Ombre Quilt

I had to make a manly quilt.  My husband was looking a little longingly at the quilts I made my parents for Christmas.  His birthday is in the beginning of January and so I surprised him with a quilt of his own.
It took me a long time to lay out all of the squares and get it to to the point where I felt it looked like an ombre. 

When I quilted it, I sewed straight lines horizontally across the quilt. It was very simple.  I made the stripes different sizes to give it some personality.

I used grey fleece for the back of the quilt.

It was a success.  I love it.   

The best picture I could get with the two of them.

Aprons for Little Artists

Christmas crafting.  I'm trying to convince myself that I have so much joy making things for others because it is Christmas.  Maybe it is Christmas, it might just be my love for sewing.  I'm saying it's a combination of both.  Christmas gives me a reason to sew.

I saw this fabric and I knew exactly what I wanted to make out of it.

They turned out better than I imagined them in my mind.  I know two little artists who are going to love these. :)

Handmade is Heartfelt

Pleated Clutch Purse

I am always amazed at the reaction of others when I give away these adorable but simple clutch purses as gifts. Because something is made from my own hand, people feel a little more special knowing that time was spent thinking, planning, and creating a gift for them.  Such a little thing makes other feel so good. And depending on how cute (aka: expensive) your fabric is, this project can easily be made for less than three or four dollars.  Amazing! If you have a lot of friends, or know a lot of people you would like as friends, I suggest you make and gift them something you made by hand. 

Find this tutorial from HowAboutOrange.blogspot.com