Darin' to be Squarish...

Last year I picked up this great book on modern quilts called Dare to be Square by Boo Davis. It is definitely a beginner's book, which was great, and after doing a few traditional quilts I was looking to do something different. Most of her stuff is pretty hard core and innappropriate (which I didn't know until after buying the book and googling her) so if you check out her website, fair warning it's crude. Her book, however, has more of a cute, fun approach to block-by-block quilting. Here are the couple that I made:

For my first two kids I had crocheted them baby blankets. Well... ever since stepping into the world of Quilting I have had very little desire to ever crochet a blanket again. I have picked up the hook for a couple beanies but even then I was itching to get back to my machine. So, I decided baby number 3 would get a quilt. I loved the wiener dog and it was so easy! Definitely had this done in a weekend. I decided to back it with flannel to give it a little extra coziness since quilts can take several washes before they have that wonderful worn-in soft, comfy feeling.

My 5 year old (then 4) had been asking me to make her a quilt and she really liked the Robot on page . So we headed to JoAnn's and I let her help pick out the fabric. Disregarding all my best efforts to sway her color choice she picked a green robot with a pink background and purple accents. She was even particular about the exact fabric and shade of color she chose.

I was actually surprised with how it came together and it wasn't as hideous as I imagined it would be. I added the piano key borders because I did want to make it big enough to fit on a full size bed. My daughter was very happy with it and when I finished she said "wow" and promptly asked when I was going to make her another one. HA! Got to love kids!!

I also made the bunnies from the end of the book, two of which coordinate with the blankets.

The greatest thing I learned from making these quilts was how easy it was to take a concept and make it into a design. It gave me some confidence in my ability to come up with something on my own. Since then I have made several quilts that I just sort of drew out what I wanted it to look like and took and block-by-block approach to piecing them. It's always fun to see how they turn out. I will still follow patterns when I see one I like but I definitely have gained some freedom from my desire to always follow a pattern.

Until next week....

Holly

Ahoy!

I'm taking a break from my quilts for a bit to tell you about my newest hobby: sailing.

...joking...

One of my favorite movies is What About Bob?.  You HAVE to watch the "I'm Sailing" video clip.  It's one minute long. Do it.  You know you want to.

"Dr. Marvin!  Guess what! Ahoy! I sail!  I'm a sailor! Isn't this a breakthrough?!  Out on a boat...on a lake...way far away from the dock...with the wind, and the wind, and, and the sky and everything??  AHOOOY!"""

No, really, I am taking a break from my quilts (just finished one last week!) (and I have two more to work on!) to sew a couple little ties onto some onesies.  I had a friend special order a tie with a sailboat theme (hence my reference to What About Bob), as she's going to an 80th birthday party for someone in her family, and there is some sailing significance.  

not sewing the little onesie to itself is difficult

 As soon as I finished her order, she called and said her cousin wanted the same thing for HER baby boy, so ...  fabric shopping, onesie buying, and bing bang BOOM!  Two sailing twinsies in onesies will be showing up to the party in STYLE!

corners are difficult

So my question is...when using a zig zag stitch, how do you make the corners identical?  As I'm turning the shirt, sometimes it looks like I went over it twice (like the top left corner) and sometimes it looks like I completely skipped it (like the top right corner)!  Any help on that one? 

Maybe I can get a cute picture of the 2 boys in their shirts and post an update! I'll see what I can do for you, faithful readers...  

Did you watch the video clip?  :)

Sewing For Boys

It's no secret to my friends and family that I would like a girl this time round. Boys are great, and I love the two I have, but let's be honest with each other for a moment.. girls clothes are way cuter than boy clothes. That is really my only reason, so you can tell I won't be too heart broken if it is another boy.

Having two little boys and being sewing mates with Melody who also has two little boys, and Miranda who has one, we have found some fun, easy things to make for boys. There are a lot blogs out there with great ideas and here are a couple of my go to favorites for my boys and gifts for other little boys I know.

You can't go wrong with a business casual look for your little man. This tie shirt pattern/tutorial can be found on tons of websites but I got mine here. It is originally sized for a onesie but is easily transferable to toddler and little boy sizes just by enlarging and elongating the pattern. I got these shirts on clearance for $1.50 at Target and typically I use scrap fabric.

Pair it with matching pants, pattern from MADE, and you have a great outfit. I have gotten several comments on these cute hounds tooth pants I made for my little one's birthday. Although Dana from MADE must have skinny kids because I did have to add to the width of the pattern in order for the 2t/3t size to fit my 2 year old. But that's the beauty of making things more than once.. you get to prefect it and make it yours!

Well see you next week. Hopefully I will have some piecing work done on my quilt to show you, but in the mean time I need to figure out how to take better pictures of my stuff!!

Holly