Wedding Shower Gift for California Niece

I just finished and presented the baby quilt for my Connecticut niece and need to make a bridal shower gift for my California niece--in one day!  It has to arrive by mail on Friday...

So, let's start sewing...

The apron ties and neck straps, both long and short (with D-ring) are pressed in half and half again.  Sew all around the edges and they're ready to attach.

Here's the apron body pre-washed, cut and pressed.

More Amy Butler fabrics, of course!

Pin the ties and straps in the appropriate spots and tuck them inside.

Here comes the other side of the reversible chef's apron to sandwich the straps and ties inside.  Pin it all in place.

Be sure to leave the bottom open for turning right sides out!

Sew edges all around after turning and pressing.  I go around twice--once at the edge and again about 1/4 inch in from the first stitching for durability.

I love this Sew Eez tool for turning and sharpening corners. My grandmother, Bido, gave it to me long ago when she taught me to sew.  

I found it on Etsy and EBay as a vintage sewing tool from mid-century.

I guess that makes me a vintage sewer!

But I'm still pretty fast. The apron is done. 

Now on to the note pad holder.

Here is the one I made for myself a couple years ago-- 

and the pattern I bought to make it by This & That.

You can make "Just a Note" with scraps. 

These happen to be more Amy Butler fabrics from other projects.

The inside is pieced with right and left side for two different sized pockets.

The pieces are interfaced with fusible facing for body.

The pockets are pressed in half for extra sturdiness.

Flaps go on the outside which is one piece

and the inside with the pockets.

Attach some Velcro to the inside flap and on the outside

at the end opposite the flap.

Attach some batting to the back of the pocket side 

just inside the 1/4 inch seam to make it soft.

Sew the inside pocket piece and the outside piece right sides together.  Leave the bottom open 4 inches to turn. Press and then stitch all around the edges.

I stitch in the ditch down the center seam and the flap seam to make the note holder puffier like a quilt. 

Add a note pad, a pen, some sticky notes to make a great note pad for grocery lists or to-do lists.  I use some Tacky Glue to attach a scrap of fabric on the top of the pad for a really finished and coordinated look!

Closed!

Whew!  The gifts are done and ready to mail out tomorrow.

This vintage sewer made two items in one day!

Amy Butler Redux

Sara brought me an old Amy Butler sheet set to make into valances and a bed skirt for Lily's bedroom. Now that Lily's a toddler, her room decor needs to grow with her--even if the sheets have already been decor for Mom and Dad's bedroom earlier in their marriage.

The pillow cases had a great border and were just the right size to make a stagecoach style valance.  I split the seam and opened up the pillow case.  I cut the valance to hang 18 inches.  I attached the finished valance with Velcro directly to the wood blind header.

I used some lining from the Amy Butler panels my sister-in-law sent me to use for yoga bags.  I save everything!  These valances are not just redux-- but also recycled.

I saved the labels also!  Re-attached, recycled, redux...

I attached tabs front and back at the middle seam to gather the valance and hide the seam.

This creates two points when the valance is hung.

And the points make a perfect spot for hanging some colorful flower people found at Pier One.

And with the flat sheet, I made a bed skirt.

Ta-da! or La-dee-da!?

April Card Designs

We made some great note cards this month, but missed one of our regulars and her kits.  We had a new crafter join us--and hope she continues to enjoy our monthly get-together.  She'll bring a card design and kits next month.

Bonnie's birthday bee card

Dianne's pink and blue floral frames--with butterfly

Boy Quilt Continued

The Great White Hunter has arrived!  That's what his great-grandfather calls him!  His quilt is ready to present to him next weekend.  It was great fun designing it and sewing it for him.  My first boy-themed rag quilt.

I started with the small squares, sewing two together in a continuous seam which I clipped apart later.

Then I sewed the two squares with opposite patterns together in a continuous seam.

You can see one whole big square of small squares open beyond the sewing machine.

Sew the big squares together (all three layers in this quilt as I added a third layer of solid fabric in primary colors) with a big stitched X to secure the layers.  I did the same with the patched squares.

Sew together the large and small squares to form a row of seven squares.

Then sew seven rows together, row by row, in the desired pattern.

Make sure the seams are all sewn flat, front and back.  

It takes some pinning/unpinning and some finger checking as it slides under the pressure foot.

In this photo, you can see the third layer of red, yellow and green in the large squares.

You can also see the pattern of the rows and the diagonals they create as they are sewn together.

The reverse side is usually all sewn seams, but on this quilt I made a mistake and decided to turn it into a purposeful design of some ragging on the outer rows.  All of the open seams are clipped to create the ragging. After washing and drying, the ragging makes the quilt come alive with texture and color.

Love the blues and the patterns in this quilt!

A Boy Quilt--Blue and Square!

The run of girls is over and a boy is expected soon in the family.  I haven't made a rag quilt for a baby boy yet so I don't have a stash of baby blue flannel. I ordered online from Fabric.com and the box arrived just as I finished a funfetti quilt for a little girl baby.

For the older boys, I've used rectangles. But this time, I wanted to try squares. I have a pattern for a much bigger rag quilt made of squares, so I did some math and drawings to convert the pattern to a baby quilt.

I cut 6 inch squares out of three bright patterns.

I used the smaller patterns for the 3.5 inch squares.

Four of them together will make another 6 inch square.

I cut five 3.5 inch strips from each fabric and then cut those strips into 10 squares.

That's a lot of squares!

And enough sewing prep for one day.

Funfetti Quilt

My niece's favorite birthday cake is a flavor she calls Funfetti. It's actually a Pillsbury cake mix. 

She has requested it for her cake since she was a kid! 

Now she is a mother to an almost two-year-old girl and soon to deliver a little boy.

This should have been her quilt --but the new baby is a boy!

And you can see that this new quilt is very pink!

It's made from a lot of leftover circles from other quilts made for girls.

We've had quite a run of girls in the family recently, but this one

is for a friend of mine whose daughter recently had a daughter.

Sorry, Katherine!

Yours is coming but it won't be pink--or funfetti!

Here it is in progress.  Half-way done sewing.

And the reverse side.

And done today!

March Cards

Green is the color of choice this month since Faith has a March birthday and also a very Irish family! I need a birthday card for her and the basket at the clubhouse is also in need of birthday cards.

I added a die cut birthday or a hello to the pennant banner.  The impression folder for birthdays is new to my stash as well as the word die cuts. I ordered from Paper Wishes recently and was very happy with my loot!

The second card design also used green paper and another impression folder I already owned. I did buy Tim Holtz's impression plates that allowed you to fade out an oval, circle or square for stamping purposes on embossed areas.  I wasn't really happy with it. I did watch the video of  Tim explaining how to use the plates but wasn't pleased with my results.

More practice needed, I guess!

I did use the new slider die cuts to make a slider to go on the ribbon. Carol will be happy it's not a bow! A butterfly can always rescue the design too.