Finished birthday quilt

I finished this quilt at least two weeks ago and finally got some pictures of it.

This was a gift I made for my step-dad's 75th birthday.  This is the one I took with me on our trip, and then didn't get to work on while we were there?

(Pardon the bad intruding digit...) But it's done now, and I really really love it.

All the fabrics are from Denyse Schmidt, mostly her DS Quilts collections for JoAnn's.
I cut up a bunch of 5" charms of everything DS I could find in my stash, and then cut a bunch of those into 2.5" squares and made 9-patch blocks sashed with white.

Simple, and lovely.  Then, this quilt practically begged to be straight line quilted, so that's what happened.  The effect is super snuggly, and totally worth it even though it takes a while to get it done.

I was too lazy to measure it (plus the belly is getting in the way these days...) but it will hopefully be good as a reading quilt.  My step-dad reads more books than anyone I've ever known, so I'm hoping it will get lots of use.  Plus, it'll be nice to go "visit" this quilt whenever we go to my parents house!

Little Gentleman Fancy Bow-Ties

I made more "Fancy Bow-Ties" for Matthew back at the start of May.  I just realized I never posted about them!  He's got a nice little collection now and likes to pick one each Sunday to wear to church.

While I was at it, I cut muliple pieces from each fabric instead of one, and made a few of each.

I've listed the "spares" in my Etsy shop.

This is not my own pattern, I made them from this free tutorial you can find here.  They are really quick to make, but sometimes it's easier to get them made by someone else.  Plus they're adorable so it's a win-win.

**For reference, Matthew is 4 years old and these fit him with room to spare.  I cut the velcro a little longer (1.5" or so) so that they'll be adjustable for a while as he grows and last a little longer.  Plus, since the band is tucked into the collar of his shirts you can't see the velcro part. 

Trying new things...

The weekend went fast, as usual, and it's Monday again. 

I'm 32 weeks pregnant now and have reached that stage where bending over is just not comfortable, but fortunately I've got two little helpers (and one very patient husband) so we're all pretty excited to meet the little peanut!

Anyway, end of last week and over the weekend I decided to try a couple new things. 

I really admire people who have skills with yarn.  I can only do one crochet stitch that someone taught me at church in college.  I've made blankets with lots of...um, character, but nothing fancy.  I have trouble counting so I usually avoid patterns.  Sometimes I count backwards mid-count or skip numbers, even if I'm counting aloud... what can I say, I'm just not a numerical person...

I wanted to learn to make a crochet sunburst granny square blanket after seeing such gorgeous pictures on Instagram (mainly from @insidethepaperbox or visit her blog here) and decided to give it a try.  Even though you do have to count. 

I followed these instructions found at nittybits here and so far it's coming along.  I'm trying to get it done before it gets lost in a corner somewhere so you'll be seeing many more yarn pictures.

I picked up a button making kit at JoAnn's (less than $4 I believe) and followed the instructions on the back as a break when my brain started hurting...

My gosh these are so EASY!!!  and so darn fun to make.  They turn out so cute!  But I have no idea what to do with them now.... Besides stare at them obviously. The car and the strawberry are my favorites.  And the snail too. 

I'm pretty proud of myself for trying something new! Here's hoping the rest of it turns out!  I'll keep you posted.

How was your weekend?  Have you tried anything new recently?

finally friday...

I really shouldn't complain, I have awesome pregnancies.  But holy smokes I'm so tired! 

We came back from our trips and weeks of upturned schedules with colds/coughs and though mine is small, it's keeping me from getting any good sleep at night so the rest of the family is really hearing about it during the day!!

I'm not as productive as I'd like to be, which is super frustrating as I know my time is limited...

Anyway, I gifted a quilt to my best friend/sister during our vacation and wouldn't you know it?  I didn't take a single picture of the finished thing....So this is what it looked like as a top.  It's mostly Moda Blue Raspberry solid, and Pat Bravo's Summerlove for Art Gallery with a few other prints thrown in.  The pattern is one from Camille Roskelly. 

The back was more bigger pieces of Summerlove, the last of the Blue Raspberry, and a big strip of white.  I hate making backings...it's so tricky... I cut up even more Summerlove and did a scrappy binding that looked pretty awesome.  And she LOVED it so that was the best part, of course!

I'm working on getting this one done next to mail to my step-dad.  Yes, we were just there to celebrate his 75th birthday (the surprise party was a huge hit, btw, and the whole trip was fantastic!), but I didn't get it done in time....

I've since filled in those rows with more white, and got it basted yesterday.  I kindof want to keep it but I've got enough DS fabrics to make another one just like it. 

I'm so glad it's the weekend!  Such a sigh of relief.  We just picked up the Mr. from work (his birthday is next week!) and he has already taken the kids to the park so I can make dinner in peace!  Nobody took a nap today and everyone neeeeeeds one, so that was fun.  

Oh! And one more thing....Happy National Donut Day!

What I'm working on...

We have about two weeks before we leave for another trip and in the between time I'm trying to get some projects finished that I'll share here before I forget, I hope...

I finished binding these three quilts last night and have put them in my Etsy shop in case you'd like to have a peek. 

I'm taping, tracing, and cutting patterns today to get some kids sewing done because my kids are growing out of everything and never seem to have enough shorts/t-shirts!! I'm going to try out some of the patterns I've bought recently and see how it turns out!

Good plan, right? I'll let you know how it goes...

Since last Wednesday...

-Both kids had their Dr. visits and both kids got shots.  They were both VERY upset that I let this happen.
-I held another Relief Society activity and we tied 8 fleece blankets to be donated so I'm calling it a win.
-Ben's parents came in for a visit from North Carolina that morning and have been staying with us.
-I put together 1 Wiksten tank, 1 Geranium dress, and 1 Geranium top that were cut out and waiting to go (stress relief sewing?). 
-We went to Yellowstone Saturday but didn't see any bears.  Just a really itchy Bison.
-Saturday was also our 6th wedding anniversary and we saw Iron Man (fun!!) after getting home from Yellowstone.
-Ben also graduated from ISU on Saturday (YAY!!!) but decided not to walk (it's his second bachelor's degree so we were all fine to not sit for a super long ceremony).
-I chipped a tooth on some bacon from a delicious sandwich and absolutely remained calm (not at all - I freaked out majorly). 
-Mother's day was Sunday and we BBQ'd for the first time this year. 
-It was also our dog's birthday (he got leftover BBQ so that worked well for him).  He's 6.
-Today the kids are going to the Zoo with grandma and papa while Ben works, I go to the post office (finally) and maybe take a nap do the laundry.
-Tomorrow morning I have to go to the dentist to get my hillbilly tooth problem looked at, Ben's parents head back to NC, Ben works, and I might have time to change the sheets.  If I'm lucky.  

I'm exhausted. 

How are you?

In case you didn't know...

...we have some happy news!! This little lovely is why I haven't been too productive lately, well at least not in sewing things : D

We're expecting a baby girl to join the family on August 18th!! And I'm pretty excited to sew up a bunch of girly baby things!

In other news we had a crazy week last week and all have colds now. Except Ben because he never gets sick. I do have things to show you though so don't go anywhere.

Happy May!!