Neela and the Pillowcase

Neela has been very patiently waiting to use the new(old) sewing machine. The main reason I had gotten the old machine in the first place was to have an extra machine for the girls to use. And these old Singer's are pretty indestructible, making it a good one for them to use.

It took a bit longer then expected to get the motor and all the wiring done but now she's ready to go. 

Neela has been wanting to make a pillow since Syd made one a while back, but she really wanted to make a pillow case and not just a pillow that "couldn't be changed". She explained that if she couldn't make cases she would just have to make a lot of pillows because there are so many fabrics she likes.

So first we made a pillow out of left over white fabric from another project. I decided to have her make it 10x10 because most of the prints she had picked out were from layer cakes(10x10 precut squares).

I gave Anika an envelope style pillow case from a class I took at my local quilt shop. Neela decided she wanted it like that and thought it cool that she was going to make the cool pocket. We didn't use a tutorial, but if you want to make one, here are some easy directions to follow.
We left the knee pedal on the machine so she could reach it, since she can't reach a foot pedal. It's still a little hard for her to control the speed and press the knee lever, but overall she did a great job. Most importantly she's pretty proud of her new project!

Pencil Case

Sydney had asked me to make her a pretty little pencil pouch for her 3rd grade year. Of course I didn't make it till the last minute but it turned out great. I followed this great little tutorial.

Novalee's Quilt

Nothing like a niece(the first) that's due in a short time, to make you get back in the mood for bigger sewing projects. For the last year or so I have really only been working on small projects, pot holders, mini quilts, little softies, etc. With tons of fabric sitting on the shelf and the announcement of a niece on the way, it was about time to get back into the swing of sewing a bigger piece. 

When my sister Catrina and I picked out the fabric she didn't know if she was having a girl or a boy. When I took her to the fabric store to pick something out we decided to go with the Moda Salt Air. Catrina loved the little blocks from the panel pieces and I liked that it would be easy to play the boy or girl theme.

At first I had a hard time planning the blocks, because Catrina really liked the little square pieces from the panel. I decided to go simple and just frame the cutsie ones. I then added big blocks of the gender neutral "bubble" print. I really liked the strip pieces and wanted it to have a framed look, so I mitered the border pieces. It wasn't all that hard and the little extra work was worth it. I followed the wonderful pictures and instructions here. 

 The back turned out to be my favorite part. I played up the pink when my sister found she was having a girl. I'm not a fan of solid backs, so I added a strip of flying geese, using left over fabric from the front. I wanted these little guys to have perfect points, so I spent the extra time and paper pieced them.

 

This is my fave little guy! Can't wait to meet Novalee and see her wrapped up in this:D 

Wordless Wednesday

To get back into the hang of things...

to novalee

made with love 

2012 

from Aunt Heidi

Quilt label for Novalee's quilt.

Mama’s Holiday Wish List Meme

Mama’s Holiday Wish List Meme

TodaysMama (link to: http://bit.ly/tmwishlist) and GameStop (link to: http://bit.ly/gamestop10) are giving away a sleighful of gifts this holiday season and to enter I’m sharing this meme with you.

1. What is your holiday wish for your family? Just that we all enjoy the time together both during the holidays and during our time off for winter break!

2. What is your Hanukkah Nightly tradition? The girls get to pick a present to open and we light the candles. We usually eat a lot of Hanukkah foods on the first and last night of Hanukkah.

3. If you could ask Santa for one, completely decadent wish for yourself, what would it be? Oh goodness, there are so many things jumping around in my head! I would probably ask for an awesome shopping trip to New York City with my bestie.

4. How do you make the holidays special without spending any money? Playing games and curling up together with some yummy homemade treats.

5. What games did you play with your family growing up? We played everything from Monopoly to Mario Brothers to Canasta. My parents love all games and we grew up all playing games!

6. What holiday tradition have you carried on from your own childhood? Spending quality time with family, and a making that the most important part of the Holidays.

7. Where would you go for a Hanukkah-away-from-home trip? New York City with the family or maybe some where tropical and warm;)

8. Check out GameStop (link to: http://bit.ly/gamestop10) and tell us, what are the three top items on your GameStop Wish List this year? For the kids LB2, Epic Mickey, and Kirby's Epic Yarn. For the adults(we get to pick too right) Assassin's Creed, Heavy Rain and Red Dead Redemption.