Someday

I love quilts. I would rather make quilts than anything else. It is so fun to see how the prints and colors come together and then to see how the quilts change when they are actually quilted. Someday I would love to have a long arm quilt machine. Since a good one can cost as much a a car and because they take up a lot of space that someday probably won't be for a very very long time for for now. I can dream. One of my favorite places to dream and drool at is Green Fairy Quilts http://www.greenfairyquilts.blogspot.com/ I actually met the Green Fairy aka Judi at my favorite fabric shop at Christmas time, and found out about her site. She is amazing and I am very, very jealous of her talent. I've wanted to blog about her for some time and since she is offering a give away to anyone who blogs about her I figured it was a good time to do it. Hope you like her stuff as much as I do.

Spring!

It's Spring! Here Spring means sunshine and flowers one day followed by rain turning into snow the next. And just because it is sunny doesn't mean it is warm outside. So, we needed some new Springy outfits.

I love these! They are sassy and cute just like my girls.

Bri's outfit is a baby doll top with a flower at the side and leggings.

Carly's outfit has a drop waist top with a flower at her hip and leggings.

I made both these outfit without a pattern. to make my patterns I just use their clothes and trace around them on to paper. It really isn't as hard as it sounds and it saves lots of money.

New Orders

I went down to work in my sewing room this weekend and found that some new orders for dresses had been placed.

I'm going to take these 2 little clients to the fabric store tonight so we can pick out some fabrics.

I also got the go ahead to start a big order I have been hired to do. I will be making 6 queen size quilts. They with all be a trip around the world design, is six different colors. I'm very excited for this job, I think it will be lots of fun. I can't wait till I have some free time to go pick out fabric.

I've been working on getting my sewing room more organized but I keep getting distracted. This is my most recent distraction.

Years ago I made a quilt for a friend and had cut out a bunch of triangle for it. I decided I didn't like the fabric for that project and have been looking for a way to use these triangles ever since. I found a pattern last summer. I came across it while I was cleaning and since sewing is way more fun than cleaning, I decided to work on it. I used only fabrics I had in my scrap bins. I really like how the top turned out. I have no idea how or when I will finish it. But if anyone is interested......

Sewing up a storm.

I have been doing a ton of sewing lately. Some for my girls and some for customers but it's all been fun.

I had been given some black and white polka-dot knit years ago and have never been inspired to make anything from it, but on the last episode of project runway the winning outfit was this cute hoodie outfit, and I finally knew what to make.

I love my sassy girls.

I usually make them special occasion clothes but I don't very often make every day clothes for them so these outfits were really fun.

I've also made a bunch more of the tricot silky blankets.

I also bought another of my scrap bags. I just have so much fun figuring out what to make with the fabric.

This quilt doesn't have a home yet. I'll probably finish it by backing it with the white fabric in the design. It will be about 43X43 when it is finished. I plan to do the international stitch to finish, and it be $55. Let me know if you are interested.

I've also be working on some hoodie towels. They are $12 and can be personalized with a name for another $5,

Purple flowers.

turquoise ladybugs.

These hoodies are great for babies and big kids, for the tub or for at the swimming pool. I have lots more cute fabric and will have more hoodies on the way.

I know it's still Febuary.......

But, I'm so excited for Easter dresses! My favorite show is Project Runway, it's a show where they give aspiring fashion designers challenges and they have to make different clothes according to the challenge. They recently challenged the designers to make a little girl's dress and a coordinating out fit for a mom. So fun! It made me very excited for Easter. I've mentioned before that I learned to sew from my mom and she made us some really great Easter dresses, My sister and I were always coordinated. Now that I am a mom I love to make my girls matching dresses. Now I haven't always been very good at taking pictures of my stuff so sorry for the quality of the pictures. But here are a few I've done in the last few years.

These are last years dresses. They are linen with an embroidered hem. I made one for my niece too but I never got a pictures of them all together.

These are some of my favorites. They were very casual and fun. I paired them with some fun leggings.

These to are my all time favorite. I had a picture in my head of what I wanted these to look like but couldn't find a patten so I made my own pattern and they turned out better than the picture in my head. I've never used a pattern since.

These were not for Easter, but I love these dresses.

So, I'd love to make dresses for your little princess. Pricing on dresses varies, but start at $20 + supplies and go up depending on how complicated the dress is.

Baby Dolls

A few weeks ago a customer asked me if I could make some diapers for her daughter's baby doll.



I think they turned out pretty cute.
She also asked if I could do doll clothes. I told her no, that they were more trouble than they were worth. But I couldn't resist and gave it a try anyway. I figure if she didn't end up wanting them that I knew a few little girls that would like them.


And actually. They were pretty fun to do.



So If any one is interested in doll clothes. Let me know.

I plan of charging $2 each for the diapers or 3 for $5.

The dresses are $5.

Don't forget I also do doll blanket/pillow sets for $8.




I also did this quilt recently for another customer. But when she got to my house she saw the yellow and pink daisy quilt and changed her mind and took it instead.
I didn't like this quilt when I was making it. It just didn't look like I wanted it to. But, once I finished it and got it quilted I decided I love it. I did a combination of traditional tying and the international stitch.


It is cotton flannel. 42in X 42in. It has the cutest Fairy print mixed into the squares and for the backing. I'm asking $45.
Let me know if your interested in anything you see here.

Sweet Hearts

Need something for your Valentines?

I made these aprons and my girls like them so much I don't think they will let me sell them. But I would love to make aprons for you sweet hearts. Children's aprons are $15, and Adult aprons are $20.

Trash to treasure

My favorite little fabric store every so often puts out these bags of scraps. They are the the left overs from hemstitched blankets and bib and they sale a whole garbage bag for $2. I've bought 4 so far (Shhh, don't tell my husband) I love these! You never know what your going to get in these bags and most of what is in there is usable but I have had tons of fun turning these bags of trash into treasures.

This is the first quilt I did out of these scraps. I showed it to one of my customers and it was sold before I even finished it. Thanks Sara!

I finished this one yesterday and sold it this morning. Thanks Nicole!

I also made cute daisy quilt. This quilt is still available. It is 42in X 42in and is 100% cotton flannel. It is quilted with the international stitch (kind of like a tied quilt with no ties)


I'm offering this quilt for $45 dollars. Please Email me if you are interested in this quilt or if you have a special request.

Sold! Thanks Bess!

Thanks Alison

sewalisonl@gmail.com

Something new. Tips for you.

So, I'm going to try something new and thought I'd offer some sewing tips from time to time. I will try to make them for beginners or non sewers.

My first tip is for all of you with skinny little girls. Thank heavens for adjustable waist pants but sometimes the elastic waist pants won't even stay up on my skinny little girls (they take after their dad) since I really hate to just safety pin them in the back I often run new elastic in these pants.


First, measure how much elastic you will need.

Pin a safety pin the the end.


These particular pants just happen to have a fake drawstring with grommet holes that I can run the elastic through but if your pants don't have that you can just open a seam inside the pants and then sew it up when you are done.

Make sure to secure the other end of the elastic so you don't pull it through. Once you have threaded the elastic through pull it through the same hole you started at.

Sew the ends together. You can do this with a sewing machine or by hand.

Pull the elastic back into the hole.

Now her pants will stay up.

The One

For me there is no higher honor than finding out that a blanket I have made is 'the one.' The one blanket that is so special to a little one that they can not sleep with, out it . The one that gets taken everywhere and gets loved to pieces, literally. I have made several such blankets over the years, and one of the most special was for my sweet little Carly.

When Carly was little and I would nurse her she liked to rub the silky camisoles I would wear. When she was upset she would run to me and stick her hand down my shirt so she could feel the silky fabric. I soon realized I needed to find something else to comfort her so I made her a blanket out of the same fabric. She new the moment she saw it she had found the one.

This blanket is still much loved and a required element of bedtime.

At one of the boutiques I did before Christmas I met a woman with a similar problem. I told her about Calry's blankie and she immediately ordered one..
This is the finished product.

It is silky and soft and not too big. Perfect to cuddle.

Carly has even given it her seal of approval and asked if kids can have more than one blankie, because she wants one.

Here is a little preview of some flannel quilts I'm working on.

Let me know if I can make a special blankie for your little one.

For me

I come from a long line of quilters on both sides of my family. Some 60+ years ago my great grandmother made these blocks. My grandma saved them and I have had them for several years now.

Last winter I pieced them together so that I could begin quilting them. I got maybe a quarter of it quilted before I put it away for a while. Lately I have been in the mood to quilt, so I got it out again.

It may sound crazy to some to try to hand quilt a project as big as this, but I feel like it would be an insult to my Great grandmother to have it machine quilted. Besides, quilting is very relaxing for me. A few winters ago I hand quilted a top made by Great grandma on the other side of my family. It is one of my most prized possession. Hopefully I will be able to finish this one before too long, then I can display them side by side.

Christmas recap

I was very busy in the weeks before Christmas. I participated in a few Boutiques and met so very nice people. I had a rush of last minute orders, but some how I didn't feel as stresses as I do most years. I ended up making 12 pillows, which I of course forgot to take pictures of. I did take a picture of this great apron. I ended up making 2 of these one for grandpa and one for grandma.


I'm already making plans for all the things I want to make this new year. I have several quilts in the works and am looking forward to Valentines. Let me know what you need and I'd be happy to make it.

I still have cute stuff avaliable

So I've been a slacker and haven't posted in a while, but it's actually because I haven't been a slacker, I've been really busy. I just wanted to let you know that I still have cute stuff available. I still have cute girls princess nightgowns, Book covers which are a great teacher gift, with a gift card tucked inside. I also have doll blanket sets, Crayon rolls and some car rolls. I also have some new hooded towels in some new designs which I will try to get pictures up of soon.

I have had lots of fun doing some boutiques around the valley. I've meet so really fun people and I hope to do more after the first of the year. I have some fun ideas for Valentines, but I'm really enjoying Christmas and I hope you all are too!http:<"//sewperfectgifts.blogspot.com/2009/11/book-covers.html">

Make it Personal

My very favorite gifts to give are ones that show you spent a little extra time and thought. A great way to do this is to add their name to a gift. One of my favorites is fleece blankets. Fleece blanket can be purchase very inexpensively or are easy enough for just about any one to make. if you need advice on how to clip the edges of fleece to make a great blanket leave me a message and I'd be happy to help.

Embroidery can be added to may items to give them that extra special touch.
Embroidery is $5 for the first 8 letters then 50 cents for every letter after, or $3 each additional name in another spot. Three fonts are available.

Fancy


Block


Cursive.

Let me know what I can personalize for you.