Not only do I make quilts, but I can also read minds...

I was recently commissioned to make a quilt for someone to take to a baby shower.  The only info given to me "She's having a boy".  Nothing involving the new mom's taste, nursery decor, likes or dislikes, etc.

So here's my interpretation of "She's having a boy".

I stuck with a pretty traditional "boy" palette of greens, blues, and browns.  The only three prints in the entire quilt are Denyse Schmidt's Kitchy Tile in Cornflower, Joel Dewberry's Woodgrain, and Robert Kaufman's Carnaby Street.  Then I threw in some green (some shade of Kona), and white from a thrifted sheet.

I quilted across each square 4 times - both diagonally, vertically, and horizontally.

The back is mostly Kona Ash, with some leftover pieces from the front thrown in.  These photos were taken before it was thrown into the wash, but it crinkled up quite nicely in case you were wondering :)

After the quilt was presented to the new mom at the shower, I was told that she absolutely loved it and exclaimed that it would fit in the nursery perfectly since she was decorating the room in shades of green and was having a large mural of a tree painted on one wall.

I don't know whether to be flattered, or a little frightened!

Winner, winner - and shop news!

Whew - what a week of giveaways!  Definitely a great way to celebrate a year of blogging.  Without further ado, Mr. Random.org picked the following winners....

The voile fat quarter pack is off to Susan, the vintage sheets go to Nikko, and the Flea market fancy/Heather Ross scraps go to Bree.  Congrats winners!  Your packages are already in the mail.

And after being flooded with comments about the Showoff Bag (thanks Rae - and thanks all of you for your kind words!), the winner is #74 - Alli!  Congrats Alli, Rae will send you a copy once the pattern has been finalized.

Whew, back to crafting.  I've got lots of things to post about these days, since I've been in full force nesting mode for the past couple of months.  But first I wanted to let you all know that I finally got my act together and am getting my shop up and running!

My stash of vintage linens is getting incredibly out of hand, but that doesn't seem to stop me from continuing to thrift for them, so I've decided to share the wealth!  I've already listed a small section (and had a couple of sales - woo-hoo!), but I've got TONS more to go through - and even picked up a few more this morning (it's a disease, I tell you).  So keep checking in.

Most of them are listed as fat quarters, but I don't actually cut anything until I receive an order, so most of the times, continuous yardage is available for your larger projects.  I'll also be throwing in some pre-cuts, and handmade quilts as well - so stay tuned!

Showing off my Showoff Bag

When Rae (of Made by Rae, of course) asked me to test out her upcoming Showoff Bag pattern, it couldn't have come at a better time.  My current purse is filled with goldfish cracker crumbs, a miscellany of treasures such as pinecones, rocks, and leaves that Phoebe has collected over the summer, and smells of old milk from waaaaay too many leaky sippy cups.

And who really has time to go through all of that and give it a good washing?  Not this momma!  So when my bag reaches that stage - it's time to sew a new one.

I'm lucky enough to live in the same town as Rae and when she walked in with her lovely chevron version to our monthly crafter's meetup, I knew I had to make one for myself.

The pattern is super easy to follow, and anyone with a basic knowledge of sewing could put this baby together in about an hour or two.

It calls for a heavier home dec weight for the main print of the fabric, but this lightweight cotton print by Michael Miller (Ellie in Amber) was calling my name, so I backed it with a mid-weight interfacing which provided just enough stability to give this bag some shape.

The top panels and straps are made out of a heavy upholstery-weight pillow sham that I got for $1.97 when Linens & Things was going out of business.  Score!  The only bummer is that the sham was shorter than the length the straps called for, so I ended up having to piece them, which kind of annoys me when I look at the photos.  I should have pieced them on the diagonal, but I get a bit lazy regarding things like that.

The best part - nice and roomy - my number one quality in a purse.  Especially when everything you carry around is 95% for your toddler and 5% for you.

The other best part?  Rae has so kindly offered up a free copy of the Showoff Bag pattern to one lucky EmmmyLizzzy reader!  She'll be releasing it later this week and you can be one of the first to get it!  Just leave a comment, any comment, and I'll choose a winner on Friday.

*Comments are now closed!  Thanks for playing everyone.  Winner will be announced soon.*