For the Nieces

A couple of projects of late have been this afghan for my niece Whitney and the rag quilt for my niece Jasmine. Last year at Thanksgiving I had asked both what their favorite colors were. Whitney loved pink and black so I picked up yarn in those colors and started this afghan shortly after the new year. It was my on the go project that stayed in the car to work on when at doctor appointments and such. I completed it about a month ago but have dragged my feet on getting it posted. It is now under their Christmas tree awaiting the big day.

Jasmine has always loved green but in the last couple of months has added purple to the list. When I saw the floral flannel shown below at Jo-Anns I had to get some to make something for her for Christmas. I have not done one of these rag quilts for several years but with the other fabrics I found to go with the floral I thought it might be just the thing for Jasmine. She is pretty tall so I made it a bit longer so she can curl up under it while she reads a book or watches tv. I did not have it complete when they were down for Thanksgiving so it will soon be on it's way to join her sister's afghan under the tree.

C turns 11

My oldest turns 11 today. I marvel at how he has grown (nearly eye to eye with me) over the last 11 years. They go so quickly from the sweet snuggly babies to young men who are embaressed to have anyone see their moms give them a hug or kiss in public. He is amazing and so talented. How did I get so lucky.?

Crayola Folio and one for the Boys

I really liked this idea of an art portfolio I came across on Etsy and so purchased the pattern to make one for each of my girls for Christmas. When I got on Sat. to purchase the pattern I decided to have a look at what other items this seller had and knew I had to get this pattern as well. The minute I saw it I knew it was the perfect Christmas present for my youngest who hasa fedish for all things paper and pen related. I had planned to put together some kind of art tote for her for Christms and seeing this took the guess work out, now I can get  on to the fun part....sewing.

The girls and I attended a local craft event and I allowed Ivy to pick out a fabric she liked and used it to find a corrdinating print. As soon as we got home and I got al four kiddos down for the night I set to work on the crayon art folio. I will get a friend to watch both girls when I do the Art Tote so that it is a complete surprise to Ivy Christmas morning...I can't wait. She is going to LOVE it!









Another completion for the weekend was to finally get the balloon balls made for my boys. They are such good sports about waiting and I have felt so bad taking so long getting them made. They had a blast yesterday playing with them though.

Magic

I have a wonderfully talented friend whom does photos of my children in exchange for my watching her two boys when she goes out on photo shoots sometimes. I picked up a disk from her the other day that had the photos she did of my three oldest children last month. They all have birthdays within a two month span, two of them being a mear six days apart, so I usually do their birthday portraits in one sitting. This time around Melanie did something special with one of the images she took of my eldest son. He can be quite the artest and from time to time one of his drawings will grab me and so I tuck it away for safe keeping. Melanie took photos of some of these saved drawings and with a photo she had taken of him created this:

I LOVE it! To give you an idea of how good he is, the tiger was done free hand when he was just in 2nd grade, so age 8 years old. Aren't they both amazing, my son and Melanie. This is a photograph I shall treasure for years to come.

Mildred Handbag

I was asked recently if I would teach a sewing project the first Tuesday night in December at church. The person asking gave no specifications which left me feeling a tad overwhelmed. I have loads and loads of patterns and ideas and trying to nerrow it down to one thing seemed impossible. But nerrow it down I did and this is what I came up with:

A preview showing tonight at a church activity resulted in rave reviews so I am breathing a bit easier. It should be fun to see what fabric combinations the ladies will select for a handbag of their own. Those shown here are the latest from the Stonehill Collection from JoAnn Fabrics.

Center Stage

Put together the top of another table topper today. This too will be a Christmas gift. I do not recall the fabric line as it is a few years old but I do know that it is from Timeless Treasure.

Blue Palace Table Runner

I was so excited to cut into the fabric I purchased today that I forgot to get a photo. I put together this table runner (A Christmas Gift) using a pattern (Table Matters) from BHG's Fast & Fabulous Quilting Ideas 2008. I did add some quilting in the ditch, a step they did not do, to give it a more quilted look. Now I am off to add the binding. I used 14 of the "Blue Palace" fabrics from Clothworks