Blessing Gown

My latest project has been a blessing gown for my niece, Phoebe. It was definitely a learning experience. I spent more time on the skirt than on the bodice! Does that ever happen?! Here is the completed dress with a few pictures centered on details.
I also made a matching headband using leftover lace, satin, and a rosette. I looked everywhere in town for a white satin headband with nothing on it and couldn't find one. It wasn't hard to make and it was nice to know it would fit her head, since I could use her measurement for it.

Receiving Blankets

My sister had a baby last Friday and I have a good friend having a baby in September. I sat down and made them each a receiving blanket and matching burp cloth. These are fairly popular gifts and you can never have too many of them. I found that most of the ones I was given ended up going crazy in the wash. Most people simply crochet the edges (or serge the edges) and call it good. This leads to the fabric not staying put in the wash, and you end up with the fabric winding its way over the edge. The blanket that my grandmother made was the exception to this event. What did she do differently? She simply sewed a circle in the center and another closer to the blanket's edge. I tend to be more of a more is better person, so I have made it a practice to do concentric circles about 3 inches apart on my blankets ever since. I also stitch extra on the burp cloths, for the same purpose. Here is a picture to illustrate, followed by pictures of the finished, folded blankets. I love the fabrics! (The polka dot is a mint green with brown dots. My niece has red hair, like both of her parents)I also have been crocheting some dish cloths lately. I just can't seem to keep myself stocked in this area. I'm hoping to post an easy crochet pattern for a dishcloth soon.

Flowers for Lena

Yesterday, Sarah and I made these flowers for her to glue onto hair clips for Lena. Sarah's flowers

My flowers

They are super easy (if you can thread a needle & push it through fabric, you have the sewing skills required) and fast to make! They don't require many materials, either. We made these from fabric scraps that Mom had, since it was an impromptu project. I hate to post a tutorial for them, since I don't know who to give credit to-- one of my students taught me how to make them, but she learned from someone else and I know others who make the same type. If you happen to be interested in making your own, I would be happy to email you instructions.

Still Looking for a Mother's Day Gift?

Are you still searching for that Mother's Day gift? I found this a few weeks ago and knew it would be perfect for my mother-in-law. She LOVES pink, she loves flowers, and she LOVES her little grandson. These felt Dahlias have pins so they work as brooches, and they have a hidden pocket on the back for a special note or picture (of a favorite grandson, perhaps?).

My favorite thing about these, besides the fact that they are beautiful, is that they are inexpensive and EASY to make! There's still time to make them today for your special mother tomorrow! Here's a picture of my finished product (hopefully mom-in-law doesn't get on to read blogs before she gets it). As mentioned before, I don't love my camera. You can't see the detail of the center very well, and it looks red when it is really hot pink. Yes, Jenn, I did try the macro and super macro settings on the camera this time.

Want to make one of your own? The original tutorial is found at holidash, but don't forget to check out not martha's notes on what she learned for some better methods! I made mine before the notes, so I used heavy saucepans as suggested in the tutorial. The fabritac ended up sticking to my pans a bit, but I was able to pull the petals off without damage and without leaving felt on my pans. The pictures on not martha are also much better than mine, so you can see the actual details of the dahlias.

Happy Mother's Day to all the wonderful mothers out there, and happy crafting!

Needlepunch

I'm not sure what possessed me, but I decided that I needed to do some needlepunch, which I haven't done in years. If you're looking for a fast, easy project, try needlepunch. I had a hard time finding a pattern and thought about designing my own, but I was not feeling very creative. I dropped by Red Rooster (what a treat!) where Zack HAD to drag me upstairs. I was glad he was there when I discovered their only needlepunch patterns on clearance up there. I finished this piece for Jenn's birthday gift. It didn't turn out quite how I had envisioned, but it's the latest project I've completed.
I dropped by Grandma's house and borrowed her light box so I can transfer an embroidery pattern to fabric. The girls and I have a date set for a Mile a Minute quilt with Grandma in May, so hopefully I will have more projects up and finished soon!