Growing up sewing was a hobby and a necessity. Mom taught all five of us girls to sew and we made most of our clothes. I remember one summer we had three sewing machines set up in our home. When my husband was in dental…
Little baby quilts are so adorable! Did you know that you can use a Cricut machine to cut out quilt fabric? And not just quilting fabric – but all kinds of fabric! If you have the Cricut Maker, it will cut accurate, precise cuts and…
March is National Quilting Month. I have been thinking about how much sewing and quilting have meant to me in my life. Sewing was an almost constant activity at our house with five girls stitching up outfits. When my husband was in dental school one of my jobs was as a seamstress for a design service. I learned so much! Then came our four children and I did minimal sewing. Now I have a bit more time and I am learning about all the new methods and techniques available for sewing and quilting. I decided to take a little trip down memory lane and pull up posts about past quilting projects.
I have always loved quilts, so when each of our children were born I made a simple quilt or comforter for them. Now that we have a grandchild, the interest was renewed and I decided to start piecing quilts again. Baby quilts and blankets are just so special! This is the one I made for John right before he was born.
The cute little animals were copied from the wallpaper border that we used in the nursery. As you can tell, my applique techniques were at the beginning level! Looking back, I am impressed that I even finished it since I had a new baby, was going finishing up graduate school and was working at Bethany!
When making keepsake items, whether it be quilts, woodworking projects or other items, always try to put your name and date on them. We always think we will remember, but times passes quickly and we get busy with so many things, it is so easy to forgot who made what and who it was made for.
John and his wife, Lauren, selected a woodland creature theme for their nursery. I picked out fabric that coordinated with that theme and this Tiny Tents pattern for their baby quilt. The pattern and the fabric are from Missouri Star Quilt Company in Hamilton.
Putting the pieces together is like working on a jigsaw puzzle, except that there are so many right options, you just have to choose the combination that you like. Making these decisions may be the hardest part of making the quilt!
When I had it all pieced together, I had it quilted by Mary Kay Lambert, in Allendale, MO, where Mark grew up. She is amazing. Her website is:
I love the colors and the animals are just so precious! The quilting was done in a “clouds” pattern, which was perfect for this baby quilt.
I definitely need to work on my embroidery skills, but my name and date are in one corner.
This is the rocking chair that was in our nursery when John was born, now it is ready to rock another baby.
Lauren with her Tiny Tents quilt at the family shower. A few short weeks after this, we welcomed little Berkley into the world and what fun we have had! Now he is almost two years old!
If you thinking about making a baby blanket or quilt, Missouri Star Quilt Company in Hamilton, has one store that specialized in fabrics for kids and babies. Click on the link below for more information.
https://www.missouriquiltco.com/
Have fun sewing!!!
March is National Quilting Month. I love old quilts and some of my most treasured keepsakes are quilts. Quilts are works of art, family heirlooms and for many of us, are full of memories, love and sentiment. This flour sack quilt was pieced by my…
I have been having so much fun with my embroidery machine! I found these cute Spring designs on the Parker on the Porch website. I remember doing cross stitch patterns by hand….this is so much faster, easier and more enjoyable! This is a relatively new…
Don’t you love making special projects for holidays? This “Sweetheart” quilt pattern just looked adorable! I put it on my list of things to make and set a goal to have it done by Valentine’s Day and just barely met my deadline. It was designed by Nadra Ridgeway. She has so many creative, clever and beautiful quilting designs on her website. I loved the pattern, the vintage inspired fabrics and the patchwork border.
The little hearts with bows look like boxes of chocolates!
I selected 5 different red print fabrics for the hearts and then 5 different vintage-inspired fabrics to add pops of color. There is something so satisfying about being creative, laying all the fabrics out and combining colors and designs. This would also be a great quilt to make using your fabric stash.
These are some of my favorite hearts! Now to get it quilted and the binding on.
Happy Valentine’s Day!!!!
You will want to check out this Etsy shop for more quilting designs by Nadra Ridgeway.
The snow is coming – or so they say. From warm sweatshirt weather to boots, scarves and heavy coat weather in just a few days. If you have an embroidery machine, Kimberbell has some really cute snow pillows. These two are from their Bench Buddies…
Is it really February already? It is time to create Valentine projects. There are so many places you can look for inspiration for your Valentine Cricut projects – from their Design Space, to Pinterest to Etsy shops. In my opinion, some of the best kids’…
Valentine’s Day is coming! These little Valentine Bears are adorable – and so easy!
You just need conversation hearts, Teddy Grahams and a little bit of icing, purchased or homemade.
Using a toothpick, put just a little icing on the back of a heart and then attach to the bear’s tummy. Set aside to let the frosting dry.
How cute are these? These could be used put in little individual bags for Valentine’s Day treats.
They would also be cute to use to decorate cupcakes or to decorate the top and edges of a layer cake, or maybe to top a frosted brownie!
Enjoy making these cute little Valentine Bears!!! Happy Valentine’s Day!
Last year my husband gave me an embroidery machine for my birthday, so I have been experimenting with new designs and patterns. This past weekend I took a Puny Valentine class at Missouri Sewing Machine Company in Kansas City and I learned so much. We…
Welcome to Sugar, Sunshine and Flowers!
Mary Beth shares her love of family, food, DIY projects and being outdoors.
