It Makes Me Happy!

As a crafter I often fall into the pitfall of running out of time to make all the projects I have on my list.

Occasionally a gift or two gets put to the side and I (gasp!) buy a gift from the store.

Last year when my niece got married I made a quilt for her and her husband.  I also made small lap quilts for my two new great nieces!

Unfortunately, I didn’t quite complete the detail work on one of the quilts.  I took it home with me to finish up and ship back.

Fast forward 3 months and my parents came to visit.  I intended to send the quilt back with them but we had just moved and I couldn’t find the box.

So when we visited over the holidays I had to make sure that I hand delivered the precious cargo.

She was so thrilled!  She just kept hugging the quilt and from what her mommy tells me will not sleep with any other blanket.

And that is why I make handmade gifts.  The look on their faces make me happy!

Her baby brother got one of my sock monkeys too, but we couldn’t quite catch him hugging it on camera.

Inspiration

I'm in the process of designing several projects at once.  Normally this would be an overload of the senses especially as I am finishing up my last semester of a graduate program.

So how do I get myself into such a creative blitz.   

I think it's a combination of having a new baby to create for as well as the dangerous website known as Google.  Especially image search.

I love owls.  There is just something that appeals to me about them.  I was googling images looking for possible prints to frame for the nursery when I found these images.

The colors in this one just reminded me of a quilt.  My brain went straight from there to possible patterns. 

The eyes on this one are just too cute for words.   Hmmmm possible plush toy for baby.

There are lots of owls being created in my craft space right now.  Be on the look out for the finished projects here and in our Etsy shop.

What about you?  What inspires you to create?  Is it an image, a written pattern, or something as abstract as a color?

Hello Kitty

My 9 year old loves all things Hello Kitty so when I walked into my LQS as they were packing up for the Smoky Mountain Quiltfest I could not resist the new stock.  

They had this adorable panel that my little girl just fell in love with.

Her birthday was just a couple weeks later so I had to get busy.

I squared the edges of the panel and added a simple double border with cornerstones.

The cornerstones are a square in square design.

I had to try my hand at another pieced back and came up with this belt buckle design.  I love how it mimics the cornerstones on the front.

I quilted it with a simple diagonal strip about 2.5 inches apart.

The look on my daughter's face was priceless.  I was flying pretty high until when we started taking pictures for this post.  Then my 12 year old decided she was going to steal the coordinating pillowcase I made.

We recovered it, broke up arguments and now are back to the enjoyment of a successfully crafted gift.

Have any of you crafted the perfect gift for a loved one?  Share in the comments.  I would love to hear your stories.

Mama's Got a New Bag

It's springtime and I needed a bag in some of those lighter tones.  I saw a bag in one of my quilting magazines and decided to make some alterations.  I wanted something large enough to carry all the essentials from my purse with the addition of my laptop.  I often take baby girl with me to classes and the addition of the diaper bag and carseat to carry was playing havoc with my back.  I needed to eliminate a bag.

When I completed this bag I was so proud of myself.  I took it into the other room to show my husband.  I was absolutely in love with the finished product. Then.....my husband asked, "Why did you make another diaper bag?"  Way to deflate my ego. 

But now looking at it I can see possibilities in this pattern for a diaper bag....hmmm.  Just add a few pockets here and trim there.  Maybe......

But for now I am enjoying my bag as a project bag for knitting and quilting projects that I take with me to soccer and band practices (oh the joys of being a mother).

Here are a few pics of the interesting additions I made to the pattern.

Cross hatch quilting on bottom

 For the next one I would like to add some feet the base.  I hate putting cloth bags on the floor, especially after spending time putting in all the details like this quilting.

Added flap with snap

 I love the magnetic snap on a flap.  It makes me feel as if I will actually be able to keep the bag closed. "I will not overstuff, I will keep my bag organized.  I will.  I will."

Who am I kidding?

Inside pocket

I added pockets on both inside panels.  One is stitched to hold ink pens and my cell phone, while the other is left whole.  Currently the pockets are holding a needle case, spools of thread, and scissors.

Recycled Belt Piece 

 I had this metal belt that I just loved.  It has been in the bottom of my knitting basket for 3 years now waiting to be repurposed.  The clasp broke and I couldn't bear to throw it away.  The links make perfect  hardware for this bag.

Strap and Loop

I love the detail the repurposed belt link and the fabric handles and loops give.

So even though my well intentioned husband had burst my bubble, I have to give him credit.  He started my creative juices flowing again.  Elasticized pockets on the outside side panels and a row of elasticized pockets on the inside panel.  Possible different hardware.....lots of cute baby fabric....I saw some amazing robot fabric the other day....and I just found out I have a great nephew on the way.   Yes, hubby's innocent comment may have just got him more than he bargained for.

I think I need to go rewrite this pattern to fit my needs, and maybe, just maybe a trip to the fabric store is in my ever growing to do list.

Long Promised Quilts

I have been long in posting these finished quilts, but I was waiting for a good day to take the pics.







About 3 weeks ago we went for a hike outside of Gatlinburg on what is known as the Settler's Trail.  Right before we left it came to me that somewhere in the woods might be the perfect place to take some pictures of my newly finished quilts.  And was I ever right.

This is my Going Wonky Quilt.  I made several wonky log cabin blocks and pieced them together with a few frog panels that I found at my LQS.  I then quilted it by simply stitching in the ditch.  It gives it a lovely pattern on the back.






The pictures of the quilts were taken at the Tyson McCarter barn on the trail.   Beautiful setting isn't it?

This is my version of Whoos Woods found in the October 2010 issue of this magazine.

Of course once I got the pics taken of my quilts, we rolled them up, put them in my backpack, and continued on our hike.

But then my thirteen year old managed to get hold of the camera.

But the rest of us were enjoying the beautiful spring day until someone (not me) fell in the creek as we were crossing. 

 I guess mountain springs in late February are somewhat chilly.  So our outing ended.

My name is Amamamma and I'm a Craftaholic!!!!

I admit it!   I'm addicted to crafts.  I must be to have the to do list that I have.   Tonight I was reading through the blogs that I follow and I found this.

 I love this!!!! It is hosted by www.littlemissshabby.com.

And there is a Flickr group too.

I think I may need a professional intervention.

Now off to finish up the quilting from the previous post so I can start a new project or two form my to do list.

Happy Crafting!!!!

Snow Days!!!!

Since the middle of December my children have only been to school about 5 days.  That's including only about 1 1/2 weeks of Christmas vacation.  Our school system started back from the Christmas break a day early to attempt to recoup some of the snow days, but we went to school 2 days and tomorrow will be snow day #5.   And there's more snow on the way!!!!!

This pic is on one of the days with less snow......we currently have again more than 8 inches on the ground.  Christmas time we had a foot.

But packed down snow makes a slick surface for the saucer.

Even Dad had to get in the act.

But with all those days I have been unable to get out very much.   There has been much crafting going on in this house!

Here's a peek of a soon to be completed quilting project.

So what do you do when snowed in?  Cook? Read? Sleep? Craft?

What's your pleasure?

Going a little wonky....

A few months ago I decided to attempt some quilting.  I searched the web for easy tutorials and found quite a few that appealed to me.   None caught my eye quite as much as these wonky log cabin squares from tallgrass prairie studios.   They were very appealing.  Her tutorial is easy to follow and wonderfully illustrated.

So....I began to piece together a few blocks with some fabric I happened to have lying around.

I really liked the look, but I put them aside and went on to other projects.

Then a few weeks ago I was in my local quilt store and found a panel that just caught my eye.   So....how to justify the purchase.  Oh yeah!  I just happened to have some quilt blocks at home that needed to be used.

This is the result:

I love the frog panels incorporated into the wonky log cabins.   Now to quilt and bind this adorable top and place in the gift closet for future use.