And the bunny ran away with the spoon

Back when I first found out I was pregnant with a little girl, I started thinking about all of the clothes that I was going to make for her over the years. I sorted out patterns, started collecting fabrics, and put aside special buttons and trims. Now I have a baby and a stack of fabrics and patterns as tall as she is, but I don’t want to make anything because “she’ll just grow out … Continue reading

Birthday Bag & Matching iPad Cover

A few weeks ago I attended a special birthday party for a friend of mine.  As adults, we don’t get parties and special gifts as much as we did when we were kids, and I always think that’s sad.  Enter: The Birthday Bag. I bought this pattern several years ago in A.C.Moore – it is actually called the Serendipity Bag.  It’s meant to be used with a jelly roll and at the time, I had … Continue reading

Work in Progress: Zakka Style Baby Quilt

Hey look, it’s my First. Ever. WIP Wednesday post!  I so rarely take pictures of items that I’m working on, usually reserving the “big reveal” for the finished product.  Over the long weekend I did a lot of sewing but didn’t fully finish anything, so I took pictures anyway. This is a baby quilt pattern from Zakka Style: 24 Projects Stitched with Ease to Give, Use & Enjoy by Rashida Coleman-Hale.  I know I’m way … Continue reading

Fascinating…a retirement gift

Way back in the Spring, I saw on Craft a post about a totally awesome Spock quilt. Event though there was a tutorial on how to design the quilt, I thought, gosh, I wouldn’t know where to start.  I showed it to some co-workers who thought it was awesome and that it would be a great gift for our boss, who is a Trekkie extraordinaire.  But ethics being what they are, it really wasn’t appropriate … Continue reading

Little baby blue

Check it out! Number and 1 and number 2 of my nanoSEWmo projects! The pattern for this baby quilt and pillow is a Wonky Rail Fence, using the Stack-and-Whack method. The backing material is a solid light blue that I had on hand.  I also used a white/blue ombre rayon thread for quilting.  It adds some extra sparkle to the quilt, I think. The pillow has a simple ruffle around the edge and an envelope style back. … Continue reading

Holiday Gifts: Necktie

Pirate ship Necktie Originally uploaded by alyson_olander Strictly speaking, this was not a holiday gift.  My dad’s birthday falls just a few days prior to Christmas and, because I understand how much it must suck to get a load of Christmas ‘n’ birthday combined gifts each year, I make a concerted effort to give him one gift for each. This year’s birthday gift was a pirate ship necktie. Now, be honest, a necktie is kind of … Continue reading

Holiday gifts: Jewelry Tote

Jewelry Pouches Originally uploaded by alyson_olander Welcome to the first in my series of holiday gift posts! I handed these cute little pouches out last night to our daycare providers during their holiday party.  I wish I could take credit for the design, but I can’t – they came from Quilting Arts Magazine special Gifts issue (2009/2010).  The pattern was designed by Margarete Steinhauer and appears on page 132 of the mag (almost all the way … Continue reading