Handmade Memories

I was given about 6 or 7 bags full of scraps from my mother, who got them from her grandmother, and mother. {I know, I have an addiction to fabric, but it’s so useful!} As I was peaking through my new additions, I found a bag full of already pieced quilts. 2 huge extremely scratchy quilts, 1 random cotton square pieced wall hanging or baby blanket, and 2 of these pinwheel panels.

I decided to go ahead and make these straight into pillows. They have a shabby cheek look to them because they were less than perfectly pieced. The fabrics are sweet but random, and they don’t actually match even though they go together {does that make sense?} I assume my great grandmother made them, although I’ll have to ask around first to be sure. One of them was hand sewn and one of them was zigzag stitched together, and neither of them had any fabric on the edge of the back piece, so making them look the same size would have been impossible. I do love the quaintness of them, and they remind me of my grandmother, so win, win!

Eli had just decided to de-stuff his cheap Ikea pillow {well worth the $1 we paid} during one of his naps so I used the stuffing from all over his room and pulled this project together in about 5 minutes. I think they make a cute addition, and compliment our skull themed pillows rather well on the couch.

In the meantime, I need to figure out what to do with these scratchy giant {not so adorable} quilt tops I got. I’m thinking the goats might need some blankets in the winter! Any ideas?

Kitchen Spill Mat

I whipped this bad baby up today in a flash!

It will live on our kitchen floor and be available for those quick spills as they happen!

Spilled milk? Step on it, slide it over, and done! Then throw it in the wash when it needs a good cleaning. The bottom is an absorbent cotton originally intended for lining a changing table. I used fleece on the top to prevent small spills from touching your feet as you clean and I used a decorative stitch to slap a “C” {our last name initial} on the top to make it look cute. And to let the whole family know it’s a whole family job.

Now excuse me while I go clean the floors so we can keep them cleaner, easier!

Stay tuned for a new shirt I made during the kids naptime!

July Handmade Gift Number 3

Here’s the finished product! This was a quilted bow clip holder for my niece turning 5!  I learned from the first one I did. I cut the batting thickness in half, started the ribbons from below the embroidery, and omitted the hanging loops on the back since those didn’t get used. I made a little clip to put on this time too, which I would love to make more of!
One thing I messed up on was the binding. I attached it to the wrong side of the quilt first, so the top stitching didn’t look very clean as I finished it off. So next time, I’ll make sure to do it right! I didn’t take a picture of the hand stitching I did for her name, but it was a block lettering, and I thought it turned out to be really cute! I centered everything correctly this time, and did the piecing BEFORE the hand stitching, which turned out much better. The next one I’ll make will have wider strips at the top for larger name embroidery, and at least one headband ribbon running down.

Any other suggestions??

July Handmade Gift number 1!

Shhh, Don’t spoil the surprise, but here is my first handmade gift for the lineup of July birthdays!

We All Sew Challenge

I am so excited to share my We All Sew Challenge entry with you guys!

I missed the first one, but I finished the second one and submitted it today, so cross your fingers! Mama could use $1000 in Bernina money, or heck that fancy pants embroidery machine at the end as a grand prize! I got to mess around with my grandmother’s Bernina embroidery machine a couple months ago, and let’s just say I haven’t stopped thinking about it since! That thing is NICE!

Today, though, the challenge was to upcycle something into home decor.