Lillian's Dresses

It's so much fun making these little dresses for Lillian.


Simplicity #1821

She won't be little long.  She's already three.

Macy Giggles Sundress
Izzy & Ivy Designs








Simplicity #2171

 I think this blue one is my favorite.

Simplicity #1924

Happy Stitching,
Nancy

A Quilt for Evelyn

Evelyn is almost a year old and I am just starting to work on her quilt.  I made a quilt for Lillian (here) to hang on her wall when she was about this age so Evelyn needs one too.
This is really a work in progress and I don't  have any idea which direction it will take.
I can see it needs more brown and maybe a little less green.
I enjoy working with liberated letters and continue to be inspired by designers like Tonya at Lazy Gal and Gwen Marston  along with Mary Lou Weidman.  Their work is so creative and original.

So she would not feel left out I stitched up two little dresses for Lillian.

Happy stitching,
Nancy

A Busy Week

I seem to have become a hit or miss blogger.  I don't know where the days go but they sure go fast.

 Tuesday we had a fun day picking strawberries.  Boy all that dirt and pesticide sure taste good.

I added a few more blocks to my Farmer's Wife quilt.  I am trying to decide on the sashing fabric to use.  The quilt seems a little dark and I am trying to think of some way to brighten it up.  Any suggestions?

 Thursday I made Lillian a little short outfit.

I also completed  this weeks Barrister's Sow Along Blocks 

and am  following along with Cheri from Quilts by Cheri with her little Georgia quilt along.

So I guess the week was a busy one after all but you will notice I didn't mention anything about cleaning or cooking.
Happy stitching,
Nancy

It's Almost Here!

Well, the day is almost here and as usual I am not ready.

I finished some last minute sewing this weekend.
A Christmas dress for Lillian  and one more stocking.

Remember this quilt from this post?  It  was a Christmas present for my son-in-law last year.  I don't know why I put off repairing it for so long.  It wasn't hard to do I just sewed a new inner border strip over the torn one and put on a new binding.  The most difficult part was remembering to buy some black fabric.

It is happily back home.

Now to the sorting, wrapping and finding out what I forgot.

I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and don't forget to check back on the 24th to find out the winner of the Christmas blog hop.

Happy Stitching,

Nancy

The Ice Cream Dress

One of the patterns I used and  really liked is called the Ice Cream Dress.  One day as I was blog hopping I came across the Badskirt blog.  Amy was having a sew along making the Ice Cream Dress.  It was so cute I decided I needed to make one for Lillian.
On the yoke of this dress you have to turn a hem before you sew it down and it needs to be nice and even since you are turning it to the right side.
Here is a little tip I have for pressing hems so they look nice and straight .

Cut a manilla folder into approximately 2 to 3 inch strips and mark the amount you want to turn under along the edge.  I guess you could use any type of folder just be careful if you choose a colored one because steam might transfer the color onto your fabric.

Then place the strip on the wrong side of the fabric and press the hem -  folding the fabric over the edge of the folder strip.

  This gives you a nice crisp turn with a smooth edge to sew down.  It's very quick and easy and could be used to turn a hem on almost anything where you want a nice even edge.
Happy stitching,
Nancy

Lillians Clothes

Not much time for quilting lately because I have been busy sewing for little Lillian.  I haven't made any little dresses in quite some time and it was fun.
I was a little surprised at how expensive the patterns for these little gems were.  Most of them were bought at the quilt shop and are not anything like I remember patterns.  You have to trace your own  pieces and you need to have a little dressmaking experience because the instructions are somewhat lacking.
Still a few left to finish but I put these in the mail today.  Sure hope they fit.
If you know of any cute ones I have missed let me know.
Happy stitching,
Nancy

Quack, Quack

 

I just finished this little quilt for my granddaughter Lillian.   This is the sixth project in my Accuquilt Die challenge.

She loves ducks. I think her first words were quack, quack.

The pattern is in Quiltmaker magazine.  I cut the entire quilt with my Accuquilt GO cutter.  It only took two dies - the Value die that comes with the GO and the 2 1/4" strip cutter.

It seems like every time I look at a magazine now I think...can I cut that on my GO?  You would be surprised how many patterns can actually be cut using  the GO and how much time you save.

I Asked Them to Stop!

Growing that is...Sometime I wish they could stay little forever.

                                        These are my beautiful Grandchildren.

Chloe is four and Garrett is twelve.

                                                      Lillian just turned one this month.

Time passes so quickly.  I know I am a little bit partial but don't they look cute with Santa?

"Lillian"

Don't you just wish  you could stop time and keep them babies forever?

Lillian Keeps Growing

You just gotta love those sleeping baby pictures.

Lillian is 3 months old today!

Lillian's Quilt Part Two

I have finally finished the second quilt for Lillian. It's smaller than the first. Still a little larger than I wanted. I hope it will fit over her crib. I still have to make the label. Not my favorite part of quilting. One thing for sure I don't care if I ever see another piece of lavender and green fabric.
My next project is ripping down wallpaper from my kitchen. What fun!

Lillian's Quilt

I finally finished Lillian's quilt top. It turned out a lot larger than I wanted

57 x 56 so it isn't going to work as a quilt to hang behind her crib.

I even went back and made some of the letters smaller but just couldn't get them small enough. Maybe Tonya will have some suggestions in her new book.
I guess I will just have to make another quilt to hang on the wall.

I like the way the quilt turned out. The problem now is I can't figure out how it should be quilted.

A Quilt for Lillian

I have been working on this quilt for Lillian, my little Granddaughter and let me tell you working outside the lines is not an easy task..

I have so much admiration for designers like Tonya at Lazy Gal and Gwen Marston , I have several of their books.

Thanks goodness Tonya has a book coming out soon.

This is a temporary arrangement of my quilt which was inspired by one of Tonya's.

I am not so sure about the reach for the stars block. It is difficult to read and I am not crazy about the color.

Speaking of color. I had no idea how difficult it would be to find Lavender and green fabric. Evidently those are last seasons colors. I ended up mixing batiks and other fabrics. I am not sure if that is acceptable or not but I really didn't have much of a choice.

This quilt is supposed to be a wall hanging to go over the crib and it is coming out a little larger than I wanted. I think I got carried away with the size of my letters. I still have the border to do and that will make it even larger.

This is not as easy as you might think. Trying to get all the pieces to fit together has been quite a task for me.

Heavenly Gift

Wow, what a day December the 5th was.
My Daughter went into labor on her Birthday (three weeks early)
and the baby was born at 4:23 am December the 6th...

Lillian Wrenn

What a wonderful birthday present.