Sew! Sew! Sew!

I recently spied a dress on a little girl that I loved so much, that I asked if I could take her picture.

Creepy? Kind of, but I knew her parents so it could have been worse.

Long story short, I found the pattern through McCall’s and bought some mismatched (yet coordinating) fabric to create this dress on my own. Now mind you, the Tinkerbell dress was the first garment I have sewn since 8th grade and I’ve never cut or pinned a pattern down. The pattern said Easy, so I thought, well, let’s do this.

And do this I did and boy oh boy do I LOVE IT. I’m probably going to make many, many more and give to little girls all over the world.

If you’re interested, the pattern number is McCall’s M6387. It took a good day’s work to sew it and a night of cutting pieces.

What can I say? I’m addicted. Let’s make some more.

There’s A Bee In My Bonnet!

One of my sewing enthusiasts at my local Quilt Guild chapter mentioned the Bee in My Bonnet Row Along.

Each month is a different row and at the end of the project, voila! You have a twin size quilt!

I like monthly challenges. Shoot. I like challenges in general.  And a quilting challenge? Sign this sister up.

We’re four rows in and I am 149% in love with this quilt. It’s going to my niece, Maggie, and my goal is to make it as vintage, hod podgy and sweet as possible. It’s not to late to start your rows. Come on and join us!

Photos from flickr

Halloween Time

That’s right folks. Halloween is coming up.

Growing up, my sister and I had hand made costumes each year and we loved them. I have fond memories of going to the fabric store and looking through pattern books for that perfect outfit. Once, I won a neighborhood Halloween costume contest from my Scarlett O’Hara costume. We lived in Georgia. Our neighborhood was called Tara. What else is an 8 year old going to be?

Well, Sophia is 4 this year and this is the time where memories stick. Costumes become transformations and what little girl doesn’t want to pick out something sparkly and full of glitter? The past costumes have been pretty simple and I honestly don’t think I’ve ever spent more than $14 on her. Or Fred for that matter. This year, I did spend $6 on my little bud and $30 on Sophia.

They will be a cohesive collection this year. Fred, being the pirate of Neverland and Sophia, being Tinkerbell.

Fred the Neverland Pirate

Handmade Tinkerbell

Lovely Fairy

Sophia’s costume cost $30 to make and took me four hours. I thought that was pretty incredible since costumes at the store are $29.99 and look hooker-esque, even for toddlers. I’m proud of my first time garment sewing and I give all credit to Prudent Baby’s online tutorial. What a great one it is too!

You Can Find Me On Instagram!

I’ve been on Instagram for a year now and let me just say…I love it. Without sounding dramatic, it’s kind of been life changing.

(Thanks to my sister and brother-in-law for giving me one of their old iPhone’s so that I could get with the times).

I’ve made so many new friends through this social networking site and if you’re on it and read these posts, then by all means, follow along! My user name is shornickel. Easy to remember, right?

Disclaimer: Most pictures are of quilts or my kids or my dog. Once in a while you may see the husband or food.

Bulls-Eye

With a four year old and two year old, whenever I hear the word Bulls-eye, I automatically hear Jessie and Woody’s voices calling their loyal steed.

Anyhow, back to the topic of quilting…

I was given some fabric and quite honestly, I had no idea what I wanted to use it for. Since it was free fabric, I thought practicing a piecing technique would be worth a shot, so I sewed arcs and formed wonky bulls eyes. It turned out a lot better than I expected and when I finished quilting and binding it, I actually didn’t mind it at all.

The world can surprise you, can’t it?

It’s a small quilt. It’s square. I says boy to me, even though a lot of the prints are floral or damask. I’ve added it to my Etsy shop, so if you’re interested in a baby gift, well, then, look no further!

In Progress

I’ve been a bit busy these days, therefore I have slacked a little on the blog.

• I’m working on several quilts, napkin sets and needlework jars for a craft show.
• I’m working on 2 twin size quilts for a customer.
• I just finished a t-shirt quilt, with 3 orders in place.
• I also have another twin size quilt that is for a secret birthday present and another secret quilt that is a surprise for some special little girl.
• Oh, and I’m going to do the Bee In My Bonnet’s row along. Exciting, eh?
• I also have been doing some freelance residential landscape designs.
• I got my hair cut.

Keep checking back. I’ll keep posting pictures.

 

Off To Israel

Not me personally, but my California Girl quilt!

Not even two hours posted on Etsy and Bam! It sold! To a lucky gal in Israel!

I loved this quilt. It’s my goal to make it again but into a Queen size instead of a baby blanket. There is just something about how the white fabric becomes so crinkly and loved after one wash.

It was a good quilt. I gave it one giant snuggle before I shipped it off.

I’ve Been A Busy Bee.

So, where to start?

Well, I created a baby invitation for a mom-to-be. The father to be is an eye doctor, so the ladies throwing the shower wanted an eye theme. Kind of a clever theme, right? I’ve put the printable on my Etsy shop.

Then I’ve also been stitching away for cloth napkins. They are so easy and so much fun and I’ve said it before, you’ll never need a paper napkin again. So go ahead. Place your order.

And then I’ve been sitting on pieces of flannel for months. Why not wait until it’s been over 100 degrees to sit and work on a flannel whole piece cloth quilt? Regardless, it’s kinda cute.

So that’s that. I’ve been looking into making more quilts. I have three tops ready to baste and I’m busy putting a landscape proposal together. I do better when I’m busy. When I’m bored, that’s when the danger begins!

For The Twins

A co-worker of my mother’s is having TWINS!

Fun fact. Did you know I’m a twin?

So of course it was my goal to make 2 exact blankets, each with a little bit of different character.

The mom-to-be really loved the Salt Air prints, so I ordered 2 charm packs and went to town. I backed them with Jay McCarroll’s habitat print because I love the title of the fabric, “City Planting” and shoot, I just think that print is great. All of these designs are gender neutral, without being only yellow and green. The mother doesn’t know the gender yet and in a world of all pinks and blues, it’s a fun challenge to make something with all the colors in the spectrum.

It’s a good thing my children are no longer in cribs, otherwise they may have several smothering them every night. They are so fun and quick to make.

Congratulations Rebecca!

The Only Way To Wipe Your Face

I added some more cloth napkins on my Etsy shop.

We haven’t had paper towels in our house for years. I’m pretty sure I’ve posted that before, but I’ll say it again. Use cloth napkins. They’re way more fun than paper towels.

Stop by my Etsy if you want them. Hint hint.

(I am trying to raise money so that I can attend QUILT CON this upcoming February. Help a girl out, won’t ya?)