holes for the safety belt.  My other babies were not big time wigglers on the changing table but I figured better safe than sorry instead of taking the belt off.

The button holes actually made the fit even nicer so the effort was worth it.  

The other change on this table was doing a quick new skirt for this lampshade.  I followed my own tutorial!  It was fast and easy although I don't love the color of the lamp or the ribbon I chose for the top.  For now it goes with the room and looks like a baby, right?

I like the fabric (vintage pillowcase of course!) but the color should be brighter and the ribbon on the top softer or something.  It will have to wait though since it's time to move on to new projects!

More baby projects tomorrow so be sure to visit again :)

A Shared Nursery by AnnKelle

A few months ago, Kelle Boyd asked me to sew up a couple of my pillows for a shared sibling nursery she was doing for chic & cheap nurseries.  She chose the farbics and sent them to me.  Angela Crutcher took these beautiful pictures for Kelle.

I love the grey walls and all the mix of textures.  Didn't she do a beautiful job??  Head over to her blog to see all the links for the linens and decor she used.  I made the orange and yellow bird and also a Lola Owl and a coordinating Max Owl. 

The room is shared between a 9 year girl and a baby.  A real challenge to design something fitting for both!  Thanks to Kelle for thinking of me and my pillows to include in the design.  

Beautiful photographs Angela!