Picnic Quilt

Here it is completed! Sorry it's a little wrinkled in these pictures it has already been used a bunch... and I hadn't had a chance to clean it when I had the opportunity to take the pictures

 I am SO happy with the way it turned out-- taking the pictures was the first time I saw the back laid out and I think I might like the back more than the front! It's just so yummy and simple! So the pattern, appliqué designs are all mine... but it is all super simple stuff

 I ended up hand quilting the hole thing in loopy swirls that come out of 3 of the bee's bums- it's random and funky stitching, I probably could have kept my stitches smaller but we've been using it and it hasn't been a problem yet

 I painted on the bees stripes- the bee's were impossible to find before and now they pop out at you.

 I added embroidered detailing to the flowers.. I could have gone for days doing this but I tried to keep it simple. I ended up machine stitching my binding on- so much faster and this quilt will be through the wash so much I figured it would hold together better that way.

 And just in case you were wondering 4 grown ups, a baby and a dog fit easily

 Micah enjoyed us all being together so much that he decided to sit up on his own for the first time while we were taking the photo below

 Then Grandpa let him ride Brinkley!

So much more to show you guys!

Giraffe Quilt

Wait there's two?! Yes I am on a role... Another crib quilt size 35"x 28" 

I LOVE this one (the elephant one is everyone else's favorite) The elephant and giraffe are actually graphics from the fabric that I made that I still haven't ordered...

The front is linen and Recess by American Jane for Moda and the back is some of the new Denyse Schmidt line. 

It's also in the shop

Color Book and Smelly fish

I finished Micah's Color Book. Which has been on my long term to do list forever -- it really wasn't in my plans to make it now but I had time to raid Mums scrap bags so it moved itself to the top of the list! Mum tried to show me paper piecing which is really cool... but I ended up trying to use too many different pieces and being new to the process I ended up being lazy and gave up.

Here's all of the pages before I put the book together

And here it is put together. It's turned out pretty large I think it's about 7x8" and somewhere between 2-3" thick.
I embroidered the front page for texture and hand stitched each page to the cover.
I LOVE the way the spine turned out!
The color names are freezer paper stenciled
And I tried to do something different and funky with each patchwork page
I also tried to have some sort of texture fabric on each page.

I am really happy with how it turned out... especially since I didn't start this with any sort of plan I just let it evolve as I worked on it.
So I realized yesterday that I hadn't shown you all this awesome hat Sherie knit. Micah has the coolest aunt!
I mean who doesn't need a fish eating their head?
I think the one above will go in his photo album!
And this one is Ubers favorite. He's not super steady in his bumbo seat yet his daddy's been working on it with him... don't worry he is heavily supervised when we put him in it - Micah not uber... though I do tend to supervise his dad too!

Master Bedroom

Uber was nice enough to help me make a headboard while he had a few days off with the holidays. I LOVE it! I finally (5 years later) feel like we have a complete master bedroom!

Here's a reminder of the before with the new side tables

And here is the after!
I went back and forth on buying verse DIYing and finally after looking everywhere I decided I just had to try it myself. I was amazed at the high prices in the stores and the not so great quality! Plus I wanted a bed skirt that matched to make it look completed since our room is a little small for the whole bed frame thing.
The nail head trim was key for me- it took a few hours but I think it was totally worth it!
And a not so great shot of the bed skirt.
So the project break down:

Fabric- $55 -6 yards of Coffee Divesitex Whitney Linen/Rayon Blend...

Joanns-$15 -2 yards of kona cotton to finish off the back, and 2 yards of 90" muslin for bed skirt

Foam and upholstery batting- $50.80 - I am so happy with this company! I completely recommend them to anyone needing quality foam. They had excellent and fast customer service. I told them what I was making and they told me what I needed (and their recommendation saved me money!) Shipping was fast and inexpensive- it's part of the total above!

Home Depot-67.48 - this included the 2x4's, sheet of mdf, bolts to attach headboard to bedframe, screws, wood glue, and a ton of upholstery tacks!

So total is $188.28 for the headboard and bedskirt- not bad!

and here is Micah with his Uncle... just because the photos made me laugh! He is not into babies so it's fun to make him hold Micah!! Micah finds him very interesting to watch but not so much on being held by him... I think it has to do with Beau holding him completely awkward I know they'll be good buddies when he gets a little older... and doesn't randomly spit up/poop!

Christmas Garland

It's been on my to do list to finish my Christmas garland ... and after a few weeks I can finally say it's complete!

Ridiculous right? I have no idea why I did this... it's just been in my head for a while... goodness knows I don't really have the time!
It took 4.5 yards of 3 different green colors and 1 yard of 2 different brown colors of yummy mixed wool felt, plus 2 yards of velvet ribbon to make this (roughly) 9ft long garland.... oh and brown grosgrain not sure how much of that but a 12 yard spool still has plenty left on it!
I know I made a bunch of the pine cones last year but I couldn't for the life of me get them to come out the same way... I wish I could remember I looked for a tutorial too but no one seems to be saying how they make them! They are fun to make but I was getting frustrated because I couldn't get any of them to go together the same way! If I figure it out I will try and draw something out to at least give people the gist.
I think this is going to be my new thing to have a really fun garland for every holiday- I already have valentines day done ... now I just have to get started on all of the rest of them... hahaha

A,B,C,1,2,3's

I finished this project just before my mum and dad arrived....when I was supposed to be cleaning the house... but it turned out to be perfect timing because apparently the guys really like to play with them!
I had seen this idea a while back on a blog... not sure which one exactly but I saved the picture for inspiration and eventually found the source of the picture was this etsy store. So if you would like to get your own I would highly suggest purchasing them from there- her prices are super reasonable.



Of course if you are nuts like me and have a bunch of beautiful wool felt that your awesome mother has sent you and decide to make your own I would recommend using these magnets.

I made a full set of upper and lower case, an additional set of vowels and 2 sets of 0-9... I have been informed though that more vowels are needed!
just when I thought I was done!
I have a lot more to show you I know I kind of dropped off for a while... and probably will again... but lots is going on... and eventually I will get pictures of it and show it to you!