First Knot Dress

Yesterday I was completely excited to get a project done that had been planned for what seems like forever!

A knot dress for the little who.

I'm sure you've seen these ALL over Etsy.

At $40+ each I would feel beyond guilty if I bought one (when I have a serger and sewing machine... haha!) so I bought this fabric 5 months ago thinking I would do it.

Well, my mother-in-law is getting remarried this next Saturday so it finally gave me the motivation to make the little who a new cute dress...

I think it turned out fabulously (especially as I like to "wing it" without a real pattern).

So can you tell I haven't even ironed it out yet with the giant crease down the middle in the front?

I was using that as my midline to match everything up... haha!

The little who LOVED LOVED LOVED wearing it.

And the back, with the knot tied sash.

What a sash!

I love the flair of this fabric (Urban Couture by BasicGrey for Moda), the giant pleats in the skirt, the contrast band, and the knots!

Oh those cute knots!

I knew she needed one of these.

Now to go make a matching headband and flower with the leftovers.

They are done! All 4!

Alright, this stuff took me a while. But it should have - it was a lot of work. And the jumbo rick rack - love, love.

My mom got me this fabulous fat quarter set (Wild Thyme by P&B Textiles) for Christmas and it was just dying to become something. I have the best mom, huh?

4 quilts! 2 babies and 2 twins - one boy and one girl of each size...

The thought process behind making these sets was that boy/girl shared rooms sometimes happen...

so why not coordinate? :o)

That and I sometimes feel guilty if every cute thing I make for the shop is girly...

What about all the moms of boys out there who need some frill in life?

A finished product I actually get to see!

Ahahaha! I actually get to see something I made in it's totally finished form since it went to my mom!

I made the tree quilt that's hanging (accidentally)... see previous post here.

And I did the bed quilt, and the brown and paisley accent pillows.

Of course, I'm a huge fan of color (my couch is red!) but for one that HAD to be brown, cream, and black...

I like the result.

And I have a super cute mom too! :o)

A little slow

Well, it's taken me a few days to get anything to post (the olympics are on!) and while it's still not a finished product I think it is a big enough project to get a WIP pic. :o)



This one started out as a boys twin quilt in my mind, then I cut up the sashing strips,
only to realize I should have cut them out of the cream fabric, not the white.

grrr...

So I looked around (for about 2 minutes) and realized I could do a patchwork with a jelly roll in Clementine by Me and My Sister Designs for Moda - still twin size.

Ahh, lovely.

So the "boy" quilt I was planning has been postponed... not for long.

The winner is...

And the winner for the coaster set giveaway is... drumroll please...

Ben and Ashley

(courtesy of my 2 year old pulling number 6 out of a box).

I know, super technical. Maybe next time I'll use the random number generator.

She's pretty unbiased though!

Anyway, Congratulations!

Send me an email at frivolousnecessity.gmail.com with your address so I can send them to you!!

Thanks everyone for all of your comments, I'll have another giveaway soon so stay tuned.

Bright Boy Quilt and Pillow

All done and ready for viewing!!

My adventure in solids is finished... temporarily.

I love how the colors turned out with the prairie points and the little pillow...

The straight line quilting kept it nice and boyish too I think.

Very fun to make!

Check out the shop if you want to see more pics.

Just can't get enough

Today was my first "break" in three weeks from the three kids problem. I was babysitting two in addition to my one little "who" while doing my usual sewing. I needed the down time today. So... I only did a little sewing today and enjoyed the fact that my little "who" is now totally potty trained and now tells me when it's time to go. Previously, she would leave that responsibility to me. I loving not monitoring her drinking habits with a clock!

I know, I know, I just can't get enough of the coasters this week...

but at least there's a little variation - binding done ever so tediously - still 4.5" x 4.5" finished.

But, I'll show you a little preview of a part of the project to be posted tomorrow...

so make sure you stop by to check it out. (Think baby quilt and accessory item.)

3 More Days for the Giveaway

The giveaway for these coasters (set of 6) will end February 14th!!
See post HERE to enter the drawing!

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!

Wonderland 2

Here's the first one's twin!

Oh, so cute.

I feel like it's a child's board game, or construction paper project.

Wonderland 1

Another day, another quilt!

Love, love, love this fabric. Thank you MoMo for Wonderland. I even got the jelly roll for $24 at the quilt festival - STEAL!

Plus, there's another quilt from this fabric line that I'm going to go bind now.

Spicy Butterfly Baby Quilt

This was the project I finished today... and considering I wasn't feeling so hot I'm just excited that I got another thing on the checklist done. Now I only have...

2 more baby quilts

3 sets of coasters

2 table runners

...to finish before the WIP are wrapped up. I'm practically there... HA! Why did I start all of these at the same time?

New Pattern

I've listed a new pattern in the shop... love it!

Now my "bummies" hurt from sitting here all day creating it.

Happy sewing! I'm getting ice cream... blue bell. Mmmm!

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!

Pattern Challenge - Simplicity 2725

This is a group designed to pick a garment to sew... or multiple if you are up to it and then you blog it and post them to the Flickr Group. EVERYONE should participate so that I can see your awesome stuff!! This seems like the perfect group to me.

**** So go sign up already! ****

Pick it, make it, post it - I can do that...

So the pattern of choice is Simplicity 2725.
A dress for me. Very exciting.
And my deadline February 28.
I need it for a wedding (my mother-in-law and her man Steve)!

Hopefully this pattern challenge will be just the "inspiration" to make me get on this...
no one wants a nude me at the wedding.

Neutral feelings.

I almost forgot to post this one - and what a work load it was!

A queen-sized version of my squared away quilt pattern.

My mom picked out all the fabrics so I wasn't too excited about them personally.

However, it looks stunning on the black bed (large headboard, footboard, and siderails) it was designed for and I actually ended up really liking it.

Nothing better than a happy ending.

Happy decorating Mom!

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!