Nesting?

As mentioned in a previous post, I've been on a craft/sewing kick lately. I finished my first ever quilt last Saturday and decided to post some pictures to show it off. Since it's my first ever attempt at a quilt and my first time on a sewing machine in years, it's not perfect. I wish I would have taken a picture before I washed it because washing has bmade the top pucker a little bit. That might be due in part to the fact that I tied it instead of quilting it. I just don't have the patience for hand quilting and I was afraid I would ruin it if I tried machine quilting. But never-the-less it's ababy quilt that I made for my baby, so that makes it special.

I've also tried my hand at a few burp cloths. The inspiration came from homemadebyjill.blogspot.com, but I made some changes. I did a 9x18 rectangle instead of a peanut shape, and instead of just one seam down the middle I actual "quilted" them, sewing a seam down the middle the long way and three seams the short way making 8 squares. I kept the rag edge because it means less pressing and I can be a little less careful with my seam allowance. Here are a few pictures.

I made three different colors and used 6 different fabrics. Here they are lined up in "pairs".

I also made a receiving blanket using two pieces of flannel. I LOVE the print of this one... the stiching on the other hand is a little sub par (as is the picture taking). I may actually pick out the top stitching on this one and re-do it to make the corners more square... but until then here it is.

And last but not least, we dyed easter eggs on Saturday night and I thought I would show off one of my favorites. We had a "Star Wars" egg dyeing kit and it came with a Darth Vader helmet. I decided to color an egg to look like Christian and put the helmet on it. I think it turned out pretty cute.

Saturday craft session

So a little bit of a disclaimer: I am not a crafter. I usually don't have the patience, the skill and/or the creativity to come up with a project and see it through from start to finish. However, for the past few weeks I've been feeling a little restless and in need of a project- a rare feeling for me, but I chalk it up to the "nesting instincts" that supposedly come along with the second half of pregnancy. It's the only way I can explain my sudden need to create (not to mention clean, organize, sanitize and beautify). I was a little bit at a loss for project ideas. Then, miraculously, the other day I was bored and browsing through the "friends" links on my friends and families blogs and I found a link to a delicious new blog with tons of baby crafts and projects. Suddenly I had an inspiration! This is my first attempt at a craft from her blog www.homemadebyjill.blogspot.com- a "take me home" infant tee. I couldn't find a newborn size in these simple side snap shirts, so I bought 0-3 month size. They'll be a little big to begin with (unless she's over 8 pounds at birth, but in my family that would be a pretty big baby... then again C was 9 1/2 pounds... but I digress...), but I figure that's ok since most babies outgrow newborn sizes pretty quickly.

Since the t-shirts come in 2 packs I chose two different colors for my little experiment, and I'm quite happy with the results. I was happy to also be able to find coordinating buttons! If you look closely the stitching isn't perfect. I'm a novice with a sewing machine and sewing ric-rac on to a tiny infant-t is not the easiest task in the world, but overall I don't think they turned out half bad.

Here's another picture with just the pink shirt. I could make a dozen of these to stick in my baby girl's drawer. I keep thinking about all the possibilities: yellow with sunflower buttons, red with heart buttons, purple with butterfly's (I saw some really CUTE buttons at Joanne'S!).

This one little project seems to have tapped into the creative side of my brain. As I was finishing up with the blue shirt I saw a scrap of the ric-rac and thought I could make some cute coordinating headbands. The elastic I had on hand was a little wider than the ric-rac but it works out ok. I'm pretty proud of these little creations too, especially since the idea came from my own noggin! :-)

And THEN I remembered this really cute red gingham ribbon I saved off a recent gift! I had enough that I made a headband for baby and a matching one for me. :-) I've become a crafting monster today.

What's next on the agenda? My mom is teaching me how to quilt. Granted, she is in Michigan and I am in Utah so my instruction comes over the phone, but I bought some super cute flannel at Joanne's and she is walking me through the steps. Stay tuned, because now that I've started crafting I don't think I'll be able to stop!