Trisha's gifts to Elizabeth

Trisha made Elizabeth's gifts also...she made a diaper bag using an enlarged version of a purse she made for herself. She got the pattern from Sharon. The fabric is the left overs from her kitchen cushions..how resourceful! It is absolutely awesomely COOL!

She also made this car seat cover, with a peep hole for those blustery Ohio winter days, so little Isaac doesn't get cold. The giraffes coordinate with her car seat. The car seat in the picture is not their's, it is one I bought for Jessica and David, but we put it on this one to model the cover for everyone.

Elizabeth's Shower...baby gifts by Candi

We had Elizabeth's shower today at our country club....We all made her stuff...I actually finished the last piece of this ensemble this afternoon, minutes before walking out the door to set up for the shower. This is all of the accessories...a diaper bag, quilt, recieving blanket, changing pad, and snuggly pouch. I feel like I have been working a decade on this. I don't want to see any more fabric with this theme again.

The hearts are appliqued. I used freezer paper and spray adhesive which I was introduced to by Kim. I will never pin appliques again! It made it sew easy to line up the four patches, so that the points are PERFECT. But I like the bow in the middle that would hide a center point imperfection anyways.

It is a Simplicity pattern which also includes a bib and boppy cover that I chose not to make, the receiving blanket is just serged around the edges, and the changing pad is backed with rubberized fabric and serged. They were not in the pattern.

My first quilting/applique project

I am just about done making the top on this simple quilt. It is far from perfect. I can't seem to sew in a straight line. But I am getting better. Anyway. I am going to give this to Krisha when she comes back from OKC.

A Retirement Gift for Kim

I started this purse a little over a month ago, then put it to the side and worked on other things...I found it in the spring issue of Quilts and more. It really wasn't hard to put together at all, I was just undecided about adding another fabric, which I decided against in the end. The front is paper pieced, not part of the pattern in the magazine...that was my creation. The back and lining are in the red star fabric, and a small pocket inside is in the blue. the buttoned flap closure is a decoy, it really has a magnetic snap closure underneath the button. It is a very nice design, small...but big enough for a retired person...since she doesn't have to take all her work tools, reading materials, and lunch in it, like I do using my Birdie Sling (tote size) purse. This is a gift for Kim for her retirement. I am giving it to her Sunday. I hope she likes it as much as Joann's purse, and Sharon's quilt. I know I can't compete with them...I am just an amateur.

Nusery Project

Among my many projects in process, I restored the cradle that Bob made for Jesse in 1978 (?). I began the restoration when Mikey was on the way, but fell on it and broke a rocker off after he only slept in it two or three times. It only took about 30 minutes to fix this time. I finished a sheet for it, and now I am just binding a quilt that matches the sheet- A panel Sharon just happened to have that coordinated with the sheet fabric I have had for three years! I backed it with giraffe print. I quilted this on my regular machine, and learned to use another accessory. It is a bar that hooks to your walking foot to keep your quilting lines uniformly spaced. I like the way it turned out.

Trying to Get Kim into Quilting

Kim has retired from her job now, sew she will have lots of extra time for more hobbies. Today, I took her to the Home Machine Quilting Show in Salt Lake City. Here is a picture of us at the show. We had a great time, and she bought lots of quilting gadgets.

Crossstiching

I get so caught up on doing things by machine that sometimes I forget how relaxing and fun plain old counted cross stitch is. Sharon introduced me to this craft when I was in Germany from 1983-1986. I would write her and tell her how bored I was and I didn't have any friends and she sent me a cross stitch pattern to help alleviate my boredom. (Do you remember that Sharon?) I was hooked. Anyway I did the following cross stitch for Tiffany and James. You really can't see in these photos but the swirls behind the letters have alot of beadwork in it. I had to add the fabric border because I didn't buy a big enough peace of cross stitch to frame. Here is another picture so maybe you can see the beads.