Mini Pink Doll Quilt

This tiny little quilt was supposed to be a Christmas gift for Cupcake, but I realized it was just going to get lost in the pile of presents so I didn't bother scrambling to get it done in time.  It got set aside for months before the Finish-A-Long helped motivate me to complete it.

It isn't anything fancy, starting as a pile of 2.5" squares, it ended up barely bigger than a standard piece of printer paper.  Everything (including the polka dot backing and floral binding) is pink and scrappy.  That binding was a bugger - I made it too narrow, attached it wrong and struggled to hand stitch it on to get this project DONE.  It isn't something to brag about, but I'm happy it has moved out of my UFO pile.

We match!

My Little Pony - Alder Skirt for Mommy?  Check.

My Little Pony - Maggie Mae for Cupcake?  Check. (Finish-A-Long #4)

My Little Pony - Baby Butterfly for Snowflake?  Check!

Check it out!  We all match!

quilt square baby toys

I did rather well with my Finish-A-Long this quarter and got six of eight projects completed.  These crinkle baby toys had deadlines (baby showers!) so that certainly helped them happened.  I had made the first toy in March, and soon followed with these three more.  It was fun to play with the patterns, but I really do like the star.

For twins!

The way I made HSTs meant I had two sets of identical squares, 

so I could make two toys at the same time!

(Meaning I still have a second set of the pink/purple too.)

Purple, orange and black for a big fan of Halloween.

Maggie Experiment

What I really wanted was another Mckenzie, since it is my favorite.  My little girl is NOT little, and she has grown out of that pattern. *sad face*  I was going to grade it up but to make it easier, since she still fits in the Maggie Mae just fine, I used this idea to make the Maggie look at bit more like the Mckenzie.  I even squared off the neckline a bit (sorry you can't see it very well!).

See that fuzzy lump in the upper left corner?

No, behind the bush. 

That's what we've seen of our new pandas so far!

I gave Cupcake a variety of fabric to choose from, and she chose the light pink/orange to go with the fabulous My Little Pony fabric that we got from Trina (picked out by JK and TA).  The pattern came together easily, but even though I used a size 10 it came out a little more snug than I expected.  She likes it though, and I've still got a 1/2 yard of MLP fabric to play with!  Woohoo!

New statues AND a new bridge at the zoo too!

My kid has a fabulous sense of style, yes?

This finishes #5 on this quarter's Finish-A-Long, not quite as planned, again.

Maggie Remix

Last spring I made Cupcake an Easter dress with the special lavender lamb fabric - because my kid loves sheep.  I chose my coordinating fabric poorly, and a few months later it ripped right across the bodice.  The precious sheep were untouched though so I set it aside to remake later.

It only took me nine months to get around to it so I'm glad that it still fits!  I was going to make it a shirt, but overestimated the length of the third fabric so when she tried it on she insisted it be a dress.  I scrambled to find a fourth coordinating fabric, but Cupcake couldn't be happier. And I think it is pretty stinkin' adorable too.

I think the reason I held off remaking this dress was finding the right fabric to pair with the lambs.  I wasn't going to go out of my way to find coordinating fabric because I generally avoid going to the fabric store and try not to buy fabric at all.  But I did recently bring home a fat quarter bundle of cute sheepy fabric (because sheep) that had just what I was looking for.  That grey fabric?  It says "baaaa" on it over and over!  And the bottom band used exactly one fat quarter of pink daisies.  And the main skirt (with tiny blue and purple flowers) came with lots of other yardage from a sweet old lady at church who doesn't sew anymore.  I love the gift of fabric!

I've loved Shwin Designs for a long time, and have made the Mckenzie pattern many many times.  But Cupcake has grown out of it (since at 5 she wears at least a 10, and it only goes to an 8) so I was happy to rediscover this pattern, the Maggie Mae,  Not only does this size 8 still fit (shocking since I made it last summer) it also goes up to a size 10! Yay!

And for the Finish-A-Long, turns out I didn't have enough of the pictured fabric to make into the skirt piece (even at a shirt length).  Those flowers became the pockets instead!

The Alder Skirt

When I got a prize for FAL2017, I used it to buy the Ishi dress pattern for the girls, some fabric for Trina, and the Alder skirt pattern for me. 

The fabric was gifted from me from a friend, who got it from her father,

who got in on a trip to Thailand!  The waistband was actually the border print.

I was excited to get started, but was a little frustrated with the pattern itself - there are no capital letters in the whole thing!  Upper case letters are important, even just to help find the beginning of sentences.  Annoying, but fine, I can deal with it.  The other hiccup -- no finished length measurement.  I know I can easily customize the length of the skirt, but I had no idea where I was starting from.  Turns out I had to eek in a 1/4" hem to have it stay at my knees.

This was actually skirt I had made years ago, but never liked the way it fit. Not anymore!

Once I actually made the first skirt though, I was happy to make another.  And another!  For me, I didn't need the pleat in the front, and would 100% suggest the flat pockets (big yay for pockets!).  I added two inches to the length, for some wiggle room, and I'm pleased with the way it fits me.  

My husband made me buy this amazing fabric (because I rarely buy for me).

Of course I'm glad he did, because it is awesome and totally my favorite.

The biggest struggle though?  Getting pictures!  I can take a decent picture, but it's quite hard to take a picture of my own self - especially my lower body.  My husband is super tall and always takes pictures at awkward angles, and really doesn't know what he's doing.  And my apartment has horrible lighting.  I really just need to make some photography friends nearby!  (I'll trade them cute skirts like this!)

And bonus: this is part of my 2018FALQ2!  I love it when projects are completed and turn out even better than expected!

#2018FALQ2 Mindy

It's time for another round of Finish-a-Long!  

I did this for the last round of 2017 and finished 3 of 5 projects.

1. Sheepy Shirt Remake

The lamb fabric used to be part of a dress that tore.

I was able to keep the bodice and Cupcake loves sheep, 

so I wanted to remake it, and I finally will.

2. Baby Toys (three)

Lots of new babies (especially boys) so time to make gifts!

They will look similar to this one.

3. My Little Pony - Alder skirt 

I actually won a gift certificate from the FAL I did before,

and with it I got the Alder skirt pattern. 

I've made two already and adore them.  This will be one too!

4. My Little Pony - Maggie Mae

The pattern from #1 (Maggie Mae)

and the MLP fabric from #3.

5.  My Little Pony - Mckenzie

I love the McKenzie Tunic pattern.

It's my favorite and I've made it many many many times.

Cupcake has now outgrown the pattern, so time to grade up!

6. Abbey Jacket for Cupcake

This is the repeat from the first FAL that never got done.

(The fifth FAL did get finished, just not in conjunction with FAL.)

7. Doll Quilt

A UFO I started for Christmas, and realized she was getting enough stuff.

Low priority, but it's always nice to clear out the project box.

8. Christmas Quilt

Not likely to get done, but just in case I get motivated.

I've got about half of the squares sewn together, I think.

Zig-Zag Rag

I'm usually a read-one-book-at-a-time sort of a person, so I'm surprised at how many sewing projects I've got going on at the same time.  This flannel blanket has sat, unfinished, longer than any other project.  I initially cut out the squares at the end of 2016, and put it together in April 2017.  

It stayed pretty much like this for MONTHS, until I pulled out my snippers and clipped all those edges (during book group!).  It didn't take me nearly as long as I thought it would, but it is just a little baby blanket.

And finally, over Christmas weekend, I got it washed and properly frayed.

The back mimics the same zig-zag pattern as the front.

All cuddly soft and ready for a baby.

I'm thinking of donating this quilt, but I don't know how/where.

Any suggestions?

2017 Finish-A-Long Quarter 4

Y is for Yellow

When I found some super soft yellow and pink fleece at a garage sale, 

I knew I needed to make a Fluttershy costume for Snowflake.

See?  Perfect match!

It is a simplified Abbey Jacket, a tweaked hood from the Michelle Jacket,

plus a whole bunch of making-it-up-as-I-go-along for details.

The pants were just lengthened Basic Shorts. Much easier.

 

I even went so far as to hand-stitch some wings onto the back.

Even though it was for Halloween, it can keep her warm all winter!

The whole My Little Pony family:

Twilight Sparkle, Rarity, Fluttershy and Discord.

2017 Finish-A-Long Quarter 4 

Juggling Balls

These fun little juggling balls are from the Oliver + S book Little Things to Sew.  I wanted a small project to do between bigger ones, and this one fit the bill.  Of course I spent more time agonizing over what fabric to use than actually sewing them.  Once I decided on the My Little Pony theme, it went a little faster.  

I only used scraps from my stash.  Thankfully I had recently stolen a few pieces from Trina, or AppleJack's ball would not have happened, and Rainbow Dash got a turtle!  I stuffed them all with unusably-small scraps, so some are firmer than others (fleece makes good stuffing, cotton is a little lumpy unless chopped up super small).  And I finally learned a proper ladder stitch so the openings just disappear into the seams.  

Although I had them done in plenty of time for Christmas, I decided to save them for Snowflake's first birthday, which is in just three weeks!  Where did the time go??

2017 Finish-A-Long Quarter 4

R is for runner

Entry: 2017 4th quarter finish-along - my original entry post
Final link up: 2017 4th quarter finish-along

I don't have many decorations for my house for any season/holiday except Christmas (and even there, I don't have nearly as many as I'd like). When the weather started to turn cool for fall, I got a bug for some kind of autumn something-or-other to spice up my house, and I went with a table runner.

The strips were cut to 2 1/2 x 12 inches, and the whole thing is 88 inches long. I have a really long kitchen table. There are only 2 fabrics in the whole thing that were cut from yardage - the green with silver hearts, and the red silhouette. It's Jane Austen from the Ardently Austen line - I'm on an Austen kick right now with audio books while sewing, so I needed that one. I'm sure you understand about needing a certain piece of fabric.

Anyway, the rest of the fabric was all scraps.

I quilted it with straight line X's every 6 strips. The back and the binding were separate pieces, but the same fabric.

Done just in time for Thanksgiving! 

Because I had some extra strips, I made reversible placemats for my parents for their Christmas present. Thanksgiving on one side and Christmas on the other.