Some Weekend Sewing and Weekend FUN

How was your weekend?? The weather here in Indiana was beautiful (until today) so we took little Titus to the zoo. There are new Alaskan brown bear cubs, which are his favorite...and mine ;)

I finished the pieced backing and top of my Pop Garden Quilt and got it sandwiched. I started some stippling and started having trouble with the thread tension again! Here it is, sitting at my sewing machine....and I am not. I'll try again tomorrow. There's just only so much time you can spend with your seam ripper before you feel like you're on the verge of needing a psychiatrist, amen!???

While I was out, my hubby decided to take T for a haircut. His hair has been growing for quite a while now and is beautifully curly. We were out one day and a woman called him a girl, so that was it for my husband. I tried to plead my case for the curls, and was almost in tears when I returned home to an unfamiliar looking kiddo, but I got over it quickly...he looks so handsome!

I visited Clementine's Dry Goods on Saturday. I love little privately-owned shops. She had some polkadots and stripes from Heather Ross' Lightning Bugs and Other Mysteries left at 75% off. It ended up being around $2.50 per yard or something crazy!

See...I told you to go visit this shop! She also gives a free yard for every 10 you purchase at reg. price. I earned my free yard and she let me select quarter yards....here's what I had to have.

Some Amy Butler awesomeness

And my favorite Anna Maria Horner Good Folks print.

Have a Fabulous Week!

P.S....This morning I had a very sweet post from a reader named Karen, suggesting that I clean out the lint from my sewing machine to see if it is the cause of my stippling problems...great idea! What a coincidence that Sew, Mamma, Sew! has a great video tutorial today on how to spring clean your sewing machine...go check it out HERE...

Family Tree Giveaway!!!

Okay, you all will want to head over to Soule Mama and enter to win a beautiful personalized family tree by Sarah Jane Studios. I just blogged and raved about the one I ordered for Titus...here is your chance to win one! Also part of the giveaway are sets of Sarah Jane's precious cards and envelopes. I'm making this posting brief, so you can get over there already!!!

Mr. Postman made my day...

Well, we really have a Mrs. Postman....or postwoman. Anyway, I came home to find several packages on my porch today, just waiting for me. I love that feeling :)

I was so excited to receive my order from Sarah Jane Studios. I was most anxious to see the personalized family tree in vintage summer colors. If you haven't visited Sarah Jane's blog or etsy store, you simply must! Every home needs one of her precious family trees. And once you have one of those, you'll need some of her other prints to go with it! They are archival and printed on some of the nicest high-quality paper you'll ever feel. I'm in love!

I was also excited to learn that I was chosen as the winner of a giveaway at Quilting on a Budget. Joan sent me a lovely gift of organizational tools for my sewing room (which is actually my dining room table right now, and I can use all the organizational tools I can get!). It includes the neatest quilt bag to use for storing your quilts or giving as a quilt gift bag. It even has a label window. Also included, was a vinyl basket with pockets for scissors and rules, etc. as well as a bobbin box. Thanks, Joan!!

Finished Coin Quilt

ahhhhh....There's just nothing like a finished quilt, fresh from the dryer...

I finished Titus' coin quilt today and am so pleased. Even after all the frustration of learning to free-motion quilt, it feels great to have stuck with it and finished. Thank you all for your sweet comments and great advice about my thread tension struggles! I love having a wealth of knowledge out here in blog land...you all are such smart tarts!

It is increadibly cold and windy here in Indiana today. Yuck. Please excuse my "windy photos"...these were the best I could get and I couldn't wait until tomorrow to show you!

Can't you just hear the wind and feel the "brrrrrr"....???

Here is the pieced back

I love how just washing it once can make it crinkle up!

And isn't this REALLY what quilts are for???

Salvaged Selvages

Whoa....say that ten times fast. Did you know there were so many uses for selvage edges of your fabric pieces? I learned something new today and look how pretty....

Selvage wall hanging by Kathi's Kreations.

Zip Pouch by Erleperle

Spider Web quilt blocks by Tallgrass Prairie Studio

Selvage Parasol by Jodie at Ric Rac

Some Favorites

I usually have a favorites list on etsy that is about 11 pages long. It's so easy to get lost in love on that site! Here are some of my fresh favorites for you to enjoy...

Scandinavian Matryoshka Art Doll for Easter by Ravenhill.

"Tiny World Pincushion" by Mimi Kirchner.

Lime Pincushion by The Daily Pincushion

Sewing Room Silhouettes by Dirty Pretty Things...April Special: take 20% off original artwork from this shop!

Rasperries on Turquoise by Tea and Brie Photography...so fresh and gorgeous!

Late Night Post...Burp Cloth Tutorial

When Little T is sleeping, I have time to do my sewing. Tonight, I whipped up some fancy shmancy burp cloths for my cousin, who is expecting a sweet little boy this month. We'll be having a shower for her when we all get together for Easter, so I needed to think of something quick. This is also an inexpensive, but special gift to make and give. Here is a little step-by-step (oooooh, baby!....remember New Kids on the Block??...okay, that's my generation).










I purchased my cloths as a pack of 12 for $12 at Wal-Mart. They are Gerber, 3-ply cloth diapers (tri-fold). I used fabric that was left over from Titus' quilt. I would say that 1/4 yard would be plenty to give you two cloths, maybe four, depending on how wide you cut. If you want several colors, you might go the fat 1/8 route for each print. It's a great idea to pre-wash the cloth diapers and your fabric, and make sure to dry the diapers in the dryer to pre-shrink them. Mine pilled quite a bit, so if you have a trick to fix that, fill me in!

Cut a piece of fabric that is about 1.5-2" longer than the cloth on each end and wider on each side by about 3/4".

Turn the fabric so that right side is down and fold the ends about 1/4" from the edge of the cloth. Press with your iron.


Fold the sides along the edge of the thickest middle section of the cloth diaper and press.




Flip the fabric over and pin to the thicker middle section of the cloth diaper.


To sew, set your machine to the zigzag stitch, keeping the stitches on the smaller side. You may want to practice on a scrap to make sure you get what you want.


To begin stitching, you'll line your cloth up so that the zigzag stitch catches the edge of the fabric, as well as the cloth diaper.
To turn a corner, set your needle to the down position, lift the presser foot, and pivot the cloth.
These will likely be loved on and washed quite a bit, so make sure to back stitch well when you begin and end your sewing.

Try it out and let me know how it works for you!