Blog Hop Winner, Table Runners, and a Paper Pieced Christmas Wall Hanging

I must first begin by saying WOW! Thank you all so much for entering my Giveaway as part of the Thanksgiving Blog Hop hosted by the Quilting Gallery. I received so many comments and new blog followers! So much fun!

My 4th grader, Mikko, randomly selected comment #50...
... And the winner is Lee. Like so many of you she is thankful for family and friends. I generally reply to each comment or take a look at your blogs (if you are a blogger) and comment, but I don't think I am going to be able to reply to all of these comments! I have emailed Lee to let her know she won.

The Prize - 6 FQ of Happy Go Lucky by Bonnie and Camille

Table Runners - Happy Go Lucky by Bonnie and Camille

A couple of weeks ago, I finally started thinking about Christmas, after being consumed with Nursery Decor for so many months. I wanted to make something handmade for my 5 year old's Pre-K Teachers. He goes to a little private school a couple of days a week, to get out of the house, and perhaps learn how to sit and listen and take turns.wait his turn (yes, if he masters those two skills I will consider the year a success!).

I knew the gifts had to be quick and easy, because my quilting time is limited and I have a bunch of "cooked" goodies I plan to make for neighbors and friends. I decided on table runners, I have a few go to patterns that I generally use, but this time I went even easier and did strips.

I cut 20 - 2.5 inch strips (15 inches long) using two different color schemes from my fat quarter bundle of Happy Go Lucky by Bonnie and Camille. I backed them with Kona Olive and free motion quilted them, bound them with Kona Olive as well.

Red, Green, and Light Blue

Orange, Green, and Light blue

Finished Orange, Green, and Blue

Free Motion Quilted - Steppling Pattern w/ White Thread

Red, Green, and Light Blue (needs binding)

Free Motion Quilted - Loop-ta-loops (That's what I call it, I just make crazy loops all over the place)

Christmas Wall Hanging - Winter's Lane by Kate and Birdie

Of course with thinking about Christmas I really wanted to make a wall hanging and table runner for my own home this year. In March/April I had seen Winter's Lane by Kate and Birdie and put it on my "Fabrics I Want" list, but May rolled around and I was hit hard by pregnancy. Once I was finally feeling a bit better (September) I had a lot of nursery sewing to get done, Christmas decor was pushed from my mind.

I wanted Winter's Lane, but it looks like a LOT of us in the quilting world love that line of fabric because finding it online was not easy. I could find a shop here and there that had a couple of yards of one or two prints, maybe some charm packs, or a jelly roll, etc. Since I was ordering online, I really didn't want to order a yard from one place and then another yard from another, and pay shipping from each store, so it was a bit of search.

Finally I decided on two charm packs and a couple of yards of two different prints would have to do, and I found a great deal at Old South Fabrics. They still have quite a bit of yardage left, the fabric shipped right away, and I had it in my hands within a couple of days! It came cutely wrapped in red tulle with a personal thank you note from the store owner. I don't have a LQS, so the personalized service was charming.

One Lone Star Burst Complete

I had originally thought to keep things simple, but then once I got the fabric and loved it so much I wanted something special, that I would really love for years to come. My plan is to paper piece 4 Lone Star Bursts by Six White Horses and then sash them together, quilt, and bind for a Christmas Wall Hanging. One Lone Stone Burst is complete, and one is in process... and I am really hoping to find time over "Thanksgiving Break" to get it done, because the last several days have not been productive at all in my sewing nook!

Giving Thanks with a Give-Away - Blog Hop Party

I am running a little behind joining this Blog Hop Party, so I am going to make this short and sweet!

For those new to my blog -

I have so much to be thankful for! This has been a year of unexpected blessings and even though some of these blessings seemed overwhelming at first, they are blessings and I am so thankful for them.

My name is Jessica, I am a wife and mom of two boys, 9 and 5, and we have a surprise blessing (baby boy) on the way (due mid-January). I work from home doing accounting and bookkeeping.  I love to quilt and craft, and have been learning to sew things other than quilts over the past year. Since May my life, quilting/crafting, and blog have been hijacked by my pregnancy and all things baby!

Pretty much this is what I have been working on since September - Crib bedding, curtains, wall art, burp rags, fabric baskets, etc. 

I am giving away 6 Fat Quarters of Happy Go Lucky by Bonnie and Camille for Moda. I love this line of Fabric and thought I would share some with my readers!!!

To Enter:

All you have to do to enter is leave me a comment. Share with me something you are thankful for. 

If you follow me, please leave an additional comment for an additional entry. 

The contest is open through November 26th. The winner will be selected randomly on November 27th. I will notify the winner via email, so please leave me your email address in the comment if you are a "no-reply" blogger. 

A list of other blogs participating in the Giving Thanks Give-Away Blog Hop Party will be available on the afternoon of November 21st at the Quilting Gallery. 

Also, I am willing to ship internationally so feel free to enter if you do not live in the United States. 

Happy Blog Hopping and Thanks for Stopping By!!!

A Few More Additions to the Nursery

Before I get to an update on what seems like a never ending Work in Progress, the baby's nursery...  I have to show off this gift set I made for a friend having a baby girl in December. I used Rock-n-Romance by Pat Bravo and Coral Minky to make a blanket. I also used Rock-n-Romance to make three burp rags and a wipes case. Because my life is filled with boys, it is always fun for me to get to make something girly!

Okay, so on to the BIG project that has consumed my sewing/crafting life over the past two months.

I am pretty sure the Nursery is almost finished, but it seems like just when I think I am finished, I come up with something else to make or do.
We are waiting for the changing table/dresser combo to arrive, and once that arrives all of the furniture will be in place, and I can make sure that I like how the room is arranged.

In my last post I mentioned I was starting to work on some art for the walls. I am happy with the way it turned out, and at this point it is on the wall above where I plan to put the changing table.

Next I began decorating letters with his name for the opposite wall. They are not hung yet, apparently my hubby thinks it is going to be a big project to get them centered and level, so he has not wanted to put them up. 

Now you can see, that his name will be Matias (Mah-Tee-Ahs), which is the Finnish translation of Matthias. All of our boys have Finnish names, as my husband's family is Finnsh (his father was born there). Of course there is always the complication of finding a Finnish name that is fairly easy to pronounce and doesn't sound ridiculous to Americans.

I was randomly given a white shelf a couple of weeks ago, and thought I might be able to use it in the nursery. It turned out to be a perfect fit by the glider, to use as a side table. There are three shelves; on the bottom I put blankets, on the middle shelf I made another fabric basket and put burp rags in it, and then on the top I put a lamp.

I bought a plain lampshade and covered it with some of the elephant fabric. My elephants are "dancing" around the lampshade as I struggled to get the elephants perfectly straight so I just let them go at an angle.

I realized last week that I didn't have any burp cloths for the baby and I didn't want to go buy cloth diapers to turn into burp cloths... So I went through my scrap stash of flannel, minky, and fleece and came up with some fabric that I could turn into burp cloths. I made five this week and would like to make a few more. They are nothing fancy, and they only took about 10 minutes each to make, but they are so soft and turned out pretty cute. 

I hope that the next time I post about the nursery it will complete! I can't wait to post pics of how it all came together. 

Art - Baby's Nursery and Family Pics

Now that I have finished the main "sewing" tasks for the baby's nursery I have to start working on the Wall Art. I am trying to avoid painting the room, so I plan to add color with art, and leave the walls white.

I know I am going to do the baby's name with decorated wooden letters on one wall, I just need to go purchase the wooden letters.

I found some cute 8X10 prints on Etsy that could be done in the patterns/colors of the fabric... But I would really rather just make it myself. So I pulled out some canvases that I bought several months back and I am contemplating wrapping it with some of the leftover fabric.

Another thought I had was to use my Cricut and cut vinyl for words and put a Bible verse and a cute poem or saying on a couple of the canvases. I would probably use the verse below with colors that coordinate with the nursery.



 I have a lot of ideas flying around my head, and I need to settle on a couple and devise a plan, otherwise I will wind up with a hodge podge of art pieces that don't work together.

 If anyone has any ideas or suggestions I would be open to them!

Now on to another form of art - photography! One of my friends recently started a small photography business and she took family pics and maternity pics for us a couple of weeks ago. I just have to share because she did a great job, and because my boys are just too adorable not to show off!

Mikko is 9 and Kai will be 5 next week. Kai doesn't really like to smile when getting his picture taken, but he is still cute!

My friend also took some maternity shots for me. It is nice to actually have maternity pics that aren't ridiculous selfies in the bathroom mirror! 

Baby Boy's Nursery In Progress

October is always a busy month for us, and this October is no exception. My parents, sister, her husband, and children came to visit us from Texas for a few days this past week. We won't be spending any of the Holidays together this year so this was our last time together this year. We had a lot of fun together as usual, and snapped a few pics while climbing around at Elephant Rock State Park (Missouri). I'm the pregnant one in the pics :) The two older boys are mine, and the little girl and baby boy are my sister's children.

Even with company and lots of activities going on I have found time to work on sewing nursery decor for Baby Boy #3.

The Crib Bedding is finished - Bumpers, Quilt, and Skirt. I chose to buy white crib sheets, although I continue to contemplate purchasing more minky and making a crib sheet to match.

For the crib skirt I purchased muslin and cut it to the size of the crib bottom, with about an inch seam allowance. I cut three pieces of Chartreuse Chevron to the size of the crib as well (both sides and front), with a one inch allowance for hemming and 1/2 inch seam allowance for sewing to the muslin. I didn't see any need to have a back side since the crib is against the wall and that part of the skirt would never be seen. There are so many beautiful options for ruffling and pleating a crib skirt, but I decided to keep things simple and just have a straight skirt.

I made two fabric baskets/buckets for diapers, wipes, and other miscellaneous items. I so enjoyed making those baskets. Maybe its the very logical side of me that loves to make something so usable and practical. I see many more fabric basket making projects in my future. I modified a tutorial from Sew 4 Home. I didn't want handles or ric-rac around the top of the basket so I left that part out. Also, I am not sure if I used the right foundation either because I have no clue if I bought the right thing, honestly I should never chit chat with my sister on the phone while shopping at the fabric store LOL. Even if I didn't use the right foundation, I was pleased with my finished product!

I am currently sewing curtains for the nursery. One panel is finished and I hope to sew the second panel today. I had a difficult time deciding what to do for these curtains, but yesterday after some brain storming I settled on one idea. I like the results so far. I went with about 10 inches of the Chartreuse Elephant print up top (13 inches total for seam allowance and folding over to thread the curtain rod), and the lower section Navy Gotcha. I wanted a seam that appeared more finished, so I used Chartreuse Chevron and piping to sandwich between the two prints. I will also make Chartreuse Chevron ties for pulling the curtains back.

After I finish the curtains I will be done sewing nursery decor for a bit, while I work on the walls. I plan to put his name up on the wall with decorated wooden letters, along with some other art. I also have a mobile idea that I need to start working on.

I hope all of you are having a lovely week and enjoying beautiful weather like us!

Nursery Decor and Crib Quilt - WIP

I had really planned to do much more sewing/quilting last week than I actually did, but the weekend was busier than I planned. I managed to finish the crib bumpers. 

I cut the fabric for the crib skirt, but I am waiting for the crib to arrive to sew the crib skirt, just in case the "standard" measurements don't work. 

By the way here is a pic of the crib. 

It has been quite some time since I have had a baby, and I have learned in the crib buying process that finding a crib with the railing that slides up and down is virtually impossible. I understand that those types of cribs are no longer safe and I must now have a "fixed side" crib... Honestly this is posing a big problem for my rather petite self (4ft 11in to be exact). So I decided that I will have to find myself a cute step stool to keep in the nursery just to be able to lay the baby in his crib without tossing him LOL! I know the mattress adjusts and when they are tiny babies it can be up high, so that will be helpful, but once the mattress has to be lowered I am not sure how it is going to work.

 Of course, if I wasn't so insistent on nursing and rocking my babies to sleep this wouldn't be an issue either. Like my husband says, why do we even need a crib, our babies never even sleep in it. He is right, the crib is basically a way to display the adorable crib bedding I am making and to decorate the nursery. 

I was so tempted to make a "puff quilt" as the crib quilt, but after much internal debate, my practical side won out. Whew! A puff quilt is way too heavy to actually be used as a blanket, so I am just making a "regular" quilt. 

Since the fabric I chose is so bold and bright, I chose to keep the quilt design simple. I cut 6X6 squares from 7 different fabrics. I lined them up in rows, 7 across and 9 down, with each pattern coming down at a diagonal. 

I have all but two rows sewn together and plan to finish the top within the next couple of days. Once the top is complete attaching the Minky and quilting should go quickly... But I think I would like to applique the baby's name or initials or something on the back. 

That is what I am sewing this week! 

A Whole Lot Going On

Its been a month since I posted! I didn't mean for so much time to go by, but it has been such a busy last month with some traveling, school starting back, and some BIG NEWS!!!

Over the past month I have worked on baby gifts for a few girlfriends expecting their own sweet babies in the next few months. I didn't want to show pictures or go into too much detail because they might actually read my blog (who knows) and I didn't want to spoil the surprise. At this point I have so many friends expecting babies, I figure if I don't give too many details no one will know which item is for which baby :)

I am not quite finished with the set using Rock N Romance. Still have to finish up one burp cloth and make the wipes case, as well as finish the binding on the blanket.

Now on to the BIG NEWS!!!

We are having a BABY BOY!!! Yes, this will be boy #3 for us. We are very excited and I am so happy to finally start working on his nursery.

It is definitely a blank canvas at this point, an empty room with white walls. We chose Navy and Chartreuse as the main colors for the nursery. I have a rather large list of things I would like to make to turn this blank canvas into an adorable nursery for our baby boy.

For the bedding and some of the decor I picked out fabrics by Premier Prints and ordered them from Fabric.com.

The crib bedding will set the color scheme and pattern for the entire nursery. Below are the three main prints that I am using for the bumper and crib skirt. These prints will be used throughout the nursery, along with a few other prints in this color scheme.

       
   

I added in several more coordinating prints to make the crib quilt, with a Navy Minky backing.

I have never made a crib bumper before so I did a lot of searching for the perfect pattern/tutorial. I am basically following a tutorial from Sew 4 Home.

I made a couple of changes to better suit my needs. The first one being I didn't do the rounded edges. It seemed slightly feminine to me, and I wanted to make sure that while the nursery is cute that it stayed masculine as well.

I completed the first of the six individual bumper pieces before cutting the rest of the fabric, just to make sure that it turned out alright. One change I had to make was that I cut the fabric 28 inches wide instead of 27 inches. I am not sure why, but when I cut the fabric 27 inches wide there just wasn't enough space left to fold the fabric under and stitch close, once the bumper pad was inside. Otherwise the bumpers are turning out lovely and going rather quickly. I was pleasantly surprised how easy they were to make.

Oh yeah, my absolute LEAST favorite part of this whole project is making the ties! That involves making 24 little tubes of fabric that have to be turned right side out, I can't stand doing that! Ugh, so tedious, in fact I think it takes me longer to make a set of 4 of those fabric tubes than to make one of the six bumper pads.

I only have 4 more of these to go!!! Woohoo!

Also, I have fallen in love with piping and my zipper foot through this process. Although I have been quilting for several years, I have only been tackling small sewing projects for the last year, so I was really intimidated by the whole piping thing. It is so easy, and I can't wait to use it to finish sofa pillows and other projects in the future.

I found this great tutorial from A Little Bit Biased to show me how to fold my fabric and cut on the bias. It is terrific! I can't wait to use it for cutting quilt binding in the future.

I have two more bumper pads to finish up and I will be finished with the crib bumper, then on to the crib skirt and quilt, and the bedding will be complete.

The rest of my "To Do" list or should I say my "Would Like To Do" list is below:

Curtains
Minky Bumper Pad Cover
A Pillow or Two
Fabric Baskets/Caddies (little bit nervous about these, yet excited to learn something new)
A Mobile
Decorate Wooden Letters for his name

We still haven't decided if we are going to paint the room. I am trying to find/make items to add color to the walls without painting them. The walls in our home are very heavily textured and it makes painting really difficult, but I also know that paint is really the easiest way to add color quickly to the room... So the decision hasn't actually been made in regards to paint yet, we shall see.

Stay tuned, there will be many more projects to come as we get ready for Baby Boy#3!!!