HAPPY HOLI-DIY | a recap of my craft night at Anthropologie

Last night was so much fun - I hosted an event at Anthropologie (you may have heard about it, ha) and to top it off two customers thought I worked there because I "dressed like it" and I had a "great outfit." Two of the greatest compliments of my life right there. Oh, and my mom and aunt came out to support me and they were like my personal fan club so that was nice, too. Hopefully everyone who came to the event had as good a time as I did! We made initial ornaments that do double duty as gift toppers, and a few industrious people even made enough letters to make a word garland! Check back tomorrow for the tutorial. Here are a bunch of photos of the event... much thanks to Matt who stopped by for a little while to capture these images for me. 

 

 

  

 

 

 

Most of all, thanks to Anthropologie for having me and to everyone who came to the event! Hope we can do another one real soon :)

HAPPY HOLI-DIY | a craft night with Anthropologie & me!

I have such fun news to share today! I'm excited to announce that I'm partnering with Anthropologie and hosting an evening full of crafting and snacking at my local store in Garden City on December 18th. We'll be making yarn monograms which can be used as ornaments or gift toppers, so come on by and craft with us! 

There are two one-hour sessions and space is very limited so if you'd like to join us, email anthroevents@anthropologie.com soon to reserve your spot at the workshop! Please include your preferred session time in your email. Hope to see you there! 

wee woodland | a quilt for Frances

Matt's sister's friend is pregnant, due with a baby girl in December. I actually started working on this quilt for her when I found out she and her husband were trying to get pregnant a while back and picked it back up again recently so I could finish it in time for her shower this past Sunday.

All the fabric is Wee Woodland by Keiko for Moda... it has the most adorable little mushrooms, snails, and squirrels all over.

I used a charm pack for most of the quilt top and bought an extra yard of the teal stripey print to fill in the holes.

The backing is a yard of one of the white prints covered in multicolored ferns and mushrooms, plus more of the teal stripe, and I bound it in the stripe, too. What can I say? I love stripes of any stripe.

I quilted alongside the seams of each charm square on the front which gave the quilt a nice crinkly texture. I don't usually quilt so many lines but I knew it would look nicer that way. Most of the time I get lazy and try to quilt as little as possible. Does that make me a bad quilter? Probably.

A little handwritten label completed the project. I'm hoping to order some real labels soon! Just working out a few details and then I'll be the proud owner of some personalized ribbons :)

And I couldn't resist one last little gift to go along with the quilt - two onesies that I embellished with little pockets! They make me want to add pockets to everything. 

P.S. Speaking of babies, it's crazy for me to think that at this time two years ago I was a little over twelve hours away from meeting Ezra for the first time! Can't believe my little guy will be two years old tomorrow!

it's a plane! | a quilt for Will

Another quilt finish! I've been whipping them up lately. This one was for my friend Keri's son Will who is almost two months old now. His nursery, although a blank slate as of now, will be decorated with a vintage airplane theme in mind, so I picked up a US Navy commemorative fabric that I found on Etsy.

The pattern is a modified large log cabin block, and when I say modified I mean I calculated my measurements wrong and had to make it work. Oops! Math was never my best subject.

I chose graphic red and blue fabrics to complement the airplanes - some chevron, polka dot, and a weird red pattern that reads as a stripe that I think is Flea Market Fancy. When I came up short with the design I had sketched I decided to add some red, blue, and tan seersucker, too. I couldn't believe how soft the seersucker made the quilt - so much more cozy than regular quilting fabrics and absolutely perfect for a baby. I definitely plan on using more seersucker in my quilts.

The back is a simple patchwork using scraps from the front. I think almost all of my quilt backs end up being scrappy. It's always fun to deviate from the pattern on the top and come up with something completely unique while using up some of the scraps!

I quilted along either side of the seams of the log cabin squares to echo the pattern on the top of the quilt, so it looks pretty random on the back. 

Stripey bindings are one of my favorites, and this red seersucker didn't disappoint. Hopefully Will is as happy with his quilt as I am!

elephants and polka dots | a quilt for Avery

Yesterday I said goodbye to this pretty quilt and sent it off in the arms of a mama awaiting the arrival of her second daughter. I think this quilt is my favorite one yet (I always seem to think that), but I know it's going to be well loved.

Thanks to my brother for helping me get a few shots of the quilt while we were out shopping last week :)

It was inspired by little Avery's nursery - soft yellow and pale gray with an elephant motif. I loved picking out the fabrics for this beauty. They're all from Pink Chalk Fabrics and fabricworm.

 Simple gray binding ties it all together.

And if any of you are wondering, I used this pattern from Fresh Lemons. Now on to the next baby quilt! This season has me busy busy busy...

whites and brights | how to host a tie dye party

A couple weeks ago I helped organize a sleepover for the girls in junior high at our church. We needed some sort of activity (other than eating Double Stuf Oreos and watching movies, that is) so I thought for a bit and decided that tie dyeing would be an easy and inexpensive crafty type thing that all the girls could participate in. We ended up spending hours in the garage soaking tee shirts in buckets filled with brightly colored water, and now I want to tie dye everything in sight. Here's what you need to throw your own tie dye party... 

plain white tees / Rit dye powder / salt / liquid laundry detergent

rubber gloves / five gallon bucket / hot water / rubber bands

Once you have all your supplies just follow the instructions on the inside of the Rit box. We (obviously) used the bucket method which is simple and involves no risk of dyeing the kitchen floor. As long as you don't bring the bucket in the kitchen. In case you were wondering, the colors we used were sunshine orange, lemon yellow, fuchsia, teal, and purple. Have you ever tried tie dyeing anything? It's one of my favorite things. 

image via my friend Missy's Instagram

a quilt for a baby yet to be

My latest quilt was made with a special woman in mind. My friend Alex's sister Mikaela asked if I could make one for her friend who's been going through a difficult time and I readily agreed. 

Mikaela chose a few of the quilt designs I suggested and then I picked the easiest one because we were working with a small window of time. Once the design was decided Mikaela and I went to Joann to pick out the fabric. She picked out all the prints based on what she thought her friend would like and I helped her edit for color, pattern, and value. My favorite prints are the ones by Denyse Schmidt.

Oooh, and I just love the backing! 

I used a simple tutorial from Film in the Fridge as a guideline. It all came together in under a week from start to finish. 

Simple straight lines of quilting echo the lines of the quilt. There are two lines on either side of the seams where the blocks and stripes meet.  

The quilt is bound with a simple navy and white polka dot and I love how it pairs with the backing. In fact, I love it so much that I might just go back to Joann to pick up some of these fabrics for myself!

I hope that this quilt brings joy and comfort to the woman who it was made for. It was an honor to pray for her as I sewed and quilted, and I hope she feels the love that was put into every stitch. 

a quilt for Lumpy // geometric elephant blocks

Once again I find myself wanting to keep a quilt for Ezra instead of giving it away... I made this one for a baby boy who should be arriving some time next month. Stan and Karissa are decorating his room in grays, blues, and greens so I went through my stash (and my mom's, too - thanks, mom!) to see what I could pull together. I found a few pieces from Laurie Wisbrun's elephant collection and decided to use them as the centerpieces for the blocks. Some of the other fabrics include pieces from Heather Bailey's Nicey Jane collection, Anna Maria Horner's Garden Party collection, the Denyse Schmidt for collection for Joann, and of course lots of Kona solids. Here are some of my favorite fabric combinations...

This was actually the first time I made a quilt using blocks and sashing. I liked that it was like making nine mini quilts which I got play around with in creating the larger design. The backing is made up of Kona grass green and Kona coal along with a little label made of one of the stripey Laurie Wisbrun prints. The quilt is bound with a green-on-green sort of geometric print.

Like the quilt I made for for Ari, this quilt's label has a blank line on it for the baby's name which will be revealed after he makes his debut.

And... the usual stack of burpcloths that helped me use up some odd shaped remnants left over after making the quilt. I can't wait for the little man to arrive so I can see him all wrapped up in elephants!