Almost Wordless Wednesday

                 

Rainy day fun inspired by mer mag 

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Horrible Picture Post

Sorry about these photos.  It is rainy and yucky here but I am in the mood to blog.  I mentioned before that I had ordered a Japanese magazine and a book.  The book is amazing so I am saving that for last (though I don't actually have pictures from it).  I am enjoying the magazine.  I haven't actually tempted to make anything without directions in English but someday I may give it try.

I think this cooler is so cute.  Our coolers are so ugly.  We go to the beach all summer and use a cooler all the time.  Our cooler usually gets all gunky and gross though so I am not sure I would actually want to bring a nice one.  I would be rinsing my hands all the time before I touched it.

Someday when I have a real laundry room maybe I could have something like this to decorate it with.  This would also be fun for Stella to have with her dollhouse when she is older.  This picture was actually one of the pictures that made me want to get the magazine.

When it comes to awful blurry pictures this is the worst but the pillow is one of my favorite items in the magazine.  One reason  is because I think I could figure out how to make it. 

And this book you have probably seen all over the place.  It is Patchwork Please by Ayumi Takahashi.  I love it.  I want to make everything in it.  I am starting with Books for Baby  quilt.  If you click on this link you can see the quilt in the book and other beautiful pictures from the book.  I am considering doing the Zakka Along 2.0 but I am thinking it might be too much for me.  I might end up rushing to make things and not do my best. 

Right now I am gathering fabrics to use for the quilt.  I also have a cross-stitch sampler I am working on and a sweater for Stella (well I am hardly working on it).  And lots of other projects on hold (mostly quilt tops).  I don't plan to be productive for the next week.  We took Stella's pacifier (didu as she calls it) away this morning.  It will probably be a rough sleep deprived week. 

Kindle Cover

 I think I had mentioned that my husband bought me a Kindle for Mother's Day.  I was so excited and I had been kind of expecting it.  I had been anti-Kindle/Ereeder (I don't even know what they are really called).  They seemed like a lot of money and I love the idea of books.  I had said I was old fashioned.  Well now I wish I had gotten one sooner.  I love to read but since becoming a mom I read much less.  Most of my free time during the day I spend crafting or doing craft related stuff online.  I have always loved reading at bed time but for the past two years I have slept in the same room as my daughter.  My other problem was getting books.  I am too cheap to buy a fiction book (craft books are another story).  I love the library.  But the problem with the library is that I now take forever to read a book and I forget to renew.  

So in the little over a week I have had the Kindle I have read every night.  It feels so good to be reading and to have a book I am reading.  I really feel like I had been missing something for the past few years.  It isn't free but it is worth it.

Here is the cover I made for my Kindle.  It makes me love it even more.

I used the tutorial from Clover & Violet.  It was great.  This was quick and easy.  I figured that since I would be using this cover everyday and looking at it a lot that it would be okay for me to cut into some of my Heather Ross fat quarters.  Here is the back:

And the inside:

I am so happy with my cover and Kindle.  I also love the book I am reading.  It is The Wind-Up Bird Chronicles.  I read about it on another blog but I can't remember what one.  I love when bloggers share what they are reading.  I'd love to know who wrote about this book on their blog if anyone reading knows.

Today I am linking up with Let's Get Acquainted on The Sewing Chick blog.

I Made a Pillow

I finished up this pillow today and I am pretty pleased with it.  It is my first my project with hexies.  I followed the instructions to make the pillow top and hexies from Love Quilting and Patchwork magazine.  I really wanted to do an envelope enclosure so I followed the tutorial at Fussy Cut.  If I don't count some really simple really bad pillows I made when I was first leaning to sew many years ago (and I don't count those) then this is my first pillow.  It was so quick and easy that I want to make more pillows.  I plan to start saving my Joann's coupons for pillow forms.

At the start of the year I signed up for a homemade pay it forward on Facebook.  I have three people to make gifts for.  This one is for my Aunt Karen.  I was going to make pillows for the other two gifts but I am considering doing the Patchwork Please Zakka along 2.0 This would be my first sew along anything.  The book is due to arrive soon and I can't wait.  So if I go for it, I am thinking some of the projects I make from the book can be the other gifts.  I have a baby quilt I need to make by June 30 and I think the book quilt from Patchwork Please would be adorable. 

For the first time I will be linking up to Finish it up Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts.

Mother's Day and Favorite Dress Ever

I hope everyone had a wonderful Mother's Day yesterday.  I sure did.  It started with me finishing this dress for Stella.  I was very lucky to able to test a pattern for An from the StraightGrain blog.  She makes the most amazing clothes and this was the second pattern I was able to be a tester for.  I can't tell you how much I love this dress and this pattern.  It has two options for the sleeves, three for the collar, and and three for the skirt.  It was really hard to chose which option because I loved them all.  Well the butterfly collar I extra love.  The pattern is really well written had some great tips in it that helped give the confidence to do the butterfly collar.  This is my favorite dress I have made Stella so far.  The fabric is from Ruby by Thimble Blossoms.  I don't think you can get it anymore.  Stella loves the dress too.  When I put her in it she was running all over the house and dancing.  She wore it all day yesterday.

 

The rest of the Mother's Day was great too.  My son had made me adorable artwork in nursery school.  My husband bought me a kindle which I am very excited about.  I had wonderful visits with a lot of family. I love watching my kids play with my nieces and nephew.  It makes my heart melt.   I am very spoiled.  Both my mother and mother-in-law get me presents for Mother's Day too.  I received some liberty fabric from my mom.  My mother-in-law gave me a check with the instructions to spend on myself.  I really need clothes but that is not what I spent it on. Yes it is spent.  I pre-ordered some Briar Rose.  I ordered another yard of some fabric. And I bought some notions, a book, and a magazine.  It was kind of like my birthday.   

I have been loving sewing for Stella but I kind of want to take a short break from kids clothes even though I have fabric all cut out for a skirt and a top (2+2).  I am working on a pillow for a friend now and I want to make  a Kindle cover.  I found this tutorial this morning from the Clover and Violet blog.  

Well I am off to do a little work on the pillow before dinner.  I hope to be back soon with a finished pillow.

I am linking up again today to Sew Cute Tuesday at Better Off Thread.

Plus Quilt Top

                                         I finished Luke's quilt top this past weekend.  I've had it wadded it up on my porch since I made it so it is a little wrinkly.  I used this pattern.   The background is Essex linen in natural and I used a variety of fabrics I had in my stash and a few I bought just for the quilt.  Luke loves it and wants to use it now.  I had to explain to him what I else I have to do to finish it.  Now he is always asking me about backing and batting.  It is so cute.                            

These pictures are not so good but I just didn't have it in me to make more an effort to take better pictures.  I haven't decided yet how I want to quilt it.  I will probably do an allover design.  Maybe I will do bubbles or something.  I could just meander because I do enjoy doing that and love how it looks.  But I do want to try new things too.  It will be a little while before I get around to quilting this so I have some time.  I welcome suggestions.

Today I am going to link up to WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced. 

Sushi Jacket

Sometimes projects don't always come out as cute as I had hoped.  The last dress I had made Stella was one of those projects.  So I am extra thrilled that this came out like I had hoped it would.  It is the Make it Perfect Uptown jacket and I couldn't be happier.  The fabric is Timeless Treasures (sushi fabric) and Mini Mikes Michale Miller (orange gingham).   I was worried that the sushi print would be too big.  But it isn't.  It is just right.

 Here is the fabric close up.  I bought it at Alewives when I was doing the quilt hop.  And here is the back.  I love the hood with the contrasting fabric.

And the jacket is revisable.  The sushi fabric is kind of busy so if it is too much for what Stella is wearing I can just reverse the jacket to the orange gingham side.

Today we are going to the May Day festivities in our town.  It should be sunny but not too warm so I hope to get lots of pictures of Stella wearing it.  Hopefully I can keep her from spilling her lunch all over it.

* edited to add - I took some pictures today at May Day. Here is the girl wearing the jacket!

and here is one of all of us!

It is not the best picture but it is rare to have one of the four of us.


edited again - I just linked up to Sew Cute Tuesday on Better off Thread!

Hello

I didn't make anything Stella is wearing in this picture.  But I do love her outfit.  It is a top and skirt that my mom bought at JC Penney along with a pair of pink polka dot Boden leggings (also from my mom but I requested them for her birthday).  And I didn't make the tent for her playhouse either.  I really wanted to make a tent myself but have realized that I can't make everything.  So my Uncle was very generous with birthday money for Stella and  we splurged on the Land of Nod playhouse tent.  Do you want to know my justifications for the spulrge?  Well my kids are really rough with their toys and we needed a canvas/sturdy one that would hold up to them.  And we live in a small place.  So this is crammed in my living room not stuffed in a room I can shut the door on.  So if I am going to be staring at it all the time I needed a good looking one.  And I just love it.  Oh and the kids love it to.

So I don't know why I am bloging today.  I am not at home but am out so I am not crafting at the moment and can't show a picture of all the crafting things I am work on at home.  I just took this picture off facebook because I don't want to blog without a picture and it is such a cute one.  I tought it should be on my blog.

I am just so bursting right now with so many things I want to make and feel very happy about all the crafty things going on right now.  I woke up early today to work on Stella's sushi jacket before work today.  I love it so far even though I just started and can't wait to finish.  I am really enjoying looking at everything crafty online too.  I am constantly discovering new to me crafty blogs and such and it makes me so happy.  I wish I lived next door to or could hang out with everyone in person too.  So I guess I am just blogging to share my happiness.  I feel very fortunate.  And this spring weather and the plans of taking my little ones out for some sunny adventures are helping my mood too.

What is making you happy right now?