How I Made My Baby Quilt

A few weeks ago I posted the triangle baby quilt I made for our little mister. I'm back today to share some details on how I made it. 

I made my quilt with help from blog posts here and here and this video about hand stitching the binding.

I ordered my fabrics from fabric.com. They are Kona Cotton in colors grass green, white, medium gray, teal blue, aqua, caribbean, nightfall and green tea. I got half a yard of each color except for the back fabric where I got an extra 2 yards and the binding which I had on hand already.

I used this white thread for my basic sewing and this lime green thread for my accent color. This hand quilting thread was used for the binding.

I spent a whole day cutting out all the triangles. They measure 6 inches. Then I stacked them up by color and began laying them out into a pattern. Some people just sew them together as they go not really paying attention to the layout, but I wanted mine pre-layed out so I would know what the outcome would be.

Ariana helped me find the right pattern. There are 17 triangles in each row and there are 11 rows. I stacked each row up and labeled them to keep track of how I want my layout to be.

Then I began sewing the triangles together. I started with sewing the triangles in each row first, then sewed the rows together (row 1 and 2 together, row 3 and 4 together) to make sets.

This was the fun part because you could start to see it coming together and lining up nicely. Not all the triangles lined up perfectly but they were close enough.

And then before I knew it, I had a quilt top. This is when I really kicked it into high gear. Seeing the quilt top come together really made me fall in love with it even more and I couldn't wait to see the whole thing finished!

Then I had to sandwich the top layer, the batting and the back together and sew it all together.

I went along each side of each triangle because I figured that since it was a baby quilt it would have a lot of wear and tear and washing and this would help it hold up. Then I hand stitched on the binding and it was done. You can see the rest of the finished quilt in my post here.

A Quilt for Little Mister! (& 34 weeks)

I'm not a seamstress y'all. I don't really sew, but...

I MADE A QUILT! 

I'm pretty proud of this project! I know it's the biggest sewing project I've done, and I'm pretty sure it's the biggest craft project I've EVER taken on.

I knew I wanted a pretty triangle quilt for the little mister when I found the first thing (a print) that inspired the nursery. I kept finding all these pretty quilts on Etsy but man were they pricy and none of them were exactly what I wanted. 

I knew I wanted to make my own triangle quilt when I thought about how simple it would be and how much I (and hopefully he) would love it. 

I haven't shared the nursery yet. It's still a work in progress but I'd say I'm 90% done. Just waiting on a few things to arrive in the mail and finding a rug has been frustrating to say the least. This quilt really brings it all together and I smile everytime I see it in there.

This truly was a labor of love. Hours upon hours of cutting, measuring, pinning, sewing, work. It was both harder than I thought it would be, and easier than I thought it would be at the same time. 

My blood, sweat and tears went into this quilt. Literally.

Blood - I pricked myself several times and cut myself once with my rotary cutter.

Sweat - I've been working on this on and off for the past month and a half in the 90 degree heat (with no air conditioning)

Tears - Ok so no as many tears but a few hot mad tears when I made a simple mistake and had to fix it and giddy tears when I got so close to the end and I was still in love with it.

I practically flew through the last of it once I got the quilt top put together. I could barely stand it I loved it so much. 

Sewing around each triangle was pretty time consuming but I love the way it looks and hopefully this will hold up nicely.

He's going to be very cozy this winter with his quilt and the baby blanket I crocheted a few months ago.

I'm working on a post to share my progress through the quilt and the methods/tutorials I used etc. But the colors are greens, aquas, turquoise, gray and white.

Not all my lines are straight but it's made with love and it's perfectly imperfect. I'm in love with it!

And since I'm feeling pretty round and pregnant these days, here is a photo of me from yesterday at 34 weeks. Technically I still have 6 weeks until my due date but I'm guessing he's going to come earlier than that. I have a growth ultrasound later this week to measure how big he is getting!

(34 weeks)

Cactus Pincushion {TUTORIAL}

I'm so excited to be sharing this fun tutorial with y'all! I just know this cute little pincushion is going to steal your heart! It's pretty easy. I think it only took me about 30 minutes to make once I gathered up all my supplies.

Last year, I joined a pincushion swap and I made this pincushion for my swap partner. I was doing some crafty cleaning recently and found my test one I made. I decided I could make a fun tutorial to share! It's easy peasy, I hope you join me!

You are going to need:

1 piece green felt (notebook paper size)

1 small piece pink felt

mini terracotta pot (found in the floral section of most hobby stores)

small button

green embroidery floss

needle

scissors

hot glue gun

stuffing

salt (for weight)

paper and pen (for making a pattern)

First cut out the outline of your cactus on paper. Mine was about 5 inches in legnth and about 2 inches in width. Using your pattern, cut 4 of those out of your felt.

Lay 2 pieces back to back and whip stitch around one side, stopping when you get about half up way up the top of your cactus.

  Add your third side and starting where you left off at the top, sew that side on.

Sew on all 4 sides until you get something that looks like this. I left my sewn sides out to create ridges.

Next, cut out a flower shape from your pink felt. Make sure it's big enough for your button to fit in the middle but not too big for your cactus. Sew the flower and button onto the top of the cactus.

It should look something like this. 

Yay, we're almost done!

Now, fill your pot about 1/2 full of salt (or sand or whatever you choose to be your weight.) Make sure if there is a hole in the bottom of your pot, that it's covered. I just stuck a sticker on the bottom. Firmly stuff your cactus with stuffing. This takes more than you would think. 

Then put some hot glue into the edge of the pot and stuff your cactus down in there! Feel free squirt more hot glue down in the sides for extra security, but be careful not to get it all over your felt.

Now your cute, funky pincushion is ready for some pins, and a sewing project!

I hope if you decide to make this cute pin cushion, that my instructions are easy to follow.

xo's

Cat

A Little Surprise!

I was shopping online a few weeks ago, cause our craft store here sucks but I'm not going to let this turn into a rant post. Anyways, I and came across this awesome cupcake fabric. As soon as I saw it I knew I HAD to make an apron for my friend Jen (she's a new blogger). You might remember she was the one who named a cupcake after me! Super fun stuff!!

This was my first sewing project here in Germany (and my second apron ever!) I had a moment with the skirt where I had to call my mom and have her help me over the phone hehe!

I didn't even tell Jen I was making it, it was a total surprise.I was soo excited to find out that she got it today, and loved it. (Sorry you are sick Jen, get better soon!)

I love sending surprises to my friends!! :)

Isn't Christmas the BEST!!!!

xo's

Cat

First sewing project!

I'm so excited to share my first project that I made on my VERY OWN sewing machine! My Momma has been here visiting, so it was a great time for her to help me start out on my sewing machine. I decided that I wanted to make an apron for my first project. We went to the fabric store and bought a pattern, fabric and other trim. Of course I had to make it more difficult by using 2 different fabrics on a pattern that only called for one and adding lacy trim. The first night we laid out all the fabric and cut out the pattern. The second night we spent sewing it all together.

 Momma helping and giving tips on how to make the apron.

 

 The finished product.

I love the fabrics together!

 

 Detail at the top, we added that on our own, made it different from the pattern.

 

 Sweet little pockets.

 

 Pocket details.

Wearing my beautiful work. (Not the best pic of me, I hate that sweater!) But, I love the way the apron turned out. It is just how I pictured it in my head. I can't wait to get started on my next sewing project!!

xo,

Cat