Lined Drawstring Bag

Do you know how many Polly Pockets are in my house? Probably not....but take a wild guess...feels like hundreds of little teeny tiny pieces strewn about! Ahhh! So, I got to thinking...a little drawstring bag could MAYBE (and I say, maybe:) encourage my third year old to keep them together? Yeah, I know, good luck but it was fun to make anyway:)

I've had this Ikea fabric lying around for the past few years (I know, how bad is that!) and I have made a Bucket hat out of it...but still had lots so I cut into it this morning and voila! I used Jeni's tutorial which is great and in just a few minutes, a new kid's lined drawstring bag was born! I'm tempted to make some more because I'd love a little one to keep my earrings in when I travel ... ooh, the uses for these little bags are limitless.

Jelly Roll "Race" Quilt

What...a second quilt top in one week? I think I must be dreaming!!! This never happens. Let me back up....I was at my LQS about a month or two ago and while I was browsing the owner asked me if I had ever heard of the "jelly roll race quilt?" I of course hadn't and in fact had never bought a jelly roll before. She said if you like strip quilts then you could make this quilt top in about an hour (well, I took a little longer but it was only an evening)! She said you could find the technique on youtube (just type "jelly roll race quilt"). Essentially all you do is sew all of the jelly roll strip ends together to form one ginormous (nice word!) strip (make sure you cut the first 18 inches off of your first strip so that it will form a nice brick effect). Then making sure you do not twist the giant strip, match your two ends together and sew your long seam. Once you come about two inches from the end of your seam, you cut the strip and then repeat the process once again (join two ends together and sew 1/4 inch seam). In literally no time at all, you have an entire quilt top in an evening. What took a little bit of time is initially joining your strips into one long one but it was easy peasy! Talk about speed sewing once you sew that first long seam.....totally mindless! The finished product should be around 48x64 which is a nice lap sized quilt.

What I learned:
1. Make sure you don't twist your long strip because you need to match up those ends, right sides together.
2. This project is perfect for non-directional prints or solids. I used a Sherbet Pips jelly roll and I do have the prints in two different directions but since it's for my little girls, they can both enjoy the quilt at the same time and have something to look at right!! (at least that's what I tell myself:)
3. Makes a quick, satisfying quilt/gift.

Hope you're having a cozy Friday night!

Goodbye 2011, Hello 2012

I made some time yesterday to work on this quilt top. So, in between chasing the girls, meals and nap time, I sewed like crazy because I wanted to get it done. I also had it in my mind that I wanted to make another baby hat so Miss G and I cuddled on the couch and watched some tv. Lets just say I watched a lot of cartoons yesterday:) My husband had to work last night so I rang in the new year with our pets (I know, it sounds crazy) because Miss P was long asleep and Miss G fell asleep on the couch beside me. I'm grateful though because everyone was tucked in safe and sound and it was a nice night!
Miss G had to get in on the picture taking action though. She loves LaLaLoopsy dolls so she had to pose hanging on to her poster which came with her "baby" from Santa.

I think I'll back this one in flannel as it's for the girls. I personally really like a flannel backing not only because it's cozy but it keeps the warmth and that's what quilts are for right?

I hope 2012 brings all of you health and happiness (and lots of sewing/knitting/creative inspiration)! Speaking of which I need to reorganize the 'ol stash so keep posted as I'm going to list some in my Etsy shop. Ciao for now!

Scrappy Circles

One of the first quilts I fell in love with was this one

Emily of CarolinaPatchworks designed and made it .... I had to have it for my little girl and then once I received it, I had to make it! Thankfully Emily soon developed a pattern and the rest is history!

So this is what I'm up to. I finally cut into the Bliss layer cake I've had lying around for some time now. It really felt good to cut into it.

You know you're stressed when....

you forget to post the winners of your giveaway on your blog...I won't even bore you with the details....but on to the lucky winners!!

Jenny (okiedokiemama) and C (Christina) have won the Urban Baby Pixie Bonnet and the Erin McMorris' fat quarters.

Thank you to EVERYONE who commented on my little blog and gave me feedback on my Etsy shop! I loved reading all of your suggestions!

Have a great Thursday!

Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day (December 12, 2011) !!

Can everyone say "Yeh, today is Giveaway Day" at SewMamaSew!!! It's a day (actually a week) of great giveaways across Blogland!!!

Welcome to my little blog for those of you who have never been here before and for those of you who have...welcome back!!! I haven't been too active on here lately because of my crazy life and little ones but I couldn't miss participating in this great event!

Up for grabs are two great giveaways!!! Two is always better than one right? :)

1st Giveaway: 3 FQs of Erin McMorris' Weekends line

2nd Giveaway: Urban Baby Cabled Pixie Bonnet 0-3 Months (could probably even fit baby a bit longer as I made it long).

In order to qualify for these giveaways, I'd love to hear your feedback on my litte etsy shop called UrbanBabyPhotoKnits All feedback, positive or negative, is welcome. I'd love to hear which hat is your favourite? Is there enough variety? How about the listings...photography, pricing, descriptions? Thank you in advance for your comments!!!

I'll draw both winners randomly on December 16th at 8pm EST. I'm happy to ship internationally. Good luck!!!

P.S. Hope you drop by again sometime!!! Now get going to the next blog and get your name in some great draws!

Unscripted Bee Blocks

Thankfully I have a bunch of wonderful "co-bee" women who are very understanding as I'm seriously late on some on their blocks. I had a little bit of time the other night so I thought I would work on Sara's blocks for October. She asked that we do two log cabin blocks. This is what I whipped up for her:

I added a few extra strips from my own stash and I love how they turned out. Can't wait to see Sara's finished quilt:)

I've been slowly working on this little poncho for Miss P - it's called the "Lady Gaga" and I purchased it off Ravelry. It turned out a little too short on Miss P so now I'm adding a few inches so it'll fit her nicely.

And by the way, has anyone heard of the "Jelly Roll Race Quilts" - I'm sorry I don't have time to post a pic right now but if you go on Youtube you'll find a tutorial. What I like about it is that it's a great way to use a Jelly Roll, not to mention making a quilt top in a night (some people say they can do it in under an hour). I personally like the non-mitered version as you end up with a "brick/strip effect" - I love learning a new technique to use up those scraps or rolls!