Babies' Shower

Today I can finally show you the baby shower gifts for my daughter in law Jenny who is expecting twins real soon. These are the 2 quilts that I was working on and searching all over heaven and earth for the polka dot fabric. In the end the blue print I chose worked out well, I may even like it better.
Both quilts are pretty much the same in that they are the same fabrics and colors, the fabric placement is random. The doctors call them "Baby A and Baby B". I machine quilted  Baby A into one quilt and Baby B into the other. Once they are born and we know their names I will add a label.

I picked out the pattern "Irish Chain" because both sides of the family are Irish and I knew Colin and Jenny would both love the idea.

There are also some bibs and I have to say it was fun looking for little boy fabric. It is so much cuter than when I had my boys.

I picked this fabric out specifically for my son Colin who hikes the AT.

The theme of the shower was "Bees" and I was so excited to find these little Onesies when we were in Florida.

My daughter and I each bought a sweet toy bee from Rachael at The Faded Wildflower. She handmakes each one. Notice the little bowties, blue and green, that way they each know which toy is their own. Aren't they cute?

My son Colin painted these pictures for the nursery. I think they will look so cute and how cool that their daddy painted them for the little boys. I am getting teary now......

Colin also painted these trees for the shower. Each person put a fingerprint on each tree and they will hang in the nursery to remember all the people who will love them.

The tables were also bee themed which added to the fun of the day even though it was pouring rain outside. The flowers were Jenny's favorite, daisies with yellow tea roses and little bees flying around. Her mom, Bonnie and sister, Stacy did such a wonderful job with lovely details that made it extra special.

Jenny's mom asked me to make mug rugs and I was happy to do it! They were given out with a little stick of Burt's Bees lip balm as a favor for all the guests.

The food was yummy and the red velvet cupcakes were my favorite!

All in all it was a good day and Jenny is really glowing with maternal love! They are both going to be such good parents and the entire family cannot wait to meet our newest little boys!

Kelly

Burnt

How absolutely gorgeous is this fabric? I went into my LQS, The Quilt Block, today to see all the new things they brought back from quilt market. This is an Australian fabric called "Terra Australis" by emma jean jansen for ella blue.

I am always on the hunt for good oranges and this one is spectacular! There are maybe 6 to 8 more fabrics of this line at the shop if you are interested.

I also picked up this pattern because you never know when you need to contain your sewing things...........I know it's just an excuse to sew something cute. The Quilt Block is located in Exton,  PA 610-363-0404

I am going to take a break. Life is just so crazy right now and I feel like my posts are pretty lame and I am a little burned out. I would rather have something interesting and/or informative to share with you. I am not sure how long it will last but you can be sure I will be sewing, and gardening, and babysitting, and enjoying the summertime along with a few books and time with friends.

Kelly

Pie Lady Quilts

The Lovely Woods by Pie Lady Quilts

When I first saw this quilt on Instagram I instantly fell in love with it. Those trees even looked a little familiar. Jill at Pie Lady Quilts used my free pieced tree tutorial to make this awesome quilt.
As I perused her blog I found some really cool quilts and was instantly hooked.

Like this one....

and this one! I am so inspired and love her use of colors.

Jill has a free tutorial on her site to make the birds for The Lovely Woods that is pictured above  (go check it out and come back). I went right to town and made one. I love how it turned out and am adding it to my house quilt along with some trees.

Just to keep it real......I wanted to make a long skinny one to show you that they can be made any size. This one is not that great and may go to the orphan box........

I did make another tree and am surprised how quickly they go.

It's the perfect touch to this quilt.

It's going to end up being a very interesting quilt for sure!
Thank you Jill for all the inspiration!


Kelly

Scrap Happy

Last spring I participated in a house block swap with some friends. I started putting them together and put them away as I was not sure what I wanted to do with them. I added a tree that I did a tutorial on a long time ago.

My scrap sewing pile is growing. The other day I saw on Crazy Mom Quilts that she is doing a sew along with scraps and I happen to have a bunch! I will see what she is doing and maybe sew along. Notice there is no purple in the pile......my least favorite color. I am rethinking that idea.

There is something satisfying about stacking them all up and putting them in a basket for safe keeping.

Kelly

Christmas In June

So every once in a while I go through my works in progress. Some of them I know I will finish and some I know I won't finish.
I pulled these "Beyond The Cherry Tree" blocks out the other day. While I love the colors I just know I don't want to make any more. There are six all together. Instead of having them languish in the drawer I am going to make a Christmas table runner for my kitchen table with 5 of them. The extra block will go into my box of leftovers.

That's the bad thing about applique, they take a long time. You can get tired of them or just not have it in you to finish them.

I think quilted up they will look nice and my time will not have gone to waste.

They will add a nice touch to the table and every time I look at them I will feel good that they are "finished"!
Do you have any projects like this? What do you do with your "not quite finished blocks"?

Kelly

Stuck

I am stuck in a rut. I have a ton of things to work on but just don't have the umph to work on any of them. I have a hard time switching gears.
I pulled out some scraps today before my workout and just started sewing them together. It was soothing and mindless.
These colors are also way off, it is a gloomy day here and I can't get a decent picture.

This afternoon I dumped out some more and will continue sewing.  Who knows what it will eventually be? Just looking at the colors makes me happy. Good enough.

I did get one more Farm Girl Vintage block made, Butter Churn. I like these colors together.
The next block is pretty easy but I feel like picking out the fabric will be a chore today. Do you ever feel like that? Any other day the fabric would be flying!

Note to self, when you pick out a heavy weight fabric to cover your small ironing board, be sure it is 100% cotton....at least it is pretty.

Kelly

Wednesday Already!

It's very hard to get a good picture today. We are on day 3 of rain.......we need it very much.

These block go fast and are fun.

Whenever I see a baking/cooking block I think of my friend Lynne who is also making these. I can't wait to compare ours!

The next one on the to do list. If you are interested in making them they are by Bee In My Bonnet, Lori Holt. The book is called Farm Girl Vintage.

Rain glorious rain!

Kelly

Dirty Hands

This block (Apron Strings, Farm Girl Vintage) is about the only thing I have sewed in the past few weeks. I had lots of twin babies sewing to do but have to wait until after the shower to show you.

I have had my hands in the dirt for the past 2 weeks. It is very meditative and allows you time to think without distraction. I don't take my phone out with me for fear I will lose it or worse bury it!
The above foxglove is courtesy of  I am guessing a bird. I know they are biennials (the plant grows the first year and flowers the second year) and maybe missed it in the garden last year? No matter I will enjoy it!

This is a gorgeous shrub that is almost black in color, I love the contrast with the green in the garden. I don't know the name of it. Can anyone tell me?

This year it also got these pretty white flowers, a nice surprise!

These hostas are enormous this year and love living in this part shade spot. That really is the key, finding a spot they love and letting them go. They are about 3' across.

These are on my porch and I think the colors will look great together once they grow in. It's a mostly shady spot so I have to be creative!

Out back by my deck are some gerbera daisies......right now only the red is in bloom but there is also orange and hot pink in there.

Not a summer can go by without zinnias. I found this double cherry color and am so excited for them to grow. I also planted lots of sunflowers......

This rose bush was almost dug out this year. For the past few years it was not growing or blooming. This was the year I was getting rid of it. Our cold spring saved it. Imagine my surprise when I saw how much it had grown (tripled in size) and the hundreds of buds all over it. It is an old fashion type that is extremely fragrant, I loved brushing up against it while I weeded.

So as much as I like to think I am in charge of my garden, Mother Nature definitely has the last word! You never know what will happen.

My sewing room is a mess. My goal today is to get it cleaned up and start sewing, I really miss it.
What are you working on?

Kelly