Teeny Baby Dresses

My new little niece Kylie was born almost 2 weeks ago now and was only 35 weeks 5 days and weighed in at 5 lbs 14 oz. and 17 inches.

She's soooooo cute! And squishy looking! I'm very jealous that I can't hold her and am travel restricted.

Anyway, I whipped up two "itty bitty baby dresses" for her in a few of the beautiful Liberty Art Fabrics Bloomsbury Collection fabrics.

Free pattern can be found here.

I mean, she is "itty bitty."

But even then they're still too big for her!!

So cute. I need another girl... 

Free Quilt Pattern for Applique Sashiko Circles

Download the FREE PDF HERE!!

So I thought I'd share this little pattern with all of you.
I would sell it but I wouldn't want to be blamed for someone's frustration with the time commitment, etc. of this pattern but I enjoyed it and most of the fun quilting projects out there are very time commitment heavy.
The smaller sizes are VERY do-able.
It's designed for raw edge applique with charm squares but you could also use any scraps that are appoximately 2.5" x 5" or larger.
Anyway, I'll stop talking so you can start quilting!
Have fun!

A little project today... a bigger one tomorrow.

Well, this is all I have to show you today...

there's a larger project that hopefully will be finished tonight/tomorrow for your viewing pleasure!

These coasters are just a modified version of the tutorial I posted here.

For the top of the coaster you just need to sew 6 (5" x 1.25") strips together lengthwise and square each block to 5" x 5"... complete as directed in the tutorial!

Charm squares and jelly roll strip scraps work great for this!

Spring Table Runner Pattern

Another finish and a very happy me.

So, I'll give some quick instructions in case you think you neeeeed one of these. And we all do right?

I used 15 charms and 8 honey bun strips though you can you cut yardage if you like.

Cut:

- (4.5" x 4.5") squares from the 15 charms

- 4 (1.5" x 4.5") and 4 (1.5" x 6.5") strips from each honey bun strip

- 18" x 30" backing

- 18" x 30" batting

- 100" x 2" strips (sewn together)

Randomly pair the honey bun strip sets to the trimmed charms.

Sew the 4.5" strips to opposite sides of the squares. Press seams.

Sew 6.5" strips to the remaining sides of the squares and press.

Sew blocks together and press.

Layer backing, batting, and top together.

Quilt, bind, and enjoy!

Wonky Scrappy Coaster Tutorial and Giveaway!

So the promised coaster tutorial is ready for your creating!

**this means something got finished and I am a very happy me**

These make awesome gifts and let you use up all the delicious bits of your favorite fabrics.

These instructions are for 1 coaster (gotta simply for me, and you can multiply right?). So for each coaster you will need...

2 (5" x 5") squares of fabric for back and front (not the patches)

2 (4.5" x 4.5") squares of cotton batting

5 (1.5" x 1.5") square fabric scrap **mine are from Moda's Objects of Desire**

And the usual: scissors, sewing machine, coordinating thread, ruler, cutting mat, rotary cutter, and something to poke out corners.

Sew 5 (1.5" x 1.5") into a strip and press seams open.

Lay strip over one (5" x 5") block such that it overhangs both sides but is not horizontal - we're going for wonky here people. Line up your ruler so that the edge is in the middle of the block strip. Then, without moving the cream fabric, pull the block strip out and cut the (5" x 5") block on the diagonal.

Align the strip block (right sides together) with the edge that was just cut (making sure that when you open it you will be able to square the sides) and sew together. Open and press.

Trim off the excess from both sides of the strip block.

Align the other cream top piece with the strip block (notice the overlaps on each end match so when it is sewn and opened it will be square) and sew together. Open and press.

Trim to (5" x 5") square.

Place 2 (4.5" x 4.5") squares of cotton batting on the back of your coaster top.

Quilt as desired to hold the batting in place for turning.

Line up the (5"x 5") backing square with the quilted coaster top. Sew around leaving a 2.5-3" gap on one side for turning.

Clip corners. I do a 45 and two 30 degree clips on each one so that the corners are a little pointier. Of course, it's up to you.

Turn coasters right side out, tuck the opening in and top stitch around the edge, very closely! Sometimes I like to do this twice for decorative effect.

Admire the coasters you have made!! Please post links to pictures of your projects in the comments!

And... my blog's first giveaway.

This set of coasters can be yours if you just follow my blog and leave a comment telling me.

Drawing will be held Feb. 14th so you might just earn yourself a little Valentine's present! Thanks and good luck!

-F.N.

I'm a finisher, not a starter... or am I?

With what seems like a semi-infinite number of projects started

3 baby quilt tops, 1 table runner, and 2 sets of coasters

all in the partially complete state,

I'm feeling like maybe I'm not a

finisher.

I've learned in the blog world these are labelled as WIPs (works in progress). This sounds a lot more euphemistic than UPs (unfinished projects) so I think that's how I'm mentally labelling them.

There's more than one way to sane you know... relabeling, ignoring, hiding evidence, replacing, or as my mother-in-law does, dimming the lights!

Maybe tomorrow something will get done around here...

I'm also working on a quick tutorial for making some scrappy coasters.

These are probably the most entertaining little projects and they tend to finish themselves (you're practically done when you start).

Either way, check back tomorrow to get the details and pics... I'm at least going to be a finisher tomorrow. And I've put it in writing!

Minkee Heaven with an almost Tutorial

The materials for this blanket are just absolutely edible. Trying to keep my two year old from playing with it WHILE I was making it was definitely a challenge - and she has two minkee blankets of her own already! So if you have a bunch of different colored minkee scraps this would be the perfect project to use them effectively. Dimensions for the quilt blocks using a 1/2 inch seam allowance:

48 - 4" x 4" blocks in various colors (sewn into 12 block strips and added like sashing)

3 - 3" strips x width of fabric for sashing (trim them to size after sewing)

1 - 27" x 33" front minkee

1 - 37" x 43" backing minkee

3 - 2 1/2" x width of fabric for binding strips (sewn together)

If you have any questions... ask!

-F.N.