I was able to use the last of the Kaffe Fassett fabrics I order for this quilt, which I then used for this quilt, and finally turned into THIS beautiful table runner! I thought the colors would be perfect for a fall/winter centerpiece -- maybe even a great backdrop to Thanksgiving dinner!? I made this runner reversible -- using a really nice mustard and cream colored paisley print for the back, which I thought would allow this runner to be used year-round! Artful stitching, and bright, warm colors -- it's going to be hard to part with this runner! If you'd like to see and read more about this runner, please take a look at my Etsy store!
Life is funny sometimes, isn't it? Yesterday a friend of mine emailed to ask if I could sew her a couple of handmade hot/cold packs for her sons -- I had never attempted to make one before, but had saved the idea on one of my Pinterest boards a while back (by the way, I am obsessed with Pinterest....you should follow me! :)). Today, my daughter woke up complaining of a headache...something very unusual for her -- she hardly ever complains of physical ailments. Then, when she came home from school this afternoon, she really started to whine that her ear was hurting....uh oh...a dreaded ear infection!? She has never had an ear infection (I can hear all you moms letting out a collective, spiteful sigh...I know....I DO thank my lucky stars!) My immediate thought was to panic...I always do when she says she is hurting or sick because she rarely ever mentions that she is. My next thought....hey, now would be a great time to make those Hot/Cold packs! Essentially two pieces of equally sized fabrics sewn together, filled with rice and, in our case, fragranced with some essential oil. That's it! Once the sewing is complete, you can pop the pack into the microwave for about 20 seconds and it is nice and toasty and ready to take on any ache or pain! My daughter was THRILLED to help in making her special pack -- she picked the fabric from my scraps, watched as I sewed, helped measure out the rice and chose her essential oil fragrance from my stash...she decided on orange because it 'smells like candy!' I think the excitement of making this pack had therapeutic properties in and of itself because she became a lot less agitated during the process :) Once everyone had their turn at taking HUGE sniffs of the wonderful orange fragrance coming from the warmed pack, I had my daughter lay her aching ear on it while she and her brothers watched 'Rescuers From Down Under' for the 13th time this week....yes, as a child of the 80s, this makes my heart smile :) I was really surprised by how well and how long this pack held in heat -- after a few minutes she claimed that her ear was already feeling better. Smiles once again! After the heat wore off, we gave the pack a rest for dinner and then warmed it back up again for her to take to bed with her -- she was very excited! Whether it was the heat, the delicious smell, the fun fabric, the novel idea or a little mixture of it all, this hot/cold pack certainly made my daughter feel a little better, which made me feel A LOT better :)
These homemade packs can be made in any size or shape, can be made to use hot or cold by placing in the microwave or the freezer -- the perfect accessory to combat the upcoming cold and flu season and really the perfect accessory to use year round for aching muscles, for stiff necks and backs or for simple body temperature regulation.
I was at the fabric store the other day and just stood still, mesmerized by all of the amazing fall prints!! One was better than the next! I was particularly drawn to this one, and decided to make myself a new fall/winter fob for my keys! Just a reminder that these fobs make wonderful stocking stuffers (can you believe we are already thinking about stocking stuffers!?), much appreciated teacher gifts or a lovely hostess gift -- the holiday season is fast approaching, let me take some of the 'what should I get!?' guesswork off of your hands! :) I have plenty of fabric on hand and can always shop for designs and colors of your choice! Visit my Etsy Store for more fob inspiration or email me directly to set-up a custom order! FREE SHIPPING offered on orders of 10 or more!
This is quickly turning into the quilt that could never be finished :) As you can see, I finally finished the quilt top!! I am just thrilled with how this quilt is turning out -- very unlike most of my of quilts -- I think the reason it has taken me so long to finish is because with each new step in the quilt making process, I am just SURE that I am bound to mess it all up! So far, it has come out unscathed....all I have left: quilt sandwich, stitching and binding...let's hope it survives :) If something does go awry, at least I have photo documentation of it before :) It will be another few weeks still before I can finish it once and for all -- I am working on a HUGE key fob order which is keeping my hands and fingers busy for the moment! Please check back if you'd like to see the finished, finished quilt :)
I've hit 'quilter's block' with my sparkle punch quilt, so it's time to start a new project! To get the creative juices flowing again :) I am planning on cutting into this lovely stack of fabric this weekend, although I am not sure what quilt design I will go for.... I also wanted to include a quick run down of this weeks' bento lunches -- with the first week of school under our belt, I think it's going to be a great year of fun and learning...and of lunch making! :) My plan, for now, is to have a main course lunch menu for each month -- sort of like we did in grade school....Here is our menu for August:
Mondays -- Tortilla Roll Ups
Tuesdays -- Mini Pizzas
Wednesday -- Breakfast
Thursday -- Quesadillas
Friday -- Fairy Bread Sandwich (this will be an every Friday treat!)
The idea is to use the days as a guide for making lunches but to vary the food within that category each week ie: Mondays are roll-ups, but I will make a different type of roll-up each Monday -- I am hoping that if I give myself a framework for ideas it will make things less complicated...
Next month I will change the daily food themes and so and and so forth :) That's the plan anyway! For Food Descriptions, hover over or click on the Picture I forgot to snap a picture of the Quesadilla Bento, but I just did cheese quesadillas cut into flower shapes with a cookie cutter, strawberry yogurt, cubed mango and mild salsa for dipping. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!
A finished quilt! I'm starting to get the gears moving, dusting off the sewing machine, and feeling like I'm finding my groove once again :) Does this fabric look familiar? It was what I had leftover from this quilt -- fashioned into a patchwork design. I love how 'scrappy' the quilt looks. The hardest part of this quilt was restraining myself from wanting to quilt it more -- I had originally thought of doing a sort of rhombus quilting deign over the top, but after finishing the horizontal lines, I decided to let it be for fear that a more complicated quilting design would compete too much with the already busy fabric designs. Purchase or see more pictures of Pomp & Patchwork here.
At my next quilt! Inspired by Oh!Fransson! and her lovely Sparkle Punch Quilt, I decided to venture into, what is turning out to be, one of the most daunting and tedious quilt blocks I have made so far in my short quilting 'career.' I love the way this block looks and I especially love the fact that I am able to use a variety of different fabrics from my stash (I plan on using 13 different prints) -- but don't be fooled! This block, although simple in explanation, takes a lot of time to assemble....in other words, do not attempt unless you love pressing seams (I do not, but I am willing to muscle through for the end product!)! I am also trying to branch out, and get more comfortable with the idea of using more white in my quilts...not sure if it is something that will stick, but it will at least be something worth trying for the summer.... It has taken me about 4 weeks to make 9 of these blocks....only 88 more to go! Maybe I'll get it done before Christmas!? Stay Tuned...
Here are pictures of two of my most recent finished quilts! The feeling of accomplishment once I finish a project is something I will never tire of....maybe that's why I like quilting so much!?
This was my first attempt at a t-shirt quilt -- my mother-in-law came to visit a few months ago and brought with her a stack of my sister-in-law's old t-shirts cut into various sized squares -- she was hoping that I would be able to fashion some sort of quilt of the shirts for my sister-in-law's birthday (Happy Birthday!). I was certainly intimidated by the task, but willing to give it a go -- this is what I ended up making. I wish I could have done more with the quilting, but the t-shirts were difficult to sew, and I thought I better leave well enough alone. All in all, I am very pleased with how it turned out! The t-shirts made this quilt incredibly soft and cuddly, which is always a huge plus in my book!
This next quilt was commissioned by a good friend of mine. She had bought one of the very first quilts I ever made and fell in love with it...however, she was looking for something bigger in size that she and her family could curl up with on the couch and that she could use to stay warm during her morning Bible studies. She was immediately attracted to Kaffee Fassett's fabric designs -- and I am so glad that she was! This was my first time working with these fabrics, and it was a pleasure!
Although barely at times! :) Sorry to have taken such a lengthy hiatus from my blog, but between being sick, having terrible allergies, and having to deal with constant temper tantrums from my little monsters (a term of endearment....for the most part -- terrible twos times TWO!) I have not had much time to work on a magnificent tumbler quilt that a friend of mine has commissioned! Of course, I want to make sure her quilt turns out as perfectly as possible, so I have been taking each step of the quilt making process verrrrrry sloooooow to ensure I don't miss a single stitch! She chose some absolutely gorgeous Kaffe Fassett fabrics for the quilt top -- I have never worked with Kaffe Fasset fabrics before, but I am so glad that this project fell into my lap...just some amazing colors and designs!
Here is a sneak peak of her quilt! And, here is sneak peak at how loud it can get in my house, and why it makes concentrating on anything nearly impossible :) ....Keep in mind this is their happy noise....and yes, their sad noise is even louder...so whether they are happy or sad, there is always A LOT of noise in my house -- hahaa! (and yes, that is my nasally allergy voice...) Never a dull moment, that's for sure!
No, not the title of a new recipe or one of my latest quilts...no, we over here at The Spotted Lamb house have felt like we have been struck by the plague for the last THREE weeks straight....so between nursing sick kids with pink eye, ear infections, blistering fevers, flus, upset stomachs and sore throats -- and then my husband and I contracting all of those ourselves --keeping track of who's had what medicine when, disinfecting, disinfecting and more disinfecting, I have not had much time or energy for anything else.
I'm praying these microbes take mercy on us soon and that we can return to our normal routines and energy levels! Until then, I'll continue to daydream about all of the sewing I could be doing :)
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