Amber’s Apron

April 23, 2009February 1, 2015Leave a comment

My cousin, Amber, turns twelve this week; and she likes to help her mom out in the kitchen, so I thought an apron was a good birthday present choice for the dear girl. She’s one of my favorite people, and she’s named after me to boot (same middle name). You gotta remember the ones that are named after you! (I was even present at her birth…quite the experience for fourteen year old me!)

It’s Apron A from Retro Aprons by Cindy Taylor Oates and I used fabric from Sandi Henderson’s Farmer’s Market collection.

I am completely smitten with the fabric and I’ve been racking my poor, worn-out and exhausted brain trying to figure out a way to use the scraps in something else, but there aren’t too many scraps leftover. Wah.

Happy Birthday Ambone!

Finished: Cheerful Baby Quilt

April 2, 2009February 1, 20154 Comments

My dreams have finally come to realization! I am a completely finished blanket! Oh, it’s wonderful!

The oldest girl really likes me and I’ve victoriously been added to the necessary accessories needed for her to go to sleep each night. It also appears that I am her go-to television blanket. She wraps me around her like a shawl whenever she watches TV.

It’s really happened, I’m finally finished. It’s taken years to get to my completion, but it’s been worth it when I’m lovingly dragged around the house and demanded for each night. Life is good; downright cheerful, I’d say.

Cupcake Apron

March 26, 2009February 1, 20154 Comments

Yes, I am slightly disturbed that she knows how to pose like that.

Pattern: Little Retro Aprons for Kids, by Cindy Taylor Oates, Pattern A-2
Fabric: Cupcakes–I’ve managed to discard all the selvage from this except for one piece that says “Robert Kau…”; Dots–from the “Smores” collection by Me and My Sister Designs for Moda, Pattern #22074

I am loving this apron, and Bluebird has warmed up to it since her lacklustre reception upon its completion. I am totally looking forward to making more of these babies! The pattern is very well-written, except for one tiny mistake that tells you to put the wrong sides together near the end, but it’s easy to catch and correct. I’ve also purchased the designer’s other two apron pattern books for adults…mwahahahaha, aprons galore!

Patching Up the Blankie

January 19, 2009February 1, 20151 Comment

If you have a child who carries a blankie, you’ll totally understand the necessity of tending to whatever injuries the coveted item encounters. Rabbit’s blankie has had this ouchie for a while, but then it caught on something the other morning and tore some more and she seemed rather distraught about it–so I decided to do something about it.

I located some random pink gingham flannel (which isn’t too terribly random when you consider that this a house with three young girls living in it!), cut out a heart, hefted the sewing machine upstairs and started some intense blankie surgery, while Rabbit anxiously looked on.

End result:

Yee Haw, Movin’ Along…

April 3, 2008February 1, 20152 Comments

Well, the Cowboy Quilt is officially pieced. All that stands between it and completion is a couple of trips to the quilting shop; one to pick out the fabric for the backing and binding, another to drop it off with its backing and batting to be quilted and one last trip to pick it up to take home and sew on the binding. (I’m going to have it professionally quilted because I don’t like to machine quilt and, truthfully, their quilting just plain looks better than mine.)

Rabbit thinks the quilt top makes a swell picnic blanket. (Too bad she dumped that cup of water on it about five seconds after the picture was taken.)

Yes, the blanket seems small; but, in my experience, it’s the smaller baby blankets (24 x 36 inches or so) that become children’s favorites. I’ve made some 36 x 48″ blankets, but that size seems to be too cumbersome for little people to tote. Both Bluebird and Rabbit have adopted “blankies” that are about 2 x 3 feet, so I started making my gift blankets that size as well.

Coming Out of Hibernation

April 3, 2008February 1, 20152 Comments

It’s been awhile, hasn’t it? She’s earmarked for a special little person and I’ve already finished with the tying, which seemed to suit her better than machine quilting…I don’t know why, but I went with it.