Drool Bandanas

It's been a busy couple months and my studio needed some reorganizing/cleaning.  During the clean-up I came across dinosaur printed flannel fabric that I purchased some time ago to make bibs.  Well, my grandkids are past the bib stage, that is until this past week with the addition of a new grandson.  And dinosaurs are perfect.  So instead of adding this fabric to my stash I busily made three bandana bibs. 

A quick and easy project that is recommended for beginner sewers, I found several free patterns for bandana bibs on the internet before downloading this one.  I decided to make the small size for 0 to 6 months and used velcro for the enclosure instead of a plastic snap making it adjustable around the neck. 

With drooling times on the horizon these bids will come in handy.

My sewing area is now reorganized and I'm feeling good about using more of my stash and already I'm working on another UFO.  This project will be slow going, but I'm determined to try and stay focussed. 

It's always a good break to accomplish an easier project inbetween.  Hint, hint - there will be a couple quick Christmas gifts to work on in the next weeks too.  I'll be back soon.

Speaking of Baby

We have a new addition to our family - a baby boy born on November 18.  In celebration of our newcomer I made a Winnie the Pooh quilt with honey bees as requested by his Mom.

This new quilt should have been an easy one, but finding Winnie the Pooh fabric that was gender neutral wasn't an easy task (we didn't know the sex until birth).  After a few months of searching I came across a lightly printed fabric that was gray, light blue and yellow.  I bought all that was left - only one and an half yards.  With coordinated fabrics I busily constructed the quilt top with a couple months to spare.  But with it almost finished it was hard to actually see it was Winnie the Pooh.  

During the next couple months I searched high and low for something that would make this quilt complete.  All of a sudden it came to me - I would appliqué a Winnie the Pooh bear on the quilt.  I downloaded clipart from the internet and had it enlarged at our local copy shop.

This became a whole new journey.  During the Sew & Quilt Expo in Novi, Michigan, I purchased a Cutterpillar Glow Premium LED light board/cutter.  Boy this made the appliqué layout process very fast and accurate.  Well worth the price and I'm looking forward to using this light board with other projects that I need precision.  Not only did I purchase this light board at the show, but I won a Bernette sewing machine.  It's a beginners sewing machine.  I will find someone who would like to learn to sew to mentor and give it to them.  It's been an exciting month.

Here is my finished quilt.

Besides the quilt, I made a cloth toy tote from the leftover fabrics.  I love to use these toy totes as the gift holder.  I included a Winnie the Pooh stuffed bear, two baby reading books (one with baby Winnie the Pooh) and an outfit.  The quilt was also folded in the tote when given to our new Mom.

Back to the studio.

Come on baby - let's do the twist

I remember as a child when Chubby Checkers and the Twist made its debut on the Ed Sullivan show.  My whole family got up and started dancing the twist.  A fun song and a fun dance.

Do you remember the game Twister?  It tied you up in knots.  I still own a Twister game and bring it out on occasion to help teach the young ones right and left.  

This next project brings back those memories from my childhood with a template called the twister.  Today I finished a holiday table runner using the twister template.  A little tricky to start, but once you put a couple squares together it became pretty easy.  

I used a mini-twister template to make this Christmas holiday wreath table topper.  The finished size is 20" by 20".  Hooray,  it's finished for the upcoming holiday.  Deck the Halls.

I'm on a roll.  Stay tuned I have a couple more projects almost finished.

A skeleton in my closet?

 No skeleton in my closet, but I just made a skeleton print table runner.

I was on a mission this year to not purchase any more fabric, but I've fell off the wagon this past month.  While visiting a local quilt shop I came across some great vintage looking skeleton fabric that I just couldn't walk away from.  I really liked it so I purchased three yards.  What was I thinking?

After thinking for a couple weeks of what could I do with this new purchase, I decided to make a table runner.  I only used about nine inches of this skeleton fabric for this project, so I'll have plenty for the future. My finished table runner size is 16" by 39".   Here I go again accumulating more fabric for my stash.

Unfortunately, I didn't finish it in time for this Halloween holiday.   However, it will be ready for its grand appearance next year.

Back to my studio.  More great things ready to appear.