For Baby Kate

I told you all last week about my best friend Amanda.  Her baby Kate was born seemingly healthy.  After a couple days Kate was losing weight and became jaundice.  What seemed like something a lot of newborns go through quickly turned into a very dangerous situation. 

Amanda and her husband were told that Kate was fighting a vicious virus.  In her current health condition they couldn't do any testing to determine what the virus was.  They were giving her several antibiotics to cover all possibilities.  All the knew for sure was that the virus was attacking  her liver.

They were then told that Kate was dying.  It would take a miracle.  Told to call all their family to come and say goodbye to their sweet newborn baby girl.  It was unbelievably heartbreaking.  Still grieving for my dad when I heard the news I couldn't bare it.  I was so sad and really angry.  I've been so angry feeling like we were "cheated" with my dad...and now my best friend losing her newborn baby girl??

Well they did all come to say goodbye to Kate..but there have been miracles.  A month later Kate is still fighting!!!!  She has an uphill battle but she is here and there is hope.  There is a high probability that she will need a liver transplant which comes with it's own set of health risks and problems.  But the hope (and belief) that Kate can go home and grow-up with her family is real.

The weekend Kate was born I finished her name blanket and quilt.  And a couple days later the morning Amanda told me the sad news I rushed to send her the gifts.  (Unfortunately we now live states away)  I just wanted her to have them.  If Kate only had a few days on the Earth I knew anything tangible would be precious to Amanda.

I started the star blocks this past Summer with no real plan.  When Amanda and her family came to stay with me over Thanksgiving we were talking about what type of quilt she wanted for baby girl.  I showed her the blocks and she loved them, so I took it from here.  They're 6 inch blocks, 1 inch sashing and then a couple of borders.  I just kept building this quilt each step of the way :)  We also made the name blanket with no name while she was here...and I added her name after Kate was born.

Kate is baby number 3 for Amanda and Ryker.  Their oldest daughter is the same age as my oldest son (6).  They'll probably get married one day because they love each other and fight with each other equally :)  Kalil has wanted a name blanket for ages and we've just never put one together.  Last week I sent this to Kalil, after all siblings need just as much love when all this craziness is around them.

I am so so glad that Kate is still here.  That she is fighting.  I am so happy that even though handmade things don't change the situation or lessen the pain, they can maybe bring some comfort to our hearts.  Making these things for Amanda and her family has probably done more good for me than them.  I can't wait to meet Kate and hopefully be able to hold her too!!

You can follow me on instagram (@quiltstorymeg) to stay in the loop or you can also follow Amanda (@rykerandamanda) to keep posted on sweet baby Kate.  I'll keep you all posted here as well.

Thanks for taking the time to stop by and read today :)

Holiday Tutorial Series- Erin Why not sew...

Erin from Why Not Sew is an amazingly talented lady. We have featured her before, and keep asking because she is just that good! For reals. Just looking at her blog will make you happy, cute projects, pretty pictures, happy colors. Check out her tutorials, love. She has some great free patterns, this mixer, I must make it! I follow her on Instagram, bloglovin and pinterest, all her posts will make you smile! Thanks Erin.

Hi! Thank you to Heather and Megan of Quilt Story for inviting me to join the Holiday Tutorial Series! Today I have a tutorial for making a super cute ornament. There is some crochet involved with these cuties and If you do not know how to crochet, no problem! I will give you links to some resources for crocheting. You can just as easily skip the crocheting, if you wish, and they are still just as cute. You could use ribbon, pre-crocheted trim, pom-pom trim etc. in place of the crochet instructions I give to you. Whatever you decide I hope you give them a try. They make great little gifts and a really fun addition to your holiday decorating!

::Supplies::

~ 2 pieces of wool felt about 3 inches in diameter (regular craft felt can be used but you must exercise caution when ironing on your bird, place a towel between your iron and felt/applique piece if using poly. craft felt)

~ 1 piece of pretty fabric, a 2.5" square is big enough

~ 1 piece of heat'n bond or wonder under (fusible web)

~ A handful of poly-fil

~ Embroidery needle (something that 6 strands of floss will fit through)

~ 1 skein of embroidery floss (I used DMC color 321)

~ crochet hook size E

~ bird template HERE (this is from the Quiltstory tutorial I did in 2011. The bird can be used for this too.)

Let's get started!

Trace the bird template onto the paper side of your fusible web.Cut it out leaving a scant 1/8 of an inch away from the drawn line.

Iron the bird paper side up, fusible side down, onto the WRONG side your piece of  fabric.

Cut away from the fabric ON the drawn line.

Peel the paper off of the back of your fabric. A pin or needle inserted gently through the paper can help with out fraying your fabric.

 Iron your bird onto one of the wool felt pieces.

Applique the bird to the wool felt. I used the thread sketching technique. That's achieved by using your darning or open toe foot and dropping your feed dogs. Use your favorite method.

Wind your embroidery floss around a clothespin. This will save time trying to undo an inevitable knot while you are working!

It only takes a second and it's saves so much frustration.

Thread your embroidery needle with all 6 strands of embroidery floss. Just a little less than an arm span long. Knot end. Place your 2 pieces of felt together. Bird side up.

Hide your knot on the inside of the 2 felt pieces.

Blanket stitch about 2/3  to 3/4 around the outside of the 2 felt pieces.

Stuff with poly-fil.

Finish blanket stitching to the end catching your first stitch when making your last stitch. You want an even number of stitches for these ornament. For this one I used 20 stitches but for other ornaments I have used up to 26 stitches. It just depends on how close together you will want your scalloped edge. 

Now onto the crocheting! Let me preface this by saying I can crochet. I learned to crochet when I was a teenager BUT I am just learning to read patterns and I certainly have not written any patterns before. I've made washcloths, scarves and hats. That's it. So this is going to be very simple explanation. I use chain, slip stitch and double crochet for this ornament. How to's for these 3 stitches are below.

chain

slip stitch and another slip stitch

double crochet and another double crochet

Plus there are many crocheting videos on You Tube.

Size E hook (it's small)

Find the stitch that is at the very top of your ornament.

Slip stitch into it. You will have a loop on your hook.

Double crochet 7 times into next blanket sitch.*note* If you have more than 20 blanket stitches, say 24 or 26, you can double crochet a lesser amount into the blanket stitches. I used 6 double crochets on my ornaments with 24 blanket stitches. They are less squished looking that way. Again, this is all just your preference.

This will form your scallop.  Sorry about this picture it is not so easy taking pictures while crocheting :) Slip stitch into the next blanket stitch, Double crochet into the next, etc. alternating the two stitches. You should end up with a slip stitch in the very first blanket stitch you started crocheting into.

After you slip stitch into the last blanket stitch, chain double the amount of stitches that you would like your hanger to be. I chained 34. You may like yours longer or shorter. Then slip stitch back into that first blanket stitch where you started and ended crocheting. Cut your embroidery floss leaving a few inches. Pull through your last stitch / loop.

Weave your ends into the back of your crochet work (about 2 shells). Cut floss being very careful not to cut your work.

Hang and Enjoy!!!

Monster Truck Baby Quilt from Jedi Craft Girl

Extra fun and simple baby quilt from Jedi Craft Girl today!! And she gives a tutorial to boot!  I love that it's very BOY but still a BABY quilt.  A great combination.  Check out Amanda's really cute quilted tote tutorial and her iron-on image pillows...more to add to my list!!

  I came up with the idea for this quilt when I was invited to a baby shower for a friend who loves going to Monster Jam.  I wanted a cute, modern take on the monster truck and this what I came up with. To begin, select fat quarters  of various prints.  I choose gray, white, black and green.  You can choose any prints or patterns you like.  I only had 8 different fabrics, but I would have liked 12. 

Next, cut your fabric into 12.5" strips, then sub-cut into the following measurements:

Do this with each of your fabrics.  Now mix up the pieces and sew the following 12" (finished) block:  (quarter inch seams)

You want the top and bottom pieces to be the same fabric, and the center to be different.  Press the seams toward the 6.5" piece.

I love personalizing quilts, especially if they are gifts.  To add a name to the quilt block, print the name using your favorite word processing program.  I tried several different fonts until I got the one I liked.  If you can, reverse the image when you print.  Take yourHeat N Bond® Lite and trace the reversed name in pencil.  Iron the piece of Heat N Bond® with the name to the WRONG side of your fabric.  Then, cut the name out.  Peel the backing off and arrange the letters how you want on your quilt block.  Finally press to attach it.

I outlined the letters using a straight stitch.  I went around each letter twice to give it the "sketch" feel....which I love.

  After you make 11 of these blocks, lay them out.  For the truck applique block, cut a white square 12.5"x 12.5"

  

Next,  follow the same technique using Heat N Bond® Lite to applique the monster truck to the quilt block.  Click HERE for the truck pattern.

To finish the quilt, sew the blocks together to form rows and sew the rows together.  Quilt as desired

Note: These are big blocks which help make this a fast, easy quilt to put together in a day.  If you would like the same look, but with smaller blocks here are the measurements:

For a 10" finished block: cut pieces 10.5" x 5.5", 10.5" x 2.25", 10.5" x 3.75"

For an 8" finished block: cut pieces 4.5" x 8.5", 1.5" x 8.5", 3.5" x 8.5"

Essentially the bottom strip is 1/2 the block size, the top strip is 1/3 the block size and the center strip is 1/6 the block size.

Here is a little peek of the baby shower - we centered the colors and theme around the quilt.  We even hung the quilt in the entry way so it was the first thing people saw as the entered.

I love that we were able to get a stack of tires!!

Monster truck cupcakes - complete with "dirt" on the top.

New quilt finish: Woodland Trails...

I created this fun quilt within the last few months. I don't normally go with these colors, but they really called to me. I think it was mostly the owls and hopping foxes. I mean, come on! I love this line a lot!  It is Les Amis by Patty Sloniger for Michael Miller. LOVE LOVE LOVE! There is the same line in a gray and aqua colorway. You will die! (or already have) 

I have a mix of applique. I just did fusible. Way to much turning under for me. I liked how the white squares made a trail, and the peach squares made a trail. That is how I came up with the name Woodland Trails...

I tried to machine free motion quilt it to make the peach trails stand out more, didn't really work, but I am still very happy with this quilt...

We don't have it in the shop just yet, but have it ready. Email me if you are interested in ordering this pattern.

Hope you like my entry into the Bloggers Quilt Festival from Amy's Creative Side. This is so much fun to see all the great quilts! It is so much fun to see all the creative people!

I am also entering this into the quilt-photographer category of the festival..

Cute quilt finish from Sew paint it...

Darling finish from Marianne of Sew Paint It. Marianne does a little bit of everything, sewing, decorating, renovating, painting, you name it. Our kind of lady! We got this submission, and Megan and I both have a soft spot for Sarah Jane fabric. Just looking at this quilt makes me want to go play with my stash. Anyhow, Marianne did a little bit of everything on this quilt, applique, hand stitching, machine quilting etc. We love it all! 

I finished a quilt!  It is my boys quilt using children at play fabric by Sarah Jane and I am really, really, really pleased with it!

I finished it today.

The backing was a sheet I found and I love it.  It is so soft and lovely.  Love the design for my little boy too.

Diggers and tractors - just what little boys like!

I did machine quilting on this quilt and then hand quilted around the stars.

I love hand quilting because it is so soft and specially for someone.  It shows you care.

The machine quilting is 0.25" from each seam.

The binding is also a sheet, a plain blue one which was worn out in areas.  It is really soft.  I hate doing the corners!  I must find some tutorials on doing that better because there is definitely room for improvement there!