Day 3 without toddler...

This has certainly been an eventful day! I got my rainbow batik quilt finished and I started and finished four small sensory/security blankets, plus I made a Etsy treasury to showcase fun fall finds from the Florida Etsy Street Team. It's amazing what I can get done when I don't worry about cleaning (you should see my house, it's like a fabric store vomited in my living room).

Anyway, my first picture is to show off my rainbow quilt... I love it!!! I picked out a bunch of fun batiks and created a nice melting effect -- the colors all seem to melt into one another. When you look at it, try to find some neat images (like a turtle) in the batiks. I couldn't find anything nice to make a border out of, so I just matched it with some natural cotton batting and a wonderfully soft cream fleece. It's perfect for the upcoming fall season.

The next four are our sensory security blankets -- they're some of the most popular items at our craft fairs. They have a variety of textures to stimulate baby's sense of touch and a little ribbon that allows you to clip the blanket to your stroller so you don't lose it. They aren't the best pictures (so sue me), but the blankets came out fantastic. The first one is a brown and pink paisley satin with plush pink minky, dark brown swirl fur and brown dot minky backed by pink chenille. Then we have a "jungle theme" with blue satin, blue chenille, and cream minky dot backed by green minky. My personal favorite is the "ABC" themed blanket with red minky dot, dark blue satin, white line minky and backed by the light blue chenille. Lastly is our baby sensory blanket because we only had a small scrap of the pink paisley left and I didn't want to waste it, it's a few inches smaller than the others but still just as cute! It's made with pink satin, plush pink minky and dark pink minky dot on the front and it's backed with pink chenille.

I'll be posting a few of these in our Etsy store soon... Keep an eye out because I'll also be having a contest and the winner will win a SUPER FANTASTIC Halloween-themed Florida Etsy Street Team Art pack (retails for $10 but valued at over $30!!).

:)

Jen

Day 2 without toddler...

I still miss him but at least I know he's having a blast with Grandma and Grandpa at Disney World. This morning he got to eat breakfast with his all-time favorite chick (Mommy is a different category, in case you're wondering) -- Snow White. Reports from my parents indicate he was so in shock that he didn't say a word to her when she talked to him... he just stared in awe. Funny thing is that he's never seen the movie, I've just read him the book... but he loves her all the same.

It comforts me to know he's enjoying himself, but it also makes me happy to hear a little voice on the phone go "Hi mommy!! I miss you..." :).

Anyway, I'm in the middle of redesigning my living room... Not changing the color or anything, but updating the drapes and adding a new picture to the wall (perhaps a few new pillows) and I'm so excited because I just finished my first-ever fully-lined drapery panel!!! YAY! I went out and bought some really beautiful black wooden sconces and finials for a drapery rod because I think these drapes came out fantastic. A long time ago (about... 6 years?) I purchased 10 yards of real dupioni silk on Ebay for $100 -- it was an amazing deal -- and it's sat in my closet because I haven't found anything to really do with it. I had black velvet curtains up there before but I'm trying to tie my new kitchen in with my living room (I repainted the kitchen last year in cream, brown and red), so I wanted red drapes and viola, a reason to use my silk. I still have three panels to go, but the first one came out amazingly well.

I purchased heavy-weight white drapery lining at around $3 a yard, so for around $150 (including tax and thread), I'll have four wide-length, lined 84" drapery panels. I just saw Bed, Bath and Beyond is selling essentially the same drapes I am making for a whopping $100 a piece. I love being able to sew. Seriously.

Also this morning I finished the quilt you all saw in yesterday's post. It took me wayyyyy longer than I thought it would because that's the way I roll.

First, it started with the thought:

I really want to put a bird applique in the center... Let me look online for good pictures of a dove.

So online I went... I found a good picture, made a drawing based off the photograph and decided I didn't like the way the dove was hunched over... so I went and found one of a dove standing straight up. This is what came out:

Once I had the bird drawn, I went to cut out an applique shape. This was a little more difficult than usual since I am out of iron-on backing, but I managed to do it. I sewed it on to the blanket (making one huge mistake -- my foot tension was on 1 because I sewed minky for the back earlier, so my stitches are sloppy... can you tell?) and had the next thought:

Hmmmm... I have to find a nice way to outline the wings and the eyes... I should embroider it...

Which then lead to me embroidering the dove and the branch it was standing on... an hour later I finally had that done and I could actually sew the back on. I made the back out of 12" strips of two different minkys (pink star and blue dot) and two heavy-weight chenilles (16 oz cream and brown) -- I think the effect rocks! Yay!! What do you guys think? The quilt is done except for the hand-tying and the fact I have to close the small opening.

Now moving on to my next quilt -- a batik rainbow :) :)...

Comment away, guys, and let me know what you think!!!!

Day 1 without toddler...

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My son is staying with my parents over at Disney World -- they like to RV and wanted to take him for some quality time... I agreed after a little thought (hey, at least I didn't jump up and down and go YESSSS!!!!). This probably wasn't the best idea seeing as I call my parent's home the "land of do as you please" because they let him eat whatever he wants and don't actually discipline him when he misbehaves.

I miss him something terrible -- I can't even go past his room because it makes me sad :(.

I have, however, managed to get quite a bit done with my sewing. I finished up a few more onesies, now all that's left is the hand-embroidery... I started and finished a beautiful blanket using Joel Dewberry's Aviary line (in the almond/brown/orange color)... and I started and finished the entire front side of a quilt... It might not sound like much, but you try and cut out 72 squares, two different borders, form a nice pattern, piece them together and sew in a few hours. I still have to back the quilt and sew the opening to the JD blanket, but that shouldn't take me too horridly long. They're both going to be thicker blankets, with batting inside, for the upcoming fall/winter season.

Here's the JD blanket -- I love how the oranges and browns capture the fall season... it's filled with 100% all-natural cotton batting and is backed with some of the heaviest weight (16 oz!!!), designer chocolate brown chenille I could find. All three fabrics are from Joel Dewberry's Aviary line and they look simply fabulous together. This is an awesome blanket for fall.



This next one is the quilt front. I still haven't decided what I'm going to back it with -- it'll either be minky or flannel... I'm also tempted to do a cute bird or flower applique in the center, where the same four purple flowered fabrics are because I'm going to make an applique out of the paisley fabric for a onesie.... I just can't decide which one :). I love the colors in this, it's so fantastic for a little girl. A little bit of femininity with the muted colors and fabric designs and a little bit of modern funk with the multi-colored paisley around the border. I call it my "I'm a funky angel" quilt and I can't wait to finish it. It's not terribly large, but it is sizeable -- about 44" square. A good size for a toddler's blanket or a crib decoration.

Anyway, after my recent fabric-buying binge, I've decided to put myself on a supply restriction for all of September and October. I have to keep my purchases under $20 per month for those two months so I can use up enough of the fabric I have on hand. I have boxes... Seriously. To keep myself to it, I'm going to keep this blog updated with my purchases and how much I've spent. Maybe being accountable to the blogosphere will keep me from reaching for my debit card.