A PLUS QUILT FOR A GREAT CAUSE

I am so proud to be a small part of Craft Hope~We Are Kenya.  Although I purchased a copy of their book, Craft Hope-Handmade Crafts for a Cause, a couple of years ago, this is the first time I have donated to their projects (this is #25...wow!).  After reading about We Are Kenya, I knew that it was the perfect time to start. 

  I was so excited that I immediately started pulling gender friendly fabrics (not knowing who will receive my quilt) from my stash and came up with a color pallet I liked.  I started cutting pieces for a Plus Quilt and I was soon laying it out on our living room floor (where do you lay your quilts out?). 

I am so pleased with out it turned out and hope that one of the 25 little boys & girls receiving a quilt will love it as much as I do. (Excuse the pic, it was a very overcast day)

I went very simple with the quilting as I am not used to quilting twin sizes on my sewing machine.  (Can you spot my fabric placement error?  Oops!)

I had a hard time choosing a binding color. So, instead of choosing just one, I went scrappy. I love it!

 

 

If you would like to learn more about Craft Hope and find out how you can help, please visit here.

 

Hope your Monday is magnificent!

Thank you for stopping by.

Smiles~Beth

 

 

 

 

 

This 'Sacred Sewing Room' is so inspiring.

A little over 5 years ago I found myself feeling lost.  At the time, I had been a stay-at-home-mom to our 3 boys for 9 years & had also been caring for another little boy, 3 days a week, for almost 2 years. I had always wanted to be a SAHM & I couldn't understand why I was no longer feeling fulfilled with my role in the family.  

 
Around this time my best girlfriend, Terra, had started sewing clothes for her daughter. Everything was adorable & her new talent inspired me.  The only problem, I didn't have a sewing machine or know the first thing about sewing.  So, I bought my first sewing machine (identical to Terra's), packed up the boys and headed 3 hours away to Terra's house.  Our kiddos played during the day and at night Terra patiently taught me the basics of sewing. Those 4 days changed my life.  I slowly realized that I simply needed something that was "mine".  That may sound selfish to some of you and I am OK with that. Sewing created the outlet I needed to still feel like what I did mattered.  Because, let's face it, no one was complimenting me on my sandwich making skills and house keeping abilities (although, that may have been because I am not a great house keeper...ha!).

Now, onto the reason I decided to post to my blog after almost a year off.  An old high school friend tagged me in an article that she posted on Facebook.  Although, my situation is different, I related to this story so much.  It reminded me of the insecure place I was in 5 years ago & how much sewing has helped me be a better Mom & wife.  I hope you take a few minutes to read it. 



Who knows, maybe it will inspire you to share your skills with someone & help change their lives.  Just like Terra did for me.


Smiles~Beth

A BABY GIRL QUILT

I am so excited to share this baby quilt with you.  This was a commissioned quilt.  I tend to worry more when trying to meet someone else's expectations rather than when I am making quilts as gifts.  I wasn't given much direction, just a couple color suggestions, which took a little of the pressure off.

 

I came across this gorgeous print by Amy Butler at Fabric.com. It was the perfect starting point. Definitely girly but not too 'baby'.

Alchemy, Queen Ann's Butterflies in Topaz

After receiving approval, I starting pulling fabrics and came up with this lovely stack.
 

 

Next, I went through my Quilt Love board on Pinterest and decided on this amazing tutorial by Amy over at Diary of a Quilter (thank you, Amy!!). I changed it up slightly by using a different print in each block.  I also added one more row of blocks on the bottom.

 

 

For the back, I appliqued baby's name, using prints from the front.

 

 

The simple straight line quilting was done on my home machine, a Janome 4900qc.

 

I had so much fun working with this color palette! I fell in love with it the more I worked with the fabrics and I am proud of the way it turned out. And I am happy to report that it was very well received...whew!

 

Hope you have a lovely day!

Smiles~Beth

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



TURNING 11

Today is my middle monster's 11th birthday. I couldn't help but pull out a few old (& 1 new) photos to embarrass celebrate him.  I am truly honored to be this kiddos Mom.

 

          





I couldn't pass this one up...it is SO Sam!!



Taken by April Yost of A Yost Photography...thank for rushing to get it edited for me to use today.  Just another reason she is AMAZING!!



Just a few (or more) things I love about him...

He gives the best hugs...he holds on tight and rarely lets go first

His sense of humor...even if it gets him in trouble sometimes ;)

His smarts...this kid received a PERFECT report card last week (seriously,perfect,not even a 99%!)

He is leader...in the classroom & on the ball field

His kind heart...he is friends with everyone & doesn't leave anyone out

His confidence...he has just the right amount...he is proud but modest

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY SUNSHINE!!!

 

Smiles~Beth

 

 

 

 



PILLOWCASES~OUR NEW "GO TO" BIRTHDAY GIFT

It seems like my youngest monster, age 7 (going on 16), gets invited to ALOT of birthday parties.  This past summer he requested that I make his buddies their gift (it was a joint party).  I tried to convince him to just go to the toy department with me and pick something out or simply give a gift card. I was leaving for Florida the next day with my middle monster for a baseball tournament.  He wouldn't go for it.  His argument was, "Mom, you are such a good maker.  You shouldn't just make things for us."  How was I supposed to argue with that? 

 

After a little thought (and help from my girl, Terra!), we decided that I would make pillowcases. I found this super easy to follow tutorial by Missouri Quilt Co. and whipped 2 pillowcases up fairly quickly. 

 

 

My monster chose the soccer ball fabric.  I thought it was a perfect choice since the boys are all teammates :)  I added their soccer #'s to make them more personal.  I used heat transfer vinyl.  The white vinyl glows in the dark...super cool. We also included some candy, I figured if they didn't like the pillowcases the candy would be a hit ;)  Luckily, both boys loved their personalized gifts.  So much that pillowcases are now our official go-to gift.  It seems that both girls and boys of all ages love them. 

 

 

This one was for a classmate.  Instead of using vinyl, I appliqued the birthday girl's name on with fabric.  I personally love this one.  It may or may not have something to do with the fact that I hardly ever get make girly things ;)

 

 

For this 2-sport playing birthday boy, I made a flippable (is that even a word?) pillowcase.  One side soccer and one side baseball.

 

 

And this one was sent across the state to an old neighbor that broke his ankle.  I thought he might need a little something to lift his spirits.  Although he has been raised in Missouri, he has Packer pride just like his Dad.  It too has glow-in-the-dark vinyl :)

 

If you have doubted making handmade gifts for a birthday boy or girl, please don't.  It's amazing how special it makes them feel.  Believe me, the smile on their face will take away any doubts you may have.

 

Hope your Monday is marvelous!

Smiles~Beth

 

 



A BABY QUILT FOR HARPER

An old high school friend and his new bride welcomed a sweet baby girl into the world last week.  I couldn't resist making them a baby quilt to help celebrate her arrival. 

 

 

I just adore those tiny little dots and cute little owls paired together.

 

 

For the back I used a lovely goldish-yellow dot.

 

 

If you are in need of a handmade baby gift, this simple quilt came together rather quickly.  I used one yard of fabric for the center and then added 4-inch borders to the sides.  Harper 's name is appliqued on, using a zigzag stitch. I don't always include the baby's middle name but I love that Rose is her mother's maiden name as well :)  I did simple straight line quilting in a diamond pattern (about 6" apart).  And since the width is approximately 42", I was able to use one piece of fabric for the backing...no piecing!!  I also machine stitched the binding on, for durability.  Simple and adorable!!

 

Linking up to Finish it Up Friday over at Crazy Mom Quilts

 

Hope you have a lovely weekend!

Smiles~Beth



HELLO AGAIN!!

Well, HELLO there!!!

I took quite the break from blogging but just couldn't stay away any longer.  Now that I have healed from my broken leg, Spring baseball season is over (they have already started practices for the Fall season!!) and school has begun, I am in full sewing mode. It feels SO good to be sewing on a regular basis again!!

This week I will share some pictures & happenings of what I have been up to lately.  In the meantime, here is one of my little monsters (that really aren't that little anymore!).

Hope you have a lovely day!
Smiles~Beth

 

MERRY CHRISTMAS & A HAPPY NEW YEAR

Hoping you all had a wonderful Christmas making memories with those you love most and wishing you the happiest of New Year's!

 

I will be back in full blog mode soon.  This broken leg of mine has affected me in more ways than I was prepared for.  And I owe you all a couple of giveaways (I bet you thought I forgot)

 

 

Until then please enjoy our Christmas card

 

Smiles~Beth



WELL, HELLO THERE. IT'S BEEN A WHILE.

Wow, where did the last 6 weeks go!?!  A lot has happened, Sam turned 10 (say what?!), Halloween (we still have so much candy left!), 6 Fall baseball tournaments (2 first place & 1 second place...woot woot!), I broke my leg (yep, both bones in my lower right leg) and Thanksgiving.  Whew, no wonder I have been MIA for so long. 

 

Since I broke my leg I won't be able to sew this Holiday Season. Yep, total bummer. Luckily, I broke it before Black Friday because I was able to do 90% of my Christmas online over the past 2 days.  A blessing since I won't be able to drive for 6-10 weeks (anyone want to come over and hang out so I don't go completely stir cRaZy?).  And I got some really great deals :) 

 

I figured that just because I can't sew doesn't mean that everyone else won't be sewing, right? So, I will be holding a couple of giveaways over the next week or so (Don't worry, I will get the hubs to mail them out).  Not sure exactly what the goodies will be yet but I know 1 of them will be for my 2.5" strip scraps from this quilt top.  Perfect for a quick table runner or whatever your creative mind comes up with :)

 

That's it for me. To help livin up this post here is a pic of me and my cousin at our Thanksgiving day celebration at my parent's house.  He had surgery on his knee just a few days prior so he & I got to sit in matching recliners all day while people waited on us :)

 

 

 

I would love to hear what you have been up to or what wonderful projects you are working on.  I will try not to be too jealous ;) Be sure to come back for a visit next week and enter in my giveaways!

 

Smiles~Beth



COUNTDOWN TO CHRISTMAS~QUILT TOP

I started this quilt in June 2011 during a quilt~a~long hosted by P.S. I Quilt.  Sadly, I had too many things on my plate and wasn't able to finish it before Christmas.  Then I kinda forgot about it. 

 

A couple of weeks ago I was able to take a few days away from every day life and head up to West Des Moines, Iowa to visit my best girlfriend.  We had plans to do some sewing and I was so excited to rediscover my Countdown to Christmas blocks while going through my fabric.  In our short couple of days I was able to get the quilt top sewn together, yay!!

 

 

This quilt has some raw edges.  I can't wait to get it all finished up so I can wash it and see how scruffily it is. 

 

 Now I just need to figure how to quilt it, or better yet, have someone else do the quilting ;)

Linking this finish up to the wonderful:
Finish It Up Fridays @ Crazy Mom Quilts

Smiles~Beth



A T-SHIRT QUILT~LET'S GO TITANS!!

   Two years ago my brother-in-law gave me some very special t-shirts (memories from coaching his oldest son's Pop Warner football team) and asked me to make him a quilt out of them.  He even offered to pay me and had cash in hand.  I turned down the cash, we are family after all ;)  Besides, I knew it would take me a while to get it done.  He has been patiently waiting and didn't even ask about it on his last visit in town (he had strict orders from my sister not to inquire...ha!).  Well, I finally got it finished and it is now in his hands.  What a great feeling to get it off of my To Do list!

 

I didn't quite get the 'perfect' picture of it but I still wanted to share it here. 

 

This one is too dark but probably shows the overall quilt the best.

 

 

This one shows truer colors.

 

 

This one shows the simple quilting a little better.  Pay no attention to all of those not-so-straight lines!

 

 

Here is one of the back.  I used Robert Kauffman Kona cotton in Ash.

 

 

And this one makes me smile because of all the little football players in the backgroud.

 

 

I wasn't able to be there when he first saw it but I did get this text from him so I am pretty sure he was smiling ;)

 

"Thank you soooooo much for the kick ass blanket!!! I would have given you a humongous bear hug if you were here.  I love it! You rock!"  He even went on to say that besides his children it was the nicest gift anyone has given him.

 

I think that is best reaction I have ever gotten from someone after making them a quilt.  For sure good enough to forgive him for calling it a blanket...ha!

 

I am linking up to~

Finish It Up Friday @ Crazy Mom Quilts
Confessions of a Fabric Addict
 

Happy Friday!

Smiles~Beth

MY MAD FOR PLAID BAG

A fellow 'soccer mom' was carrying the cutest bag last week.  I knew that she dabbles in sewing and couldn't help but ask her if she made it.  She did! (I was not surprised one bit, she is very talented).  The pattern came from a book she has and she was kind enough to share it with me.  Isn't she sweet :)   

I used this lovely little bundle of 2 Denyse Schmidt prints (from her JoAnns line) and a simple navy & white dot I got at my local quilt shop.

 

I couldn't be happier with the way it turned out!

Happy Thursday to all!

Smiles~Beth


100 QUILTS FOR KIDS: WHEELS TODDLER QUILT

After a summer of very little sewing I am happy to have more time to spend with my sewing machine.  I sure did miss her ;)  I think I have gotten more projects done in the last week than I did all summer!

 

My latest finish is a baby/toddler quilt.  I put this stack together a while back with Katie's 100 Quilts for Kids challenge in mind. It's so nice to have it crossed off my list.  Especially knowing it will be going to a special little one.

 

Fabric is Wheels by Riley Blake along with a couple other prints from my stash

 

Backing is by Michael Miller

Since Katie recommends donating to a local charity if you can, this little cutie will be going to my local Quilts for Kids chapter.  They will then give it to Children's Mercy Hospital (in Kansas City, MO). 

 

If you have some extra fabric and a little extra time I encourage you to join Katie's 100 Quilts for Kids.  There are so many children in hospitals that would cherish your talent & kindness.

 

Smiles~Beth

 

 



MONSTER PENCIL POUCHES

It's no secret that my boys love all things 'monster'.  So, when I saw these cute little pouches over at Make It Love It I knew I had to make a couple for my own little monsters.

 

 

They are now happily living in monsters #2 & #3's desks at school :)

 

Smiles~Beth

A MONSTER TOOTH FAIRY PILLOW

My littlest monster lost his first tooth last week. 

I was so excited for him (and sad at the same time, he is really growing up). He has been waiting for that moment for a year.  When you have 2 big brothers it's hard not to want to be doing all things they are, even if it's losing teeth. 

To help celebrate the big event I made him a monster tooth fairy pillow.  I pinned this pillow a while back and knew that my littlest monster would love something similar.  I combined that monster with the monster from a shirt I made last year for my nephew and voila!

It came together rather quickly and I was able to use scraps from his All Star quilt...bonus!! 

He can't wait to lose more teeth!

Smiles~Beth

QUILTS FOR KIDS~FINISHED

I received my first quilt kit (it won't be my last!) from Quilts for Kids a couple of months ago. I was a little worried I wouldn't have time to finish it in a timely manner, our summer was filled with just about everything but sewing.  Thankfully, with a little help from 2 of my monsters I was able to get this sent off within the requested 45-60 days.

It was such a wonderful feeling to complete and send off this cute little quilt. 

A big thanks to my littlest monster for holding this up for me :)

I hope the recipient enjoys it as much as we enjoyed making it.

Smiles~Beth

IMPROMPTU~SHAKING THE DUST OFF

With school starting back up tomorrow and our summer winding down I have found a little time to wipe the dust off my Janome and sew a little. 

Remember way back in May when I cut fabric for Nathan's quilt?  Well, I still haven't gotten it done but I have managed to turn some of these 9-patch blocks

into these

I am using a the Impromptu quilt pattern by Rachel Griffith of P.S. I Quilt.  It's taking me a little longer than I thought but mostly because I changed up the pattern just a bit.  I have only 3 of 13 of these blocks finished.  I am hoping to get at least 3 more done by Friday.

Hope everyone is enjoying what is left of summer.

Smiles~Beth

DOWNY & QUILTS FOR KIDS

Did you know that Downy Touch of Comfort has teamed up with Quilts for Kids? (apparently this is old news but I just heard about it!)

Quilts for Kids is a fabulous program that strives to provide comfort (through quilts) for children in hospitals around the US.  I recently got in touch with my local chapter to find out what I can do to help.  It is much easier to help than I thought.  I made a simple request for a quilt kit (yep, a free kit) and within a couple of weeks I received a package full of precut fabric and instructions on how to complete a 4-patch quilt.  All I have to do is sew it up, grab some batting, quilt, bind & mail back within 4-6 weeks. It even comes with a quilt label.  Super simple!

I love what these quilts represent and look forward to getting it done.  I have also picked some neglected fabrics from my own stash in hopes to get a quilt done for Katie's 100 Quilts for Kids.  Also, a wonderful charitable foundation. 

If you have a sewing machine and a little free time or some fabric hiding in a closet somewhere begging to be used please consider contributing to of these great causes.  If you don't have time to sew but have some fabric they will happily accept it.  Every child deserves some comfort.

Smiles~Beth

BIRTHDAYS & BASEBALL

My apologies for the long absence.  The last 3 weeks have been filled with 3 birthdays and 30 baseball games, yep 30!!

I am now 36 and have a 12-year old son. All I can say is WOW!  I am totally amazed by the wonderful young man my Nathan is becoming (and that I am old enough to be his mother...ha!!!).  He is one of the kindest people I know.  I love that he asks me how my day is EVERY DAY and still gives me hugs without having to ask for them.  He makes me smile every day and I am so very proud of him. Happy Birthday Angel!!!

I also want to wish one of the most beautiful, giving, strong women I know, my Mom, a very Happy Birthday! Love you lots!

As you have probably figured out I haven't gotten much sewing done.  I did manage sewing up all of my blocks for Carin @ Margaret's Hope Chest.  (You can read my original blog post here)

Thankfully the deadline for these blocks was extended to the end of July so these little pretties won't be late.

Hope everyone is enjoying their summer!!!
Smiles~Beth

MARGARET'S HOPE CHEST...I HELPED, CAN YOU?

While reading one of my favorite blogs yesterday I found myself inspired (and not in the usual way).   Amanda Jean @ Crazy Mom Quilts has teamed up with Carin @ Margaret's Hope Chest to help donate quilts to children.  How wonderful is that?!?! 

Amanda Jean designed a super simple quilt block that anyone could make (seriously, if you can sew short straight lines, you CAN make this block...no matter your sewing skill level).  I knew right away that I wanted to help and was instantly rummaging through my stash to find fabric. I quickly had 18 blocks cut out.

I am hoping to get all of these sewn up and sent off by the end of the week. 

If you would like to help put a smile on a child's face, you may find out how you can here.  I would be happy to provide the fabric if you live close by :)

Smiles~Beth