Feels Like Home: 2011

...and who knew I could actually do it! I had to consult my trust pal Google Search several times for clarification, but I actually followed my first pattern ever! I had saved a link to this heart garland a year ago, but I couldn't figure out how to read the crochet pattern. But I figured it out! And it turned out cute!

I'm beginning to think that a garland really helps the holiday along!

closeup of hearts and pompom

Sarah's Springtime Quilt

My friend Sarah recently had her birthday and I decided, last minute (very typical of me), to make her a cute little quilt. I know she loves green, and since it has been so blah here lately I decided a spring-y flowerpot quilt would be perfect! Flickr is a great place for inspiration, so I found a picture of a quilt that looked easy and pretty fun. It had the cute 3-D daisies on it, so I found a link for fabric daisies I had saved and got to work!

measures about 15" x 18"

Cute fabric daisies -- you could really make one to match everything because they are so cute!

It turns out that not only does Sarah like green, but she is a polka-dot girl! Bonus!

Lime green binding -- you can't go wrong!

Happy Birthday, Sarah!

I Won Scraps!

Quite a while ago (last summer-ish) I won a box of scraps from Jodi. I love other people's scraps -- the possibilities are endless! I had so much fun rifling through the box admiring the different little pieces!

Oooooh, what's inside?!

Crammed full of such fun little scraps!

The red paisley in the bottom of the picture was my favorite piece in there!

I've already used these scraps for skirts for the girls, coasters for my SIL (that actually never got sent....oops), and I've made a ton of string blocks from the skinny strips which I hope will be a fun string quilt, all from scraps! Thanks so much, Jodi! I love them!

This Makes a Quilting Mom's Heart Proud

Chelsey, laying out her very first quilt, a gift from her dad

Super Ry to the Rescue!

What little boy wouldn't want a super hero cape?! Well, it has been over a month since I gave this to Ryan and he has worn it about five times for about thirty seconds each time. I guess he'll grow into it? Hmmmm. But it was really fun to make! (Pattern here)

He picked out green for his favorite color...

...and Lightning McQueen because it's Lightning McQueen!

Denise's Quillow

I have never made a quillow before but I did have a pattern I saved from an old Love of Quilting magazine that I just knew would come in handy someday! My MIL Denise watched our kids while we had a wonderful trip to San Francisco for the AAP Conference last October. While she was staying in our chilly house she discovered our old quillow in the closet and loved that when it was unfolded there was a pocket for her feet to stay warm in! I told her I would definitely have to make her one, and here it is:

I thought this fabric was so cute, and the flannel, called "Boysenberry," seemed to be just right for this quilt!

Here is the quillow in pillow form. I thought it turned out really cute!

Merry Christmas, Denise!

Homemade Christmas Presents are the Best

I love making these snowman ornaments (my original design).

felt snap clips (ideas found here and here) for four sweet little nieces

yo-yo Christmas trees (idea found here) for two wonderful grandmother-y women!

Harvest Quilt Put on Hold...

The center is done -- just have to decide about the borders!

Meanwhile, the scraps were so pretty I just kept piecing them into little 2-in strips. I'm thinking a table runner! (More details upon completion of both projects)

Candy Corn Bunting

The more buntings I make, the more I realize that they are pretty cute (and cheap!) decorations

for holidays! For Halloween I made a cute candy corn bunting, which I realize now I did not get a decent picture of, but this black light one at our Halloween party is pretty cool!

Bertie III

This is version III of "Bertie," based on a pattern from Love of Quilting I have saved for several years! I made the first two for my mom's and my sister's birthdays and delivered them last July while actually in the same state as them. (That only happens approximately twice a year!) I did finally get mine done in time to show it and my Noah's Ark quilt at the Mormon Trail Center Quilt Show. That was a fun time! Ryan is my little quilt buddy, and he at the age of two definitely can appreciate beautiful quilts! I was pushing him along in his stroller and his cute little voice kept saying, "Oooooo, that cute!" I'm not too worried about making him too girly with the way he loves balls, cars, and choo-choo trains!

measures approximately 12.5" x 18.5"

Noah's Ark Stitchery -- Finally Done!

One day I stumbled across a beautiful stitchery blog and immediately knew I wanted to make Lynette's BOM Noah's Ark stitcheries. I had so much fun using her patterns! She has a Flickr group for this project, and perusing through it gave me the inspiration of how I wanted to finish it off. It turned out great! But I do want to give most of the fabric-choice to credit to my awesome mom and sister -- three sets of eyes picking out the fabrics worked so much better than just mine alone!