Natalie Rose

You might recognize the material from the previous post.  I miss calculated how much fabric to buy so I had enough to make a blanket for my God-daughter's baptism.

This is a VERY simple quilt with strips of fabric sewn together and then the seams are cut to make a rag quilt. 

I personalized it by adding her name and birthday date. 

It's hard to believe she is almost one!

God's Portion Day Rag Quilt

Each year SPPS has an auction to raise money for the school.  Each teacher plans a project for her class to complete and auction off.  I decided to have my class make a quilt this year.  I figured a rag quilt would be quick and simple enough.  The day of the auction came and I was expecting to send this quilt home to a lucky student's home to be enjoyed for years to come.  Instead my dad surprised me by bidding on it since 2012 was my last year.  I was getting married and moving during the summer.  Now the quilt rests in my livingroom reminding me of all the happy years I spent teaching at SPPS.

This is my last class of 3rd/4th graders with the quilt on the castle. You might be able to read each student's name is appliqued on which besides for the fridge is the only part I did.

The students cut the pieces.

Then they sewed the three layers of flannel together with an X shape.

Finally they sewed all the pieces together to make rows.

 

 

Henry Higgins

2012 was the year of college friend babies.  This is an afghan I made for another college friend. Her handsome son was born in April and she used the afghan to have the most adorable baby picture taken of him.  It's still hanging on my fridge.

This one was made with the same yarn as Hailey Grace's, but I also added some baby blue and gray.  The pattern has varing lengths of zig-zag lines.  I took a free pattern from JoAnn Fabrics and modified it a little. 

Hailey Grace

I made this baby afghan for a college friend who was expecting her first in July.  Hailey Grace will always share a very special month with my husband and I.  We were married at the beginning of the month and she arrived toward the end. 

This afghan is square shaped and made with beautiful green yarn from Bernat Softee Baby. The pattern is one I borrowed from my mom.

John Deere Quilt

This John Deere quilt is one I made for a good teacher friend of mine who had a baby boy in September.  Her husband is a farmer so I thought this would be perfect. 

I chose brown, yellow, and green because it made me think of the different stages corn goes through. Brown for winter when bare dirt is showing, green for spring and early summer when the plants are growing, and yellow for fall when corn is ready to be picked. 

The quilt design is different sizes of rectangles to give you a feel of what fields would look like from the sky.  Especially since different crops are ready at different times.  For example in late June wheat is a golden color while corn is dark green and tall, but soybeans might still be quite small and almost appear invisible to the soil around it.  For the quilting I chose a simple stitch to represent the furrows crops are planted in. 

Homemade Christmas

 This year I had lots of time to make lots of handmade gifts.

#1 Our tree skirt

#2 Dog bowl for my father-in-law

(Derick designed it, used scrap lumber from our closet shelves, and put it together. I stained and varnished it. Then we finished it off with a couple metal bowls.)

#3 Pot holders for my sister and family friends

#4 An apron for my mom and mother-in-law

 



Welcome Ace!

Last week Derick brought home our new bundle of joy, Ace. Our Boston Terrier is a lively little guy who needed a bath desperately, which is why there is a dirty towel on the livingroom floor. 

Welcome to my first blog!  2013 is going to be filled with numerous new and exciting things.  I can't wait to share them with my fellow bloggers:)