Kayzlie's Quilt

I recently finished a quilt for my newest niece. Actual quilting time technically took me 3-4 weeks. But really with breaks, my real timeline was from July to September. The design of this quilt (herringbone) was simpler, but also more modern. After so many colors in the last quilt I had completed, my eyes needed a little break. Thus there is a lot of white in this quilt and I absolutely love it! I used only online tutorials to help me guess at the design and then used my own measurements to get it to fit onto a toddler bed. I made the bias tape (yellow edge) by myself this time and I love how that feature turned out. 

Enough dialogue, I'll let you see the final product now.  I wish I had pressed it before these pictures, but I finished hand hemming the bias tape on the drive over to deliver it... in the passenger seat.

A Week as a Seamstress

Ever since taking my Sewing 101 class at BYU, I have had absolutely NO desire to sew clothing again. It was complicated, frustrating and annoying. Sure it was satisfying once you finished a project that was made to fit you. But when you could spend the same money to get something similar at the store, the hours at the sewing machine just did not add up for me. Not to mention my talent is nowhere near my other friends who took the same class. Just look here. My friend Amy sews all of that, and even designs patterns for others to replicate her work for their own kids. A-Mazing!

 My sister-in-law Christina was in town with her family at the beginning of August. We let our husbands watch our kiddos while we went to the outlet mall here in Boise. We ended up in Carter's and we found the perfect dress for my niece Mariel. Only one problem: It was not made in her size. :( I think it was harder for me to leave that store with out that dress for her. I NEVER go to the girls side of the clothing stores. Leaves too much room to dream, when I'm perfectly happy with my little boys, lol. But that day I wanted that dress for her.

So my brain started turning and thinking. "Hey, I took a sewing class. I bet I could recreate that for her." So three fabric stores late I found a similar fabric, sketched out a pattern on gift wrapping tissue paper and began to sew that dress for Mariel.

Nearly finished I said to Brandon, "Do you think I should even add the sleeves? I think it's cute like this." (Hoping inside he'd say no, so I could avoid the hassle of sleeves.)

He liked the sleeves. And truth be told, so did I. I added the sleeves. I was surprised that it took only a week to get it all done. The biggest pain was not having my own serger and having to zig-zag stitch all the raw edges. But I think it was worth it.

I was immensely grateful for the praise from my mom, brother Roger, his wife Jamie, and my mother-in-law while I sewed the project. It helped me get past those I hate sewing clothing memories. And honestly it wasn't nearly as bad as sewing something for myself. Kids clothing is much easier. I think it came out as a success in the end. I wish I had pictures of my models, Ryan and Mason, who helped me with sizing the dress. I do however have a few pictures of the birthday girl who was happy to have a new dress.

And sewing it was definitely worth it for that smile. Happy Birthday Mariel!

A Long Time Coming

I've never had a project I've worked on, this consistently take so long to complete. But it was completely worth it.

My first complex quilt!

 

 

With ideas from Pinterest, techniques from Youtube, help from my Relief Society President, and many other resources, I made this quilt for my newest niece, Georgia. They just received it so it's now safe for me to post pictures of the final product. Here's an excerpt from what I wrote in their card:

"It's not perfect. It took longer than I thought it would. And it took on a different design many times. But it has been pieced, pinned, sewn, and stitched with so much love. It served as a reminder to me that life isn't perfect, but love can be."

 

 

 

 (A look at my new favorite technique, Hand Quilting. It is so worth the time, effort, and even the pain of being purposefully poked in the finger... over and over).

Special thanks to my dear husband who endured many evenings of sewing that lasted deep in to the night while the boys slept. And for even helping me press seams when I thought I couldn't press one more. Now maybe I can get to finishing that jean quilt I started for you last October... :)

Lone Crafter

Does your spouse ever have to leave town for work? Mine does. Up until this last position, the only nights we had ever spent apart came after my brother had been in a serious car accident. It was right before finals week so my husband wasn't able to come with me to be with family. With his new job we are still so fortunate that his work trips are not frequent. I know so many women whose spouse is in the military or other jobs in which they are required to be away from their families for weeks at a time.

When I look at it that way, a week here and there doesn't seem too bad. I have found that by adding structure and routine into my days, the week goes by much faster. I try to devote all my time to my son when he is awake and save blogging and projects for nap time and bedtime. Then he gets the attention he needs and I have the mental release and creative distraction I so crave when my husband is gone. The only problem comes when I get so into a project that I realize I've been at my sewing machine longer than I had planned. Is is really 1, 2, 3  AM?

The next day I find myself dragging my feet and praying that nap time comes quickly and will last the full two hours so I can catch a nap as well. So there are days of ebb and flow as I make up for my late nights, but it gets me through to the end of the week with the sweet return of my husband.

For all those who have spouses who leave town time and again, what do you do to make the time pass by? Here's what I created last night. My mom had something like this in her home. I used the same material from the crib bedding I made for my son two years ago (will post later... those pictures are on my external hard drive and I'd love to share the finished product with you). It was a quick and easy project that I plan on repeating twice more for our living room and bedroom.

I love it even with just the cover and ribbon. The others will look similar to this.