Cute dresses

I have a friend who is a great crochet-er.  I have never learned so when she asked if we could put our talents together and make some cute dresses, I jumped on it!  She crocheted the tops and let me figure out the skirts.  So far we have four cute ones.

 They are all 6-12 months and would fit a variety of sizes actually.

I'm just trying to figure out how to close the top bodice.  Sew two ribbons on to tie?  Sew a button on to stick through the crocheted top?  What would look the best?  We're saving them for the craft fair after Thanksgiving, but also have them on the etsy shop to share with the world.

Jungle animals in flannel puffy quilt

Almost this entire quilt size puffy quilt is made of flannel and it's soooooo soft! There is a white furry fabric thrown in and a cotton gingham. It's colors are subtle and it's going to match one little baby's nursery so well! Thanks for letting me make it for you!

Orange and owl baby's room

So I had a big order before Thanksgiving that took a lot of time to sew and create but it ended up great! I love that I got to see the completed room after the mom added my stuff to her already amazing design. What a fun, modern, colorful, yet sophisticated baby's room! I contributed the puffy quilt, crib skirt, 3 crib sheets, diaper stacker, changing pad cover, pillow, and crib bumper. It's fun to work with people to find just the right combination of fabrics and colors that they envision for their project and then see it come to life!











I was excited to read her review also. She said, "We are really excited with how everything came together. We absolutley love it. Thank you for your beautiful craftmanship. The quality is outstanding."

What a lucky little baby to live in this room!

Puffy/Taggie/Texture Toy

I've never been one to make up a lot of projects. I follow a pattern or an example great but originality is hard for me. Also throwing away awkward shaped leftover fabric is hard for me too because I know something could be done with that leftover fabric. Having made tons and tons of puffy quilts, I wanted to make something we could take along and that more people could have. I know taggie blankets are popular with kids and they like to play with different textures. So I came up with a mini puffy/taggie/texture toy that is about a foot square.

It has 25 mini puffs, sewn together just like a large puffy quilt. Then ribbon tags are added and a minky back makes it even more fun to play with! Every time my little 1 year old son sees one of these around the house he immediately brings it to his cheek and rubs it on his cheek. Several moms at my first craft fair this weekend thought they were cool too and bought them! So I'm trying them out on my etsy site as well.

I'm so excited to have finally come up with something on my own! Now I just need a better name... which leads me my first giveaway! If I can get 25 name suggestions from different people, I'll pick the best one and send you one of my puffy/taggie/texture toys. Leave your comment!


linked to: http://linda-coastalcharm.blogspot.com/
www.sewstylishboutique.blogspot.com
www.strictly-homemade.blogspot.com

Privilege

Sometimes we are lucky enough to use our talents to bless and help other people. I was honored to help a good friend and her family with my sewing talents last week. They had a preemie baby who lived a short 10 days then passed away. She was only 1 pound 1 ounce and born at 27 weeks. One thing my friend did not want to do was shop for a dress for the baby for the funeral. A doll dress would be too big anyway, a Barbie dress would probably be closer to the size, but not wide enough. So I offered to make one. It was a pleasure and a privilege to help them during this trying time.

I took a few doll dress patterns that I have a figured out how it would best fit on a such a little baby with the least amount of disturbance. I decided to not do sleeves and to make it a wrap dress that would fit around her how ever small she was. I put an adjustable velcro closure on the side so when you wrapped it, it could be wrapped tighter if needed. I made it long and with two skirts, two different colors of lace, and several ribbon bows. I think a girl needs a pretty dress no matter how small or for how short of an amount of time! It did not take long to make and I loved how it turned out. I do wish I had made it probably 1/2 the size after I saw the little baby at the funeral because I think it was way too big.

There aren't many options for parents with micro-preemies. After searching online there are several things you can buy for more than 50$ and they will ship the next day. I think it's a great option for a friend to make something because it'll mean more and be one less thing that a grieving parent has to worry about! Thank you friends for giving me the opportunity to give you a gift in your time of need.

Urban Zoologie Owl- another favorite fabric!

I've had the chance to work with more fun fabric recently! I'm making a baby bedding set for a gal in New York City! All the way from little ole' Wyoming. It's turned out so fun and comfy and she did a great job picking fabrics! I've learned a few things along the way too, like 2 thick layers of batting plus two layers of minky fabric do NOT fit in my sewing machine. And, you need to use extra pins on super stretchy fabric. Everything went fairly smoothly though and I'm hoping the orders will keep rolling in because it's so much fun staying home and getting to work with fabrics that are so cute.

The double sided minky, plus piping crib skirt sitting on top of the crib sheet (Urban Zoologie Cream Owl) on top of a cotton cream and orange single pleat crib skirt.

The side view of the crib bumper and sheet.

The pillow, blanket, bumper, sheet and skirt.

The minky backed blanket.

I've been waiting...

To make something out of this fabric! I know this "chevron" fabric is trendy right now and I know a million people have made pillows from it. I've been dying to get my hands on some and my SIL gave me the perfect chance. I'm making her baby's room stuff and this is the pillow for her rocking chair. I love it!


I'm thinking that a big stack of these pillows in all different colors would be great for a craft fair right before Christmas. What do you think? Would you buy one for an easy present that anyone would love? How much would you pay? What color do you want?

Also, her diaper stacker. Excuse the nasty dresser that it is hanging from. And I need to spend some more time with the iron but then it'll look great! Can't wait to meet my new little nephew and also to get the rest of the baby bedding done.

Wedding Dress to Twin Blessing Blankets!

That's right. I have a friend who cut up her wedding dress so I could make her newborn twin girls blessing blankets. How sweet is that? She did the cutting up of the dress, not me. And she used the bleach pen on the stains, not me. Phew- I didn't mess it up, thank goodness.


We used the satin under skirt from the dress for the binding (cut into long strips and sewed together). We used the lace overlay for one side of the blanket. We used the pretty bottom lace for added interest on top of the lace side. We used white minky (not on the wedding dress) for the other side. You could see through the lace side but the minky fabric is double sided and fairly thick so it added bulk to the blanket. Then I found some white rosettes and used those to make the ties look nicer than white yarn. I tied all of the layers together in 9 places.

Then I doubled it all for the other blanket for baby #2!

They are meaningful, resourceful, and beautiful!

Wanna Be a Cowboy 2

So I was able to make three puffy quilts while on vacation with my 6 kids for 2 1/2 weeks! I gave one to a friend and didn't take pictures of it and these other two are for a baby boutique in Cody, WY. They are all western theme (since that's what Cody, WY is) and use the Wanna Be a Cowboy fabric by Riley Blake. I love the girl fabric combinations and wish I could keep one for myself! So stop by "Buttons, Bows, and Berry's" in Cody, WY to take a look at their cute stuff. Or you can find me at my etsy shop of course!

Butters and Beans

Just wanted to give a shout out to a new store opening in Woodbury, MN on July 22nd called Butters and Beans. Take a look at their facebook page http://www.facebook.com/buttersandbeans and tell them Caralee sent you. They are going to be selling my puffy quilts! Wish I lived closer so I could actually walk in the store but they have a website of course at buttersandbeans.com.

Pile O' Puffiness

Seems like most of my posts lately have been puffy quilts. It comes in spurts I guess. I got an order from a baby shop in Minnesota for 6 puffy quilts so I've been frantically trying to get them done before we leave on a trip to OR tomorrow! I had to order the fabric and wait a week to get it so I have really had 5 days to get them done, and that is with 6 kids home for the summer and a day of town festivals thrown in there too. Oh, and my birthday (which doesn't really matter when you are turning 29 again anyway).


Here is the pile of puffy quilts. I kept thinking the princess and the pea wouldn't feel a pea under all of that puffiness!

Wanna be a Cowboy 2- by Riley Blake

Purple and White (don't know the designer)


Daydream by Riley Blake (my favorite one!)


On a Whim- Robert Kaufman


Blue and White Cloud, backed with soft white minky


Green and tan gingham.

I'm going to try and stop by a baby shop here in Cody, WY and see if they are interested! Who wouldn't love them?

Puffy Pillow

I'm always on the look out for free projects and that usually means coming up with something from my fabric scraps. I remembered that I had a few squares left over from my pink/green/yellow puffy quilt, so I used them to make a puffy pillow. Turned out pretty cute huh? Took about an hour to make and I didn't even have to buy a pillow form! The two sides together make it soft and full enough. I think I'll have to make one of these for all of my future puffy quilts!


Linked to:

http://www.singingthreelittlebirds.blogspot.com/
http://sewchatty.blogspot.com/