Infant/Toddler easy 20 minute ties

In my personal opinion, if you want a boy to wear a tie to church later on, you have to start when they are born.  That way, even though they are not comfortable, they are simply used to it.  My second personal opinion...is I don't really care for bow ties.  Yes, they are cute on some boys, but they are just wrong on adults and therefore I personally don't want to start a trend that he might like later on.  Like it said, personal opinion.

As I was getting my son dressed for church yesterday morning I realized that he was in need of a new tie.  The ones that I made him a year ago are just getting to short.  I used this tutorial that I had pinned when I made them.  They have been wonderful.  I made a white strap to go with all the ties and you can never see it under the collar.

The ones of the left are just folded in half.  The green strap was my first
attempt for a wedding a couple years ago.  The white strap is attached.
The ones on the right are layed out so you can see how long they are.
When dried the red one shrank, so keep that possibility in mind.  

My husband really wants to have some matching ties for he and Remington.  It is sad that I bought the fabric for matching ties last Christmas and never finished them.  I bought some Hawaiian prints for the next ties and Russ is going to love that.  I guess I better get started on those so they have ones to match this year.

Hope you enjoyed.

Fall Quilted Decor

Well, this post is a bit of the new and the old.  I love Fall.  I love the warm colors of Fall.  My rocking chair is covered with two of my most recent sewing ambitions.  Last Monday, I had to cancel teaching because of a babysitter problem.  While Remington was napping, I got out my Fall fabric.  I have always wanted a tree pillow.  I have seen them in the quilting stores for a few years and have always loved them.  I pinned...oh, at least 60 different Fall Pillow ideas on my Pinterest Board Halloween and Fall Quilted Embellishments.  Even after searching for different ideas all over the web, I couldn't stop thinking about a fall tree.  So, I had Russ make me a leaf template (since I really suck at making any templates), I cut out the leaves from small scraps I had in my fall fabric, I used some steam a seam two small scraps I had in a bag, ironed them on, straight stitched around them, 1/4 inch in from the outside (I think it would actually be nice if they ever did fray a bit), used some muslin that I got from my grandma's craft room clean out and made the cutest tree I have seen.  

The quilt on the rocker is very special to me.  When I was making my first fall quilt 8 years ago, I had to cut of the corners of some square blocks, leaving me with 60 or so triangles.  The pieces were reasonably big...2 1/2 to 3 inches.  I kept them in a bag in a drawer for the next 6 years.  One day last Christmas Break I was cleaning out some of my craft stuff and came upon the scraps.  I was in a tossing mood that day, and determined if I didn't use them for something I was going to just chuck them.  So I put them on the cutting mat, squared them off to all equal dimensions, got out one of my favorite quilt pattern books and go started.  I finished the top and threw it in the finsihed top pile and there is sat.  This sept, when I was again in a tossing mood, I determined that I couldn't start any new project until I finished my pile of tops.  Each quilt I make has its story of timing and interest.  I got it out, machine quilted and bound it that night.    Here is a picture of the first fall quilt I made, and then the picture of the smaller quilt.  Amazing how different they are!!  I am always amazed at how the same fabrics can be combined to make all sorts of different things.   

So, remember this table runner I made several years ago?  Well, similar story.  I had 3 fat quarters left over and some of the jelly strips from the packet.  I got out the pattern for the table runner and the fabric that was just sitting in a drawer and determined how I could use all the fabric and make myself something.  The colors in this table runner are just the oppposite highlighted fabrics.  I love the yellow/orange border.  I am so that that I had that fat quarter left.  I whipped this up in a couple hours last weekend and I couldn't love it more.  At one point in time I had a fat quarter of the striped fabric, but I used that to make a tie for my son to wear to church.  If I remember, sometime I will take a picture of the tie when he is awake and I will add it to this post.  The pillow below is now my 5th seasonal pillow cover.  I used the rest of the strips that weren't big enough for the table runner to make pointed triangle ends for this pillow cover.  When I came in to show Russ this pillow cover his exact exasperated words were, "Why do you keep making pillows?"  He is worried that they are going to overtake the couch and make it hard to sit on.  I kindly informed him I would not stop and they were only decoration not for permanent use.  

The table runner my best friend made me for Christmas 4 years ago.  It is a treasure for sure.  I love the raw edges she left on it.  I put it on the end table right by our front door so I could see it everyday.

The next quilt I made 3 years ago.  I joined Quilted Club of America about 4 years ago.  They have these forums and quilting groups.  I decided to join a fabric swap.  It sounded fun and I was interested in learning to like doing more scrappy quilts and also try out a new pattern.  The guy that hosted the swap told us how much fabric to buy, how to cut it, and where to send it.  We each got a package back in the mail a week later.  I quickly whipped the quilt up, but then it got put in the never ending pile of unfinished tops.  I pulled this out last Christmas when I worked on the triangle quilt, found some hideous backing fabric from my stash and got it finished.  I left a row of blocks off the quilt.  I made them into a table runner for my piano.  I haven't yet put it up for main display, so I am doing that this month.  I like it quite a bit.  It is definitely not my normal style and some peoples choice of "Fall" fabric was very interesting.  However, I enjoyed doing the swap and seeing pictures of other peoples quilts as they finished.  

This is a panel I bought and finished two years ago.  

Well, I am actually working on a quilt for my aunt for Christmas right now.  I got all the squares cut out and hope to get the top made this week.  Her home furniture is all deep rich fall colors.  I am not sure if it will end up being a lap quilt or twin.  It just depend on how many 7" blocks I decide to make.  Once I finish that quilt I will actually be nearly out of fall fabric.  Yay!!!  One of my goals is to cut my fabric stash in half this year without buying anything new.  We will see how that goes.  Using a gift card to buy something that is needed doesn't count...by the way.  

Here is my quilt display in Sept.  I am glad that I took two months, Sept and Nov to put them up, because then I could display my two larger quilts for their own month.  

Hope you enjoyed.  

Remington's Bed room

Well, I am playing blog catch up and posting pictures of past projects.  Remington's room is going to be awesome...in a couple years.  Right now I just did his curtains, table runner for his dresser and his crbi quilt.  We are going to be building him a loft bed...like his sister.  Ugh.  I don't even think I have ever posted pictures of her castle bed, but I will.  I am hoping someday to have some time to refinish the dresser in his room to look like older wood and match the tree house.  It is an amazing dresser that we got to keep when my grandparents passed away.  We used the mirror that was a attached for a framed mirror in our half bath.

The quilt was time consuming and somewhat frustrating.  I originally started quilting it with swirls.  I hated it!!!  I took four months to unpick it while I sat at work and then did a stipple stitch.  I LOVE it now.  It was totally worth the work.

The back is one of my favorite parts.

The quilt is a tumbler block design.  I made a small pinterest board dealing with tumbler blocks when I was researching quilt patterns for his bed.

We are going to be building him a tree house.  It will have a rope ladder, murals on the wall, a full tree built into the corner of the room.  I am currently collecting material to make log pillows and such.  It is going to be fun.

The curtains are lined with a heavy dark denim on the back.  When I was sewing them, I couldn't find the dark green corduroy that I have been using on all our curtains to make them more black out.  I love how these turned out.  I am imagining some kind of tree looking or wood curtain rod when we finish his room.  Russ says he will start his room when we put him in a toddler bed.  We won't put him in a toddler bed until he starts climbing out of the crib or he starts nighttime potty training...so basically probably another year.



Hope you enjoyed.