Quilt Top

I finished my quilt top!  In only 2 days!

My first TuTu

This was my first attempt at a tutu.  Unfortunately, Rebekah hated wearing it!  But, maybe once she gets a little older she'll like to play dress up with it.  I used 2 rolls of tulle ribbon that my mom gave me for free, and some ribbon left over from my wedding favors!  I already had the elastic for the waistband, so this was a completely free project!  I added velcro to the waist band so I could make it bigger as she grows, I'll just need to add more tulle.  At least it looks good on the little lamb!

This is the fabric I bought today for a toddler size quilt.  This is going to be my daughter's birthday present, so I need to finish it in a week!  I'll update on my progress as I go.

Another Little Girl Skirt with Matching Hair Bows

This was a brown corduroy pants that I turned into a skirt for Rebekah.  I had leftover material from the bottom of the legs, so I made matching hair bows.  For the bows, I basically made the handle part of my favorite tote.  Then I made a loop and flattened it, the ends slightly overlapping.  I sewed a couple stitches across the middle and pulled tight so it would gather a little in the middle.  After covering the clip with pink ribbon, I hot glued the bow to the clip and added pink ribbon around the center to finish it off.  Now, I just need to find a cute pink sweater to complete this outfit!  Hmm... maybe I should work on my crocheting!

Little Girl Skirts

I LOVE this skirt!  In its former life, it was a pair of too short khaki shorts.  I turned it into a skirt and added this gorgeous flowery flannel and the pink ric rac trim.  I also made the tie belt to match.  I think this is the cutest one yet!

This one I only altered.  The pink fabric on the bottom was actually already attached to the skirt, but it was underneath, meant only to show a tiny bit.  I ripped out the seam and reattached it lower, adding 2 inches to the skirt.  It's adorable on my daughter, and only took me a few minutes to fix. 

I have one more skirt planned for her at the moment.  It's a pair of brown corduroy pants with pink polka dots.  It think it will make a cute skirt for winter.  I'll post a picture as soon as I finish it.

Great Sewing Books to Share

A friend told me about this book, Sew What! Skirts.  The author does a very good job explaining the basics of skirt making, and there are several project ideas.  My favorite is the breezy beach wrap.

I just got lucky finding Sew & Stow at the library.  There are tons of unique projects in here that you can use to organize your stuff.  The first one up for me will be the hobby tote, but I also love the garment bag, lunch bag, shopping bag, and cleaning caddy.  I'm also intrigued by the hammock and the best bed roll ever.   

Black Jean Skirt with Pink

Here is a black jean skirt with Pink fabric, this one is going to my SIL.

Straight front jean skirt

For this skirt I did not add a front piece, the seam is straight down from the fly.  I think it looks nice this way, but it did make a little bump right under the fly that I couldn't figure out how to get rid of.  The back is beautiful.  The fabric is a jersey knit, like a T-shirt, and it came already ruffled in layers.  It's very stretchy, so I don't have to worry about it being too tight to walk in.  I added a piece of the same fabric to a short skirt of Rebekahs, so we match now!

Baby Bib and Completed Baby Present

I decided to make a baby bib and a tag blanket to complete my baby shower gift for this weekend.  Here's the finished set.

To make the bib, I traced one of Rebekah's bibs onto my terry cloth fabric, then did the same on my green fabric.  Then I zigzag stitched around the bib. 

Next, I traced the ends of the bib onto the velcro and sewed that on using a zigzag stitch.

Lastly, I sewed white bias tape around the bib using a zigzag stitch.  Bib completed!

Banana Bread

I made these last night with the help of both my kids, can you tell that my family loves banana bread?  It was the first time I let Rebekah stand on a chair to help me; she loved it!  She kept telling me "I like cooking", even this morning!  They each ate 4 or 5 muffins last night, and then had more for breakfast!

The recipe came from my mother-in-law, Ann.  I love that it uses shortening instead of butter because my little girl is allergic to dairy.  Also, I used 1 cup regular flour and 1 1/2 cups of whole wheat flour. 

Here is a tip for the bananas: when you have overripe bananas going bad on your counter, just stick the entire banana, peel and all, into the freezer.  When you're ready to make banana bread, just defrost in the microwave (or on the counter) and squeeze the banana out the top of the peel.  I usually buy the bags of bananas at the groccery store that are $1.99 for approximately 6 pounds.  Our best score was last week at Aldi's, they had an entire bag for $0.10, yes you saw that right 10 cents!  We bought 3 bags, but I wish we would have bought more!!!  Mashed bananas are also great in pancakes.  Just add 1 mashed banana to your regular pancake batter.  You may need to cook them at a slightly lower temperature so they cook longer and aren't mushy in the middle.

Banana Bread
As written, it makes enough batter for 3 regular loaf pans.  I made 48 mini muffins and a small cake pan.

2 cups sugar
1 cup shortening
6 ripe mashed bananas
4 well beaten eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
2 tsp baking soda

Cream sugar and shortening, add bananas, eggs, vanilla, flour, salt and baking soda.  Stir until blended.  Bake at 350 for 45-50 minutes.  Enjoy!

Diaper and Wipes Case and Decorated Burp Clothes

This is a baby present for a friend, it needed to be gender neutral, but after making it I think it leans more to the boy side.  But I think it looks good and can't wait to give it to her.  I may try to make a bib or a tag blanket yet.

I found the diaper and wipes case pattern here.  This site has a lot of baby stuff on it, mostly slings.  I actually used her pattern for a pouch sling that came out nice, unfortunately, Rebekah didn't like being in a sling.

I have made several decorated burp clothes by adding fabric, ribbon, or trim to the ends, and even by adding a panel in the middle.  However, I took the pattern for these from My Spare Time. 

Of course, the tote is the same one that I've done before.  I really love making them, I think they make such good gifts.

On another note, we have finally moved into our new home, a 3 bedroom duplex.  I'm really excited about having my own crafting area down in the unfinished basement.  We had a kitchen table and dining room furniture that didn't fit upstairs, so I have a table and storage.  Now I just have to unpack my stuff and organize!  Oh yeah, I need some more light too!