2 More Baby quilts ready to go !

2 more quilts.... they may not look like baby quilts, but I love to use up the fabrics that I have and try to "babyify" them....

The first one is different because it uses a large piece of a dominant print, surrounded by a strip of leftover prints from an earlier quilt. I added the lighter border this morning- to increase the overall size, and because I think it looks better with a lighter edge.

The brightly colored 9 patch one uses a pattern that is new for me. I ran across this bunch of Laurel Burch fat quarters while I was making my bags for Haiti, and thought they would make a fun bright baby quilt. I love the playfulness of the Laurel Burch prints. The prints here are probably 5 or 6 years old, and I was just lucky enough to find an additional 1/2 yard on ebay to add as the final border, to tie the idea and prints together.

Now, it's off to Sally, the incredible machine quilter who finishes my quilts with batting and backing. Then I cut a matching strip 3" wide, iron it in half, and machine stitch to the top edge. I whip stitch the other side by hand. (I do this while watching tv in the evening, when I'm too tired to do anything else !) ha ha !

Bags for H A I T I

I saw the tutorial about the bags for Haiti and remembered putting similar items together in boxes as a child. I don't remember who they were for, but I vividly remember the process, and loving it !!!!

I started making the bags out of my "stash" fabrics for my quilts, and I guess I just couldn't stop. ( It's like my mother used to say, "It's like eating salted peanuts") Anywho- I started sewing the bags and before you know it I had over 50... Then I made some smaller bags, just because I had some fat quarters of material that I couldn't figure out what to do with...

I found the items that were needed, and my sister, Linda, helped out with the granola bars, and toys, as well as other items that we had run out of.... My wonderful dentist, Dr. Michael White in Webster Groves, was kind enough to donate more than enough of the toothpaste tubes to fill all the bags, and then some !!!! THANK YOU BOTH SOOOOOO MUCH !!!

We (my sis and I ) spent all day Wednesday filling and packing up the items for the kids and even some adult bags for HAITI. Now I have to make sure they make it to their destination, in Milwaukee, so they can be shipped to the kids who can really use the items...

Our newest venture is the making of "pillowcase" sundresses for the little girls of Haiti, and pillowcase aprons with pockets, for their moms... Also, diapers for the babies, which can be washed and re-used, over and over again. Can you Help?? DO you have a sewing machine, and would you love to do your part to help? If so, go to the website to see how to make some easy patterned dresses for the children who were victims of the earthquake in Haiti.

In our bags we included:

Washcloth

Soap

Toothbrush

Toothpaste ( thanks Dr. White !)

4 Granola bars

Toy and stuffed animal

Hard candy

Valentine Bags for Chase and Hunter

Have had such fun making the ditty bags for Haiti (up to about 50 now) that I've been making other lined bags as well. I took my grand baby to the fabric store and let her pick out fabric for several bags for her and her sister. I didn't like the way the raw edge showed at the side of the casing, so I devised a way to tuck it under and clip to the seam to sew the side seam.

I measured 1" from the top edge, and 5/8" from the side and made a dot. I clipped the fabric to the dot and pressed under the little section. Then I sewed my casing, and pivoting on the dot, continued to sew the seam... If that's not clear, I tried to take a few pictures to explain how I did it.

I also made a few quilts for the Haiti children, and with the leftovers, I stitched some bags for my nephews twins, Chase and Hunter for Valentines Day... I filled them with "boy" type books, and crayons, coloring books, candy and stickers. They were out for the day, so I left a surprise for them when they got home. Such fun ! Hope everyone had a great Valentine's Day !!!

Baumcat: Hope Ditty Bags for Haiti Children

Baumcat: Hope Ditty Bags for Haiti Children

quilt of LEFTOVERS

The whole idea of one of the earlier quilts was to use up scraps and make use of worn out dresses and other clothing. I had loads of left over strips, and squares from the quilt I made for my son's birthday, so I put them to use and made this lap quilt for him... He can keep warm watching football on these cold nights. I changed the pattern a bit, and added an additional small stripe- just to keep it interesting (for me- ha !) I just finished the binding so I posted it to share.

I had soooooooooo many leftovers from this one that I also made a small reversible version which I sent to my daughter, too.... Guess next time I shouldn't get so carried away buying fabric !!

thanks for the help!

I'm going with curtain Number 1 !! Actually, that's the first one I designed, but then decided to "play" a bit. Everyone else seems to like number 1 too. I guess it functions as a "whole unit" better than the others, due to the repetition. Of course, as you can see, I need to do a lot more of these flying geese, and x shaped squares.... Just keep going, I tell myself, don't think about how many !!!