My Favorite Quilt

This is my all time favorite quilt. This was found at my Grandpa's cousin's house. When she was moved into a retirement home, we went through her house to find what we wanted to keep in the family and what was going to be donated and auctioned off. We were in her upstiars guest bedroom looking at quilts on the the bed. I mean QUILTS...there had to be about 10 on the bed, layed out one on top of the other! It was like a jackpot of quilty goodness!

I was in middle school at the time and my favorite color was orange. So when I saw this quilt my heart stopped! We really never used it after we got home with it. It was put in a dresser and stored there for about 6 years or so! Then I got married and started sewing. So after all of that time of just being stored, I pulled it back out and started using it. It is in amazing shape for how old it is.

The date was written on the quilt! I am assuming it was finished on this date! 12 37, December of 1937. The quilt squares are all hand pieced, and I am not sure if the sashing was hand pieced to the squares. There is really only one block that has any wear and tear and I am pretty sure that is because the fabric was thinner to start with.

One of the things about this quilt that amazes me is the prints. One of the centers of the star looks like a print from the Farmdale line of fabrics. I love the red dots mixed with the orange fabric.



I would love to be able to find a pattern to do this square. I really would like to make it with red and aqua fabrics or with purple sashing and star points. If anyone knows what kind of quilt square this is please let me know!

A day in the life

of a mom of 2!

I have a 3 1/2 year old and an 8 month old. Somedays you get alot done and some days not so much! Today was a not so much day!

Waylon is my 8 month old. Honestly, he is a pretty easy baby! If he has a full belly he is happy and he likes playing with his toys in his crib. I consider the crib the safe zone, away from his sister.

Jolie is 3 1/2 and she isn't difficult either! She is just at the age that it is really hard to keep her occupied for longer than 10 minutes!

So this morning, My husband had left to go out on a Motorcycle run and the kids and I were just going to hang out at the house today! Waylon was sleeping in his crib and Jolie was watching cartoons on my bed, so I decided to take a shower. I heard the door close to my room and really didn't think to much of it. She usually just finds something else to do. Well today that something else consisted of sticking a clear plastic bead up her nose. Yep and of course it got stuck.

I heard her crying when I got out of the shower and didn't really know what to expect. I found her in her room and she was having a fit. I asked her what was wrong and she just kept saying her nose hurt. I finally got her to explain better and figured it out.

So a few of our hours were spent in the ER today getting it removed. She did really well and was pretty brave! I can't really say to much! I had my parents taking to the ER all the time when I was kid! Heck I was there last month when I cut myself with my rotary cutter!

So that is a day in the life of a mother of 2....never know what it will be like, but love every minute with your kids!

Simplicity 2685 View D

I have made this bag a few times! The fabric is always the same. I have used different colored lining and a different button but it has always been the same exterior!

First thing about this bag, is that it is huge! I love the look of it but if I was to ever make it for my self, I would shorten in by about 5 inches!
I have always made this as a custom order and the first time I made it, the bag went straight into my ETSY shop!

This bag is really easy to put together. The most complicated part might be the interior zipper pocket, if you have never done one! The pleats are simple and so pretty!

This bag was a custom order and the buyer wanted the velcro added! It is to display the Army name tapes! One will say the spouses last name and the other will say US ARMY. I really hope she enjoys this bag!

Ruffle Apron

A few weeks ago I was asked to make a custom apron! She knew what she wanted the apron to look like but couldn't find anything in the fabric she liked! Here is the link to what she liked....

www.laylagrayce.com/Products/Jessie-Steele-Hostess-Apron-Bib-Carmen-Black-and-White-Bow__JS10107KAM2.aspx


She said she wanted it in a paisly fabric, so I told her to go check out ETSY and see if she could find anything she liked! She found some SIS BOOM Fabric! I am not sure what collection it is from but the name on the selvage said "CINDY". I could only find it on ETSY from one vendor. Thank goodness they had enough! The vendor was from Canada and it took 10 days to get it. I wasn't to happy about it but the fabric was fabulous and they sent and extra thirty inches! SCORE!



So then I got started on the apron! I had to ask the girl for her dimensions because she is very petite! She is all of 4'11" and super skinny! I wish that was the case with me. The apron only took about 3 hours to finish! I love a project that only takes one day to finish!



The ruffle was super easy and I think it adds a nice femine touch to a pretty basic apron. The pocket is made using MADE BY RAE's tutorial for the pleated pocket.

www.made-by-rae.com/2009/06/tutorial-pleated-pocket.html

I am adding this to the Sew and Tell link up over at AMY LOU WHO's Blog!

Stacked Coins Tag Quilt

This item was a custom order for my mom! She is going to a babyshower at the end of October, and she wanted something cute. She told me she wanted a tag blanket and that it was for a girl.


I had some moda charm squares that were used on another project, and had about half of the charm pack left. I believe the line is called Happy Girl. Very cute and very bright colors in this line! I had been thinking about making pinwheels but then decided to go even easier then that! STACKED COINS! LOVE THEM!


The white is a twin sized sheet from Wal-Mart that I have been using for other projects. The back is flannel that I have from last Christmas! I used batting in the center to give it some thickness! The ribbons go with the color of block they are next too! Everything from this project is leftovers from another! I did some basic straigh/curvey line quilting on it! Curvey line is one of the settings on my machine! I made it wider and with wider stiches. Is it considered a quilt if there is no binding? I sewed it right sides together and left a hole for turning so that the ribbon were tacked down a few times.


I love how fast this came togther and how cute it turned out! I really hope the Mom and baby love this little quilt.



I am linking up over at AMYLOUWHO. I love this link up!

The Reversible Phoebe

I love this pattern! I always have and always will! This one is reversible, but I have made it with other changes in the past!

I love the dark brown fabric with the blue flower print and have been waiting to use it for something cute! I got it at Hobby Lobby. It was a remnant. The print for the other side is Micheal Miller Dumb Dot. I used this for the lining of a diaper bag recently and had some left over. I just figured if I was going to have a cute lining, I may as well make the bag reversible.

The pockets are made using MADE BY RAE's pleated pocket tutorial! They are very cute and easy to make! They really are my go to pocket. I use them on aprons, purses, and dresses.


The Phoebe bag pattern comes for ARTSY CRAFTY BABE. It is a free tutorial, you can find it on the right side of the screen, on her blog!


I am adding this too the Lemon Squeezy Home Purse Week Contest! I hope everyone likes it!

Vintage Gathered Wristlet

Wow! I am surprised even by myself! Three posts in 2 weeks!

I made this Wristlet in August and never got the chance to post about it! It is one of my favorite things that I have made! The fabric is close to 25 years old, maybe older! My mom made a little vest for my brother or me when we were little! He his 27 and I am 24, so take your guess on the age of the fabric.



I used the Gathered Clutch tutorial over at Noodleheads to make this! The pattern is so easy to follow and it is very well written! The only thing that I changed was the length. That was by mistake of my rotary cutter! It is only one inch short! I only did the single pocket on the inside and I used DECOR BOND interfacing on the lining and the exterior! I like the sturdiness that it adds! I also added piping along the center strip and I love how it stands out!


I am going to be entering this into the PURSE WEEK CONTEST that is going on over at A LEMON SQUEEZY HOME. You should go take a look at all the entries! I am so excited.



I am also linking up at Sew and Tell Fridays over at AMY LOU Who's Blog!

Army on Etsy!

We are starting a new thing today on the blog! One day a week we will be sharing some of our favorite ETSY finds!
This week we are sharing a few very neat things that are ARMY related designs. For those of you who do not know, I am a Proud ARMY Wife! My husband has been in the army 9 years and for 5 of those, we have been married.

Etsy joliejunebugboutique

It was very fun browsing through ETSY finding all of these neat items. I think my favorite is the sewing machine, if I had the money I would have that baby sitting in my sewing room right now! SEW neat!

Stop by next week and see what we find for COWGIRL on ETSY!

Camo Custom Orders

It has been so long since my last post. I am at the computer every day but hardly ever have time to just sit and post!

I have been very busy lately! Potty training and chasing a crawling 6 month old all over the place!

This past week I have been working on a custom order and I am so in love with both items!


The first was a camo diaper bag for a little boy. I love how it came out. The bag has 2 exterior pockets and 2 interior pockets. It originally had no interior pockets but I took a pattern piece from another pattern and used to make pockets! I used DECOR BOND interfacing on the exterior and FUSIBLE FLEECE on the lining to give the bag more stability. I changed the way the straps were made and the only bad part of it was turning them the right side out!

The second part of the order was a baby quilt! I choose to use a pattern from the moda bake shop and was very pleased with the turnout! I made a few changes to the pattern. I added about 10 inches to the length of the quilt. I only needed one extra 10 inch square to make the change! I already had the camo fabric for these orders. It was purchased at Joanns. It is a light weight twill and the pattern is Mossy Oak Breakup! The flannel on the front is from FLANNEL QUEEN! Each one that I bought was on sale! She has some really cute stuff! The name fabric is from Joanns also! It is a snuggle flannel!

I have learned one thing from these orders....I am in no way, shape, or form a quilter. I love the turnout but don't really have the patience. I love sewing bags! Some may be difficult but they are usually done in 2 days!

Meadowsweet

First off, I want to apologize to the few people who read this blog, it has been too long since my last post!

Second, I have been working on so many thing! I have a new favorite fabric line! Meadowsweet by Sandi Henderson. It is beautiful!

I have made 4 purses with this beautiful fabric and I have one more all cut out and ready to sew! The colors are amazing and vibrant!

The first 2 purses are Spring Pocket Bags. The have a large exterior pocket for keys and your cell phone. They have one interior pocket and magnetic snap closure. The outer pocket is accentuated with Ric Rack.

The second purse is the Four Pocket Tote. This is a great pattern for a purse or a mini diaper bag. It has 3 interior pockets and 4 exterior. It is a very sturdy bag with great handles.

This is the folklore bag from ONE YARD WONDERS book! My mom wanted me to make this bag for her! She loves it! I added a zippered pocket in and made the inside slip pocket bigger! I also made the straps narrower. The pattern calles for 5 inch strips and I used 3 1/2 inch strips! I like them way better.

This is what I have been working on lately and I will be posting some other great things in the next few days!

Arpon--Wedding Gift

A few months ago I wrote a post about bridesmaids gifts, well the wedding is this weekend! Nope not my wedding! I have been married almost 5 years now! My cousin, Kyle, is getting married to a very wonderful lady named Danae!

Even though we aren't going to be able to attend the wedding, I really wanted to send a gift! I have been sitting around for months trying to decide what to make for them. At first, I was going to make both of them aprons, but I wasn't sure if Kyle would like one. So, last night I finally figured out what I wanted to do. A cafe style apron, with a pleated pocket, and ruffles!

I used the same fabric that I used in for the bridesmaids purses! Danae didn't get one for herself, so I figured I would make her a little something with the left overs. I decided to do the same type of strip work as I used for the purses. The pocket is one of my favorite parts! It is just a cute pleated pocket. There is an awesome tutorial over on the Made By Rae blog! Very Easy! Then I added the ruffle. That was probably the worst part to do! My thread broke while I was gathering one side. So I did the rest by just pining where I thought it needed to be gathered!



I love how it turned out and I think I will be making several more in the future!

This was featured on Women Who Do It All!
http://womenwhodoitall.blogspot.com/2010/04/more-mothers-day-gift-ideas.html

Make Life.....Beautiful!

I am in love with Moda, Moda Bake Shop, and the Make Life line of fabric! So beautiful!

If you have never been to the Moda Bake Shop, you don't know what you are missing! This is an awesome place to find super cute tutorials for all of the cute Moda fabrics! I was browsing the Bake Shop last week and found the Charm Pack Reversible Purse! I knew I had the perfect fabric for this and the perfect person to make it for!

My Mom had a birthday back on the 22nd of Febuary and I still needed a present! I also had a charm pack handy! Make Life by Sweetwater for Moda! Need I say more! The colors in this fabric line are beautiful! They are very springy and very bright!

Everything was going awesome until I got to sewing and the straps....didn't go so well! I was so frustrated when I tried 3 times and still couldn't get them lined up just perfectly! I was getting very tired of my seam ripper. I finally went upstairs to tell my husband how frustrated I was and of course he told me exactly what to do! Undo the top stiching and open the seam stick the straps in and sew it all back together! Not quite the same look for the straps but it still looks super cute!

I don't fault the author of the tutorial for my troubles with the straps! I think I just am not quite at the right skill level for making it work out right! I can't wait to make this bag again! I think I may make another one with more Make Life.. Fabric! I will do blue and yellow together and red and green together! I also have some Nicey Jane fabric picked out to make a 3rd! I can see many of these bags in my future!

Here is the link for the tutorial!
http://www.modabakeshop.com/2010/02/botany-charm-pack-reversible-purse.html#more

Baby Projects!

With the baby arriving at the beginning of March, I have been very busy making all sorts of baby items!

One of the first items I made was a quilt for Our baby! It came out really cute. A little background info first! My husband was born and raised in the south. He is always wearing a shirt that says something about the south. He has also been in the army for almost 10 years. The quilt is composed of 9 squares. Four of the squares are made out of his old army uniforms. All I did was cut the back away and used random sized strips. It is made out of ACUs, BDUs, and DCUs. The other 5 squares are from my husband's t-shirt stash. I think it came out to be a good size. At first I think it will just be something for the baby to lay on while we play!

The second item was a baby rag quilt! I had gone to TARGET over Christmas time and was wondering around the baby section. They had several different receiving blankets on clearance. I picked out a cute 3 pack and knew right away that I was going to use them for a rag quilt! The blankets were each a 1 yard square. So the blanket is composed of 6 yards of fabric. The top is the receiving blankets and the back is just a brown flannel. I used 99, 6 inch squares.

The third thing I made is the Wee Wee Wigwam from Make it and love it! I will post a link at the bottom of the page! These are super cute and super easy. They went together in about 3 minutes for each one! I used the left over squares I had from the rag quilt!

The next items weren't for me to keep but for my brother to give as a gift to one of his friends who just recently had a baby. He wanted a few bibs and burpcloths. He really thought that I should make one pair in Camouflage and the others really didn't matter. Just boy prints. And we also made a tag blanket and it came out really cute too!

I have made even more baby stuff but that will have to be in a different post. We are in the middle of getting ready to move and I still need to finish the rest of our baby bedding. It is camoflauge, with touches of orange! Very boyish! I still have the bumper pad to go and a pad for the back of my glider.

http://makeitandloveit.blogspot.com/2009/08/wee-wee-wigwam.html