Pretty Purse

Hi again! Ella and I had a great time Friday night sewing with friends. Ella really loves to be creative - her favorite subject at school is art or "Meet the Masters." They get to emulate famous artists with a variety of techniques, all very fun for this 2nd grader!
Ella and Olivia's purses turned out great! We called it a night when the construction was complete, but the next day, Ella embellished her bag a bit.

We added the butterfly in crystals - although all I did was the ironing. She had all the creative freedom to do as she wished. She's been carrying it around all day with her reading and some chapstick!
And this is why I have not posted since Friday - I was working on getting my quilt basted . To me this is the worst part of making a quilt! My fingers were raw after opening and closing safety pins and it takes so long - at least two hours. I was trying not to look at the clock.So now the fun begins, and my quilt is a little closer to completion. Just in case you missed it earlier - this is the first quilt I have made for myself. All the other quilts have been for others but this is all mine. And I used primaloft instead of cotton batting - it is the down alternative for lots of outdoor gear, kind of high tech. I am always cold so I am excited to have my own warm quilt.

Is it spring yet?

This is the question I keep getting from my girls. They love riding bikes and running around outside - and being stuck inside again is hard.

We have had a busy week and I can't believe it has been a week since I posted last - oops! We were able to play in the fresh air a couple of afternoons, but the snow is still on the sidewalks in places and not child friendly yet. But we are expecting more snow tonight and it is cold outside today - 20's.

This is good reason to sew! Ella has been learning a bit here and there, and tonight we will be working from a pattern to make a simple purse with some good friends. And hopefully Ella and I will be able to make a dress for her as well - tomorrow. I will post pictures when we have them completed.

I have been quilting a bit too. My borders have gone on, so now I just need to clean the kitchen floor to be able to baste, then quilt. I am planning to follow instructions that I found on crazy mom quilts blog. I have tried variations of this in the past - on the table, so I am going to go all the way this time and hopefully be happy with the results. I will let you know how it goes.

Have a good weekend!

I almost forgot that I listed some new bracelets this week in my etsy shop - great items for spring!

Progress

I was able to work on my quilt top off and on today - enough to get it nearly done! It just needs a few more borders to frame the piecework, and then I will move on to quilting.I am loving the fabrics all together, and I am very excited to see it come together!

I also wanted to share some of my previous quilts -This one is for my little man! He loves all the bright colors and dives into it in his bed or on the floor. I made this for my oldest daughter. When she was an infant I found this pattern online here and had plans to make it for years. I had Ella decide which fabrics she wanted in her quilt and it grew and grew. I made it while pregnant with Owen and in the months following. There is a lot of piecework - about 100 blocks. She loves her quilt!This little gem was made for Sophia - 2 1/2 now, when she was a baby it measures just 30" square. A sweet size for nursing and cuddling with!

Emmalie also had a baby quilt. The squares are just 1" and quite adorable. Em is now begging me for a bigger quilt - it doesn't fit her anymore! She's 4.I've made other quilts as gifts - the little 30" square is a great fast project for shower gifts. Enjoy!

More Inspiration

I have been to the library to borrow more books for more inspiration - I love the library! I took my girls 7.5, 4, 2.5 with me - they love books too. We looked through the aisle of books and the youngest picked out all the pink bindings that she found. While the older two looked at the covers of the books or read the title. I was pleased to find a nice selection of quilting books, with ideas on color theory, and project ideas. I am still looking through them but will let you know when I find my stroke of genius!

Amy at Priddy Creations announced a sale in her etsy shop - her creations are sweet and she just added a brand new removable camera strap cover.

Baby Food

So today my creativity came out in making baby purees for my little man. Owen is nearly 9 months old and loves food! I purchased about a month ago "Top 100 Baby Purees" by Annabel Karmel, and it has great recipes. It's also been very inspiring! To top it all off Owen loves everything I've made so far. Not only do I save money making his food, but I get to select the quality of foods that he is eating.

Now, my freezer is full for a few more weeks and I can get back to my quilt! If you have a young one I highly encourage you to check out the book and consider making your own purees.

My favorite puree of the day started with onion sauted in butter. Then I added potato, broccoli, spinach and peas. I even tasted it - I was impressed it tasted good and the house smelled like soup.

Old Red Barn Co.

I just learned of this giveaway - a brand new handmade quilt. You just have to leave a comment to be entered to win!

http://oldredbarnco.blogspot.com/2008/03/giving-away-quilt.html


More Later!
Amy

Getting Started

Welcome! I have been thinking for some time about my own blog. My husband and I post photos and commentary to our family blog, we have many friends and family elsewhere, but decided after much research that I needed my own blog. This corresponds with my new etsy shop. Check it out!

I have been a busy bee lately getting things put together for etsy - a little trial and error. I had a ton of raw silk fabric from our wedding and decided that totes would be super cute and a little bit luxurious. So far I am waiting for more people to take notice, I think I need to work on my pictures a bit more - like I said trial and error. So I have moved on. =)

I have been quilting! I have made quilts for my kids, my niece, and I have not made one for myself - until now. I was eagerly awaiting the arrive of the Posh collection - I fell in love with it in December, it finally was available (two weeks ago) and I have mine. I just love it, and being able to sit at my machine with it - while the kids sleep of course - has been bliss! Let me know what you think.






















I have a very sweet baby/little girl bracelet design that I have not seen anywhere on etsy so I will be working on making a few of those and then wait for them to be noticed.

Stay Tuned!
Amy

PS - Leave Comments - I would love to hear from you.