Sparkle Baby Quilt in Progress

I started a new project--I know, what was I thinking???  A friend is having a little girl soon, and I have tons of this Michael Miller Glitz fabric laying around, so I thought it'd be perfect to try out a quilt I've had in my head for a while. 

This confetti dot border quilt is a gradient--it gradually changes over the entire width of fabric.  My Phillips fiber art 10 degree wedge ruler is designed to fit on half a width of fabric, so I cut away the top, sparser half, and sliced the more densely printed half into 72 wedges. 

My happy place -- quilting with an audiobook!

It is going to be so cute!  I have lots of this fabric that hasn't sold in my online shop, so I thought I'd try my hand at selling finished quilts, using this gift as a catalyst.  What do you think?  Would you, or someone you know, buy a handmade quilt as a baby gift?  I'm keeping track of the time it takes me to finish these two quilts to get an idea of how much I'm paying myself to make it.  The cost of the fabric alone (even at wholesale) is pretty high, so I think I'll end up throwing in my labor for next to nothing if these are going to sell at all.  You never know, so I'll keep y'all posted when I finish this one...until next time, God Bless!

Taking Stock

So I was perusing some of my favorite blogs today, and saw this monthly "taking stock" thing.  My blog doesn't just have to be about making, after all, so here we go:

Making : Lots of stuff.  Another circle quilt for a baby girl, a memory quilt for a coworker's late husband, and planner stickers for 2018. 

Cooking : I just bought one of those Instant Pots, so I'm diving in and trying a recipe tonight--Beef and Broccoli rice.  We'll see how that goes.  I pre-seasoned the beef with salt, pepper and soy sauce, so I'm hoping that'll help it be extra tasty.

Drinking : Café con leche.  Love my Bialetti Mukka Express <3

Reading: I primarily listen to audiobooks, so I'm currently "reading" Disaster Diaries by Sam Sheridan.  Fascinating!

Wanting: To leave work early today--I've got a sick kiddo at Grandma's house today :(

Looking: At fancy schmancy minivans for future upgrade.  I miss my backup camera!

Playing: First Martians.  Played through the introductory scenario a few nights ago, so I think we're ready to tackle a full game.

Deciding: Whether or not to stop at Wal-Mart tonight.  I need a new ironing board cover, which they won't bring out to your car as part of their Grocery Pickup service.

Wishing: I had vacation time to take off this year.

Enjoying: Being a new mom again.  It's amazing how much you remember and forget about caring for a baby a mere year and a half later!

Waiting: For the holidays to arrive.  Work seems less burdensome when you're highly anticipating a gathering. 

Liking: How much sewing time I've been getting in the evenings.  My sweet hubby has made it his goal to make sure I have one or two evenings "off" per week for me to meet my sewing goals.

Wondering: How my sick child is doing. 

Loving: My boys, of course!  It would be nice to spend guilt-free time with them again.

Pondering: The apocalypse.  That sounds negative, but the book I'm listening to is all about being prepared for TEOTWAWKI--The End of The World As We Know It.

Considering: Buying more emergency supplies.  I'm more of a prepper than my husband is, or we'd already own a lot of the stuff I'm considering buying--like those instant meals that have a 25 year shelf life, you know?

Buying: Kiddo's clothing and food.  Lil Schep is growing again, and fall has finally arrived here in Florida, so he needs new clothes.  2T/3T, for those who are wondering! ;)

Watching: Football.  That's all I ever watch on television anymore.  The Walking Dead is back on, so my hubby's sucked in again--perhaps I can use this to persuade him to make those emergency supply purchases I've been pondering!
Hoping: That this all works out.  That I do my job well, that I raise my kids right, and that the world doesn't end in a nuclear war.

Marvelling: At how my son is a tiny human being.  How is it that we are born with everything we need to grow up?  We never take our kids in for software or hardware upgrades--they just grow and grow.  Marvelous.

Cringing: At the bad decisions I see people make.  Being a lawyer means I get to deal with other people's mistakes daily, and many are very cringe-worthy.  The downside is that I tend to downplay my own.

Needing: To get over myself.  In the grand scheme of things, I'm not that big of a deal, but here I am blogging about myself as if I were.

Questioning: Whether our decision to start a business was short sighted and impulsive.  I merely wanted a way to fund my hobby (let's face it, quilting can be expensive!), but now I have tons of cute fabric lying around, and no time to sew it into anything cute.

Smelling: The remnants of beef flavored ramen noodles.

Wearing: A red dress.

Following: Orders.  It's a trying time at work, and I'm doing my best to comply.

Noticing: How many little people there are in the world.  What?  I'm not the only person who had a baby??!!

Knowing: That God's got this, but finding myself doubting this from time to time.

Thinking: That I need to get back to church on Sundays.  BabySchep is old enough to go to the church nursery now, so I have no excuse.

Admiring: Single moms.  I deal with them every day at work, and finding that I couldn't do it on my own.

Sorting: Piles of files into smaller piles of files.  This is my life from 8 to 5.

Getting: A bit anxious because I'm trying to finish typing this before Court starts.

Bookmarking: Baby clothing sales!

Coveting: A new bathroom.  Or screened patio. Oh, and a sewing machine.

Disliking: Laypeople who try to tell professionals how to do their jobs.

Opening: A new gallon of water (no water fountains at work!).

Giggling: Over some of the ridiculous names people give their children.

Feeling: A bit guilty about how long it's taking to type this up.

Snacking: On Smartfood White Cheddar popcorn.  I'm glad I bought the little bags, because I would have eaten the big one already.

Hearing: The secretaries go about their business.



Yikes!  In hindsight, this is probably a very boring post.  So, in exchange for reading mine, I'll read yours--leave me a link in the comments.  Until next time, God Bless!

#babyschep's nursery progress: Solar System Mobile

Another quick project to share with y'all: As you know, BabySchep's nursery is decorated in a space theme.  I purchased one of those DIY three dimensional solar system kits online, and got to work:



The big yellow one is the sun!

Look at me, blending paints like I'm an artist!  This kit was pretty easy--the planets all came in half-spheres, pre-marked with lines, so painting it was a breeze.  It came with glow-in-the-dark accent paint, but I wasn't sure how a newborn would react to glowing orbs hanging from the ceiling.

Here it is, hanging over the changing table.  Once upon a time, I read that you should hang a mobile over your baby's changing table, to keep their interest elsewhere while you work your diaper-changing magic. 

The sun's corona is a cardstock cutout provided in the kit.

Oddly enough, this is what it looks like from baby's perspective.

So far, BabySchep is pretty captivated by it during daytime changes.  I'm back to work now, so he doesn't get to look at it very often now. :(

I know I keep promising updates, but they really are coming, honest!  Until then, God Bless. 





#babyschep's nursery progress: Rocket Ship Play Mat

Okay, so I finished this project well in advance of BabySchep's arrival, and even managed to photograph it, but when I went to upload the "finished" photos, they were all gone!  Fast forward several months, and now I'm ready to write about it. 

Remember Lil'Schep's baseball play mat?  I retired it right around his first birthday, because he never seemed to spend any time on the floor.  I recycled the foam insert, and simply made a new cover for BabySchep to match his nursery's space theme. 

So soft!

I found this super cute fleece at the fabric store.  I was just about to turn around and go back to another bolt I had in mind when I spotted these sweet little stars.  Simply perfect!

Rockets everywhere!

I purchased this rocket ship cutting file for my Cricut Explore Air 2, and I'll say that I've gotten my money's worth out of this cutting file.  I cut the rocket ship out of felt.  For those curious, I used that stiffer craft felt that comes in letter-sized sheets, and used a green, standard grip mat.  I cut this on the "light cardstock" setting on the Explore Air 2, because I felt (hehe) that the felt setting cut with too much pressure.  I did not use any backings or interfacings, because the craft felt is pretty stiff on its own, and didn't have any issue with it sticking securely to the cutting mat. 

I have to say that I've really enjoyed using my Cricut for some of these sewing projects, because it saves a lot of time.  After all, the reason you use felt in sewing projects is to ensure a quick, non-fraying finish, right?  As you can see, I secured the ship to the mat with a small zig zag stitch in gray thread.   One thing I love about fleece it that the felt seems to almost melt into it when appliqued. 

Little guy is two months old here.

He seems to enjoy it alright, don't you think?

In hindsight, I would have taken more care to sew the cover to fit more snugly.  In the end, it's okay--it's on the floor of the nursery where my one-year old and two-month old take turns making messes on it, and that's the most important thing--that it gets used.  Now that my one-year old is almost two, he loves laying on his little brother's mat--go figure! 

There's still more to show as I put the finishing touches on BabySchep's nursery.  Stay tuned--God Bless!

#babyschep's nursery progress: Saturn V rocket

Father's Day was several months ago now, but I thought I'd kill two stones with one bird by buying a LEGO set for my husband:



Hubby with Lil' Schep



The nerd that I am, I read about the upcoming release of the Saturn V LEGO set far in advance, so I preordered a set that was due to release at the beginning of June.  Boy, do I know my hubby--he was super stoked to receive the set, and had it assembled two nights later:







No, I didn't plan those PJs at all ;)

At over 3 feet tall, this floating shelf was the only spot that would accommodate the rocket, but I think it's perfect!

Those little pieces next to the rocket are to-scale models of the landing module and the splash-down capsule.  There are even itsy-bitsy to-scale astronauts! 

So many pieces!

The itsy bitsy astronaut went on a rocket ride...

Of course I found a pop up book about the moon to display next to it!

The rocket stages separate, and those little guys fit inside, just like the real thing!  I saw these rockets in person as a kid, and now I'm super stoked about taking my boys to see them at the Kennedy Center one day.  I love how this rocket fits into the theme.  Fast forward a few months later, and the nursery is all but complete.  Sharing on Linky Tuesday today.  More pics soon.  Until then, God Bless!

#babyschep's nursery progress: Quick Mobile Makeover

It's been a few weeks since my last update, so I'll start by sharing the biggest news:

BabySchep is here!

We had a planned repeat Cesarean delivery and had to return to the hospital for some phototherapy, so I haven't been quite up to the task of finishing the posts about this little guy's nursery.  We are both doing much better now, so here goes nothing:

A few weeks ago I whipped up a quick mobile makeover.  Lil' Schep had a jungle themed nursery, and I just happened to still have his crib mobile: 

Planets in the background!  More on those later.

We handed down most of Lil' Schep's baby stuff, so I was surprised to find a box of things we forgot to give to some friends who were expecting.  I think that was God's way of making sure we didn't spend too much on baby number 2!

 Sneak peek of BabySchep's quilt...

First, I liberated the jungle buddies by snipping the strings as close to their bodies as possible.  I gave these little guys to Lil' Schep for him to play with.  He thinks they're cute, and there isn't anything cuter than a cute little guy thinking something else is cute.  Does that make sense?

Bump photobomb, lol. 

My wonderful husband used our Cricut machine to cut out some felt stars.  I opted for felt because I wanted to be able to leave the edges raw.  As much as I usually enjoy hand stitching, I was just too tired to have to stitch anything shut by hand at this point.

I reused the strings from the original mobile and stitched them right into the tips of the stars.  I used a narrow (approximately 1/8") seam allowance, and left a small space open for stuffing, then simply finished sewing the hole by machine.  Easy peasy.

It was truly rewarding to be able to start and finish a project in one night.  I had purchased a battery operated mobile to replace the old wind-up one that came with Lil' Schep's original one, so this entire makeover was less than $15.00, and works like a dream.  Now that I'm on maternity leave, I should actually have some time to type up a few more blog posts.  This time, I'm linking up with Finished or Not Friday, TGIFF, and Finish It Up Friday.  Until then, God Bless.

#babyschep's nursery progress: Wall Art!

So, it's been forever again--pregnancy #2 is kicking my butt.  I came down with pneumonia the other day, which is not fun when you're this pregnant!  Don't worry, I'm doing much better now, just dealing with the regular aches, pains, and fatigue that come standard with being super pregnant and working until your due date.

Well, y'all know I've been blabbing about my new Cricut machine lately.  I don't mean to brag, and I'm certainly not getting paid to write about it--I'm simply excited to learn how to use it.  One of the main draws of the machine for me was its perceived ability to cut out detailed applique designs for my sewing. 

Now most non-sewers would use cardstock or fancy papers (which is a much cheaper alternative, btw!), but I happen to have over 100 bolts of fabric hanging around from my soon-to-be-closed online fabric shop. 

As I revealed earlier, I've selected a space theme for BabySchep's nursery, and we painted the nursery deep, dark blue.  I thought that this Michael Miller Glitz print would really pop against the dark blue background. 

I fused Heat n Bond Ultrahold to the back of a dark blue solid:

This is a no-sew fusible adhesive.  Given that this will hang on the wall, I figured no sewing would be necessary.  After fusing the adhesive, I peeled away the paper backing and stuck the bonded fabric to one of the purple strong grip Cricut mats.  I used the bonded fabric cut setting on the Cricut, and cut out the Bible verse I had chosen for this particular piece.

I find it mesmerizing to watch the machine in action!

And here's what it looked like after weeding away the unused parts.  It's obviously not in order, as the Cricut software organizes the cut to minimize waste. 

This was my first go-round trying fusible applique cut out by the Cricut.  What I learned: 

• The grip on the purple mat is a tad too strong.  I struggled a little bit to remove the finer pieces without ripping or distortion.  I've since had success using the standard grip green mat, even with the paper still attached. 
• I cut too deep.  I used the standard "bonded fabric" setting on the machine, and it ended up cutting into the mat as well.  It later cracked along one of these cuts when attempting to remove a different project.  Not a huge loss--you can use the mat from either end, so it's still in usable condition.  I've since learned that you can use the "cardstock" setting, even with the paper still attached. 
• Designing takes time.  My laptop is fairly old as far as computers go, and it took quite a while to manipulate the design to a manageable state.  I think I'll download this font onto my newer desktop to see if it handles the editing quicker.  UPDATE: Since I first typed this post, Cricut has since updated their Design Space software, and my computer handles it much better now! 

In the end, I think the product turned out great:

Applied heat to both sides.

Pretty cool, huh?  I bought some inexpensive FISKBO frames from IKEA, and now I've got some personalized wall art! 

 

I'm still debating whether to hang this one on the wall, or to leave it on the floating shelf.  I'll wait until the rest of the verses are done (I've now trained my husband to use the Cricut!) before I decide. 

 

We've managed to get a few more projects finished/underway for BabySchep, so I'm sure I'll be sharing those soon.  Linking up with Finish it Up Friday (do no-sew projects count?). Until then, God Bless!