Postage stamp baby quilt

I'm finally getting around to posting about this little quilt, even though it was finished and given away at the beginning of the month.

Two good friends from college are having a baby and aren't finding out the gender - which usually drives me insane when making quilts - but I decided to base the quilt off of a description of their nursery, which I was told is a beachy theme with blues, aquas, and some hints of orange.

Each of the little squares is 2", which I first strip pieced in threes, then sewed into little nine patches.  Then I sewed four nine patches into larger blocks, then pieced everything together and added the tan border, which reminded me of the sea floor.

I used the same fabric for the backing, which is actually a tablecloth that I picked up on clearance at Target about a year ago.  I free motion quilted it with a loopy pattern that traveled across each of the rows.

I hope this baby knows how special it will be since I cut into some of my precious Heather Ross fabric for this quilt!

Weekend Snapshots

We've been experiencing some crazy weather here in the midwest (mid 80s four days straight!), and spring has been exploding everywhere!

The same weeping cherry tree that I posted about last May is in full bloom....

....and the tulips and daffodils have also made an early appearance.

And we've been taking full advantage of the lovely weather as well.

This weekend also was the first time that Phoebe finally agreed to hold Penelope (with the bribe of 20 bunny marshmallows).  

And just so you don't get the wrong idea about my idyllic little group of pictures, I decided not to include the photos of the piles of laundry, messy house, crying babies, and countless tantrums :) 

Five Fabricaholics

I am so incredibly lucky to have made four wonderful, amazing, talented, and pretty darn crack-me-up-hilarious friends who share my love of sewing, quilting, and all things fabric.  Even better - they live right in the same town as me (two of them within walking distance).  Another plus - one of them owns her own fabric shop, so we're always surrounded by (and spending way too much money on) gorgeous fabric.  

We get together quite often at our Modern Quilt Guild meetings, Rae's Crafty Meetups, and many of our own sewing nights to gossip about blogs, talk about the latest fabric lines, and of course, SEW!

Last night's get together included a scrap swap, and yes - that is Brenda, owner of Pink Castle Fabrics, that is currently being buried in scraps by Natalie of Greenleaf Goods and Ashley - who really needs to start a blog of her own! Omg - Ashley does have a blog!  Nobody tells me anything...SassafrasGirl.  Anna of Woollykat was standing off camera, probably thinking, "these people are out of control".

Let's do it again soon, girls!  Who's free this weekend?

A little too matchy-matchy?

Last week at the Southeast Michigan Crafty Meetup, I discovered that my new shoes (pardon the dirt that they've already accumulated) perfectly matched the fabric that I was sewing with (from this post).

Now if only I could find whatever fabric was used for the interior of the shoe....  I think it would make a pretty great dress for Miss Phoebe.

Coming up next....

This beautiful bundle was all pulled from my stash except for the Bella solid in Flamingo.  A few more vintage sheets might join the mix, because I really love mixing them with the modern prints.  This stage of choosing and combining fabrics is my favorite in the entire quilting process.  The design for this quilt is all in my head, now I just need to sketch it out and do the math - definitely not my favorite part!

A quick switch of mediums

I'm changing gears this weekend from fabric to frosting.

I took a brief hiatus from making cakes towards the end of my pregnancy, but I'm starting back up with orders for two baby showers this weekend.

Three layers of vanilla cake with whipped cookies and cream filling and giant swiss meringue buttercream roses.

As a side note, Phoebe once told a friend of mine who was preparing her lunch that, "I only eat cake and cookies and candy and ice cream".  

It's hard not to in this house.

A little less talk

I have determined that if I would like to continue blogging, I'm going to have to start using more pictures and less words.  Because there's no other way I can fit it into my schedule (or lack there of).  This past week I've been dealing with a sick baby who refuses to sleep or be put down, a toddler who demands constant attention, and a husband who won't have a day off work for two weeks.  That has left very little time for creating - let alone blogging about it! 

But I love this little space, and want to keep it going.  So hopefully some pictures here and there will suffice - at least until Phoebe goes off to preschool in the fall :)

So anyways - Commissioned baby quilt.  Girl.

Ten inch blocks with 1/2 inch sashing in Kona medium gray.  Backed in an Alexander Henry print (I think it's called Petals).

Quilted with straight lines in gray thread.  Final size is about 42" square.

Lots more quilts on the horizon - stay tuned!