First twin quilt!

Since I started quilting - just a mere few months and 1 quilt ago - I wanted to make two twin sized quilts to replace the ones that cover the two twin beds in one of our guest rooms. I've had the same store-bought, "bed in a bag" quilts on them since probably middle school and hated them for years....but never took the time to find something else. And now, I've realized that I can do it for myself and they can be loud and bright and fun and not match anything else and eclectic and just perfect. So I quilted!

Thanks Mom for being my quilt holder in the sunshine today. And you are welcome for the gratuitous shadow shot. Figures. 

Fabric is Miss Kate by Moda and Moda solids as well.  

Straight line quilting through the stripes them free motion quilting on the wide border. There are some places on the back where the backing fabric got gathered a little but for my first time making a quilt this size and first time using FMQ, I am pretty darn proud of this thing and prepared to overlook all the imperfections!

I also hand made the binding and sewed it on by hand. A labor of love for sure but I'm super pleased with the results. 

And finally, when I got into quilting thanks to Danielle, I remembered that lots of my grandmothers quilted. I called my mom and asked her if she had quilts that they made and she passed me FOUR! Two twin sized quilts and two king sized quilts including the double wedding ring pattern on top. The two on top were made by my Grandma Sanders (dad's mom) and the two on the bottom of this stack were made by my Great Grandmother Benson (Granny B - my mom's grandmother). I'm so thankful to have them. I'll probably display more than use them because they are OLD and weathered a bit but I am so happy to have them now!

#irwinbuns update - 2 weeks 3 days

Just a little photo update. They are really starting to look like rabbits. And they are hoppy and bouncy and crazy.

#irwinbuns update - 2 weeks old!

Yesterday the #irwinbuns turned 2 weeks old. This first picture is a perfect representation of what is going on right now. Lots of sleeping and lots of moving. Sometimes they even accidentally jump themselves out of the nesting box and need a rescue.

Top right of this picture - we have two that look like they will have a lot more grey on them. 

You can see in this picture that there are two little grey buns but mostly it is just a pile of white wiggly goodness. 

And this is a perfect example of snuggling a new-ish bunny. They get sort of panicky when you pick them up and then I guess they get exhausted and fall asleep in your hands - which is pretty darn cute. We've handled them some to just get them used to us but starting next week (once they are 3 weeks old) to get them really used to being held so that they will make good pets! And - please let the weather support this - they can move outside too! :) 

#irwinbuns update

Took some pictures yesterday to share with mom - since, you know...no Instagram.

Sorry, they are all a little blurry - something with my phone camera. 

And, since they live in the guest bathtub, there are some funny bathroom photobombs in there. 

Like TP in ^ that one.

And the toilet in the one below.

Look at those teeny ears!

They should be opening their eyes - maybe even with a little help today. 

And then...things will get crazy...and they will start jumping soon. They already have strong little back legs!

Shhhh...don't tell.

Don't tell Chad that I told you - it isn't really a secret because my mom told any way - but one of our bunnies had babies. Chad was nervous about telling folks in case something went wrong but we are on day 5 and I'm feeling pretty good about it.

This was the day she had them. The babies are in that fluff in there. 

This is today. They are super wiggly, starting to get peach fuzz, and they have the cutest faces you have ever seen. Tiny ears and long back legs make me want to snuggle them but thankfully - they smell. I know, sorry, no segway there. Well, momma bunny smells - like a rabbit? And they live in the guest bathroom because they decided to be born in what feels like the coldest week in history. So, there you go. We're gonna need folks to come handle them lots in a couple of weeks. Anyone want to? :)

Gotta go sneak to mom's blog and post a picture so she won't yell at me for keeping them all to myself. 

Only for mom.

My mother doesn't use social media. None of it. Well, unless blogging counts as social media (I guess it does) and I got her hooked on that a few years ago. She's now far surpassed the total number of blog posts on her blog that I have around here so congrats Mom. Anyhow, since she doesn't have social media, doesn't troll my Etsy store, and doesn't text - I know, I know - I thought I should post pictures of recent art postings so she can keep up. So, pretty much, this post is only for my mom. Apologies for folks that have seen these other times - elsewhere.

I have a couple more to post but they weren't dry enough last night when I took pictures to peel off the relief liquid. 

I'd take custom orders - or at least consider if I am able to do them - if anyone is interested. Just use the Etsy page contact info. (Link above). 

Handmade + Christmas + Quilting

I made a depressingly small number of handmade gifts this Christmas and I am determined to do better next year. I know some people don't "get" or appreciate handmade gifts but I personally know how much time, effort, and heart each one takes so I will continue to give them!

Entertainingly enough, the thing I think I like the best is this big spaghetti plate that I painted for myself. Our staff got to go to one of those paint your own pottery places as a staff appreciation day and I picked out this plate. After scouring Pinterest for something that I could easily replicate, I picked this dotted paisley idea and I am pretty proud of the way it turned out!

This is technically not handmade - or even a gift - but it is always a gift to myself when I decorate the front porch. I always love the house being decorated for Christmas because it looks so festive and loved. And of course, the guard corgi doesn't hurt either. I'm committing to making my house be a place that I love in the new year - instead of tolerating the mess or leaving projects half finished. Stay tuned for updates there...

This is a possibly too short but awesome none the less sleeve I made for my sister's glass french coffee press. I just measured it while at her house before Christmas and made this from estimates. I will try to make her another one that fits a little better soon but I loved the fabric!

I also made her some placemats that I am pretty proud of even though they were my first try. I forgot to snap a picture so I've requested one from her. I'll put it in here once she sends it.

I volunteered to make a friend at work some placemats when she was bemoaning that she couldn't find any Christmas ones that she loved. I actually used a pattern for these so they turned out pretty good though I obviously have the final pictures on my regular camera, not my phone so they aren't here either. The upper pictures is the back - I wanted them to be "every day" use so I used some fabrics to match her house.

This is the Christmas side of the placemats and I love them. So bright and fun. I made a set of four and even taught myself how to hand stitch the binding on the back so they look really awesome and finished. 

Chad got a couple of handmade mugs from me, though not made by me. I've broken a couple of his over the last few years so bought some replacements. If we had a cabinet full of mismatched pottery mugs, I'd be a happy girl. One is from an art student at Covenant and the other was from a little lady at his parent's church. I love them both and I'll take a picture to add later. :) I know - worst blogger in history. 

I've been working on two different quilts - for us! - since I'm not quite ready to make one to give away yet. I've been aching to replace the two quilts/coverlets on the twin beds in one of our guest rooms. Eventually - not an announcement of ANY kind - this room will become a kids room and we'll stack the beds back into bunk beds to make room for a crib/rocking chair, etc. I wanted to make quilts that were we a little more "youthful" without being too kiddie so that room can be used lots - if we never have kids too.

These two pictures are some of the half square triangles that I'm using to make one quilt. The fabric is called "Forest Friends" and it is by Moda. There are lots of foxes, rabbits, bears, skunks, cute little mushrooms, leaves and trees involved. Lots of sewing, cutting, and ironing too. This is one stack of 84 squares and the twin size will require nearly 5 stacks. Sigh. Work in progress - maybe this is why i didn't make many homemade gifts? I've had quilting on the brain instead. 

This quilt I am pretty excited about because it is a little more simple and feminine. Chad doesn't like that it is "random" like the last strippy quilt I made but I love it. I've since added a wide pink border to make it a twin size and I purchased the fabric for backing and making the binding yesterday. Making your own binding is also a pain but it opens up a whole different world of binding colors and patterns and will totally be worth it. This is the "Miss Kate" fabric by Moda as well.