Baby Bib+Apron=Bapron

I found this idea on Pinterest and decided to try to make this at home.  And I like how it turned out and it didn't take a lot of time.  I also bought some "waterproof" material and will make a bapron out of it and see how it turns out.

I made two baprons and sent one to my sister in the mail.  I'm  hoping she can give me some feedback and let me know what the best way to have it "tie" in the back, whether that is an actual tie, or snaps or velcro.  It's nice that she has a 10 month old baby boy that is at the age that he is eating food and wanting to feed himself. 

King Size Quilt



Here is another quilt top that I sewed last fall and finished tying it this spring.  This time I had to have a quilting frame to tie this quilt and my mom helped me tie it.  We got it done in two afternoons.



SM really likes this quilt.   In fact, he likes it much more than our bed spread and wants to use this as the bed spread.  He even asked if I could make some throw pillow coverings to go over our decorative pillows.

I haven't yet decided how I want to finish the edge to the quilt.  It may take me a few more months to get it finished (hopefully not) but I feel good about how much I've gotten done so far.

Winter Projects

Last fall I sewed the blanket tops to these two blankets with scraps that I had collected over the years from all the baby blankets, receiving blankets and burp clothes that I make.

This Spring I got some low-loft batting and flannel for the backing and put these two quilts together.  For this top quilt I chose a light purple gingham (checkered) and for the bottom quilt I chose a dark blue that is the same blue as in the quilt.

And I tied both of these quilts with my crocheting thread.  Neither of these quilts are very large but they aren't small either.  Currently I use them  when watching movies on the couch and I get a little cold or on my side of the bed at night to add a little more warmth.  Someday I might use them as quilts on top of my children's beds...unless I've worn them out before then.

I love looking at both of these quilts and remembering the material what I used the material for...the baby blanket, receiving blankets and burp clothes, and if possible, to whom I gave the blankets.  Lots of happy memories!  (p.s. I'm glad I got these projects done before the weather started warming up...it was very warm under those quilts while I was tying them).

Flannel Scraps

About a month ago I posted about making a quilt top out of flannel scraps that I had left-over from the baby blankets, receiving blankets and burp clothes that I enjoy making.  Well, I also mentioned that I was working on a back to go on the front that I had made out of the flannel scraps.  Well, here's what I ended up with...and since it definitely doesn't look like a back to a quilt, looks like I made two small quilt tops.  I do like that it was made out of scraps and that my scrap pile is now very small.  Hopefully in the upcoming months I'll be able to make them both into quilts.

Sewing with scraps

As most of you know, I love making baby quilts and baby receiving blankets and burp cloths.  Well, I always end up with just a small piece of cloth left over from making all these things, and I don't like to throw the scrap away, and so finally I have done something with my scraps.  This is the top of what will be a smallish blanket.  The back is also being made out of scraps but small scraps.  I have no idea what it will look like when it is done, I'm just sewing them together.  And hopefully I can finish them before we move again, but if I can't, oh well, I'll continue working on them once we've moved.

Activity Days activity

For Activity Days at church, we decided to make some Halloween pinatas.   I think the girls had a lot of fun and found out that all the girls like doing things with their hands, especially feeling the paste all over their hands.

The older girls were better organized and orderly with their methodology of putting together a pinata but both older and younger, the girls really enjoyed this messy project.

I'm so glad that my mom taught me how to make pinatas when I was a child and that we did them multiple times so that this project didn't feel so daunting.  It was actually fun.  I just had to get my paper torn and the paste made and a few more things done before the girls arrived for the activity.

And here they are at my home drying with their second layer of newspaper.  It looked like a I had a front room full of strange newspaper creatures.

And then came the paint which we did a week later.  It turns out the girls loved painting with their hands rather than the sponge brushes.  And since they were sure to get pretty messy using the brush, they just got a bit messier while painting with their hands.

Messy but happy!

This pinata didn't end up orange.  It was multi-colored with a lot of the colors being mixed together and still looked cute when she was done.

Here's a pumpkin pinata!

Here's a tie-tied spider with multiple colored legs!

And here's a purple spider with pink and red legs.  We also had a couple bats to make our Halloween Pinatas complete.

Dish cloths

I was thinking that I needed some dish cloths because I kept taking my nice dish rags and using them on the BBQ grill or on the car. I was getting so upset with myself when my dish rags would be stained because I didn't find my old rags when cleaning up things besides just my regular kitchen stuff. Anyway, instead of getting more upset, I went to my bin of yarn, found this 100% cotton yarn and used a double crochet to make me some new dish cloths. Perfect! And I am going to try not to stain these particular dish clothes, but if I do, I'll just make up some more.

Ta Da! Fun AND useful!

Homemade Salsa

I took some peppers, onions, garlic, tomatoes, a little salt and vinegar and made homemade salsa. This isn't the first time I've bottled salsa, but it was the first time I've done it all on my own.

The tomatoes were kind of funny looking...but that's because we have heirlooms and odd tomatoes plants. Nothing like Early Girl...nope...we have Cherokee Purple and Radiator Charlie's Mortgage Lifter and Sofie's Choice. What it boils down to is that our tomatoes don't have a uniform shape or color but they sure taste delicious!

These two photos got mixed up...first it is cooked down AND then put into jars.

In the end I got seventeen pints and fourteen half pints of salsa. That's enough to last just the two of us at least a year. Guess I'll have to think of something else to do with the rest of the tomatoes and peppers that keep coming from my patio garden.

More Fabric!!!!

So, for those of you that know me, know that I have a thing for children's flannel. And since I found a sale at JoAnn's on the 4th of July weekend, I ended up using all of my July's allowance on these cool pieces of flannel.

Isn't that cute...sky blue and teddy bears?!!

Look at those two matching pieces! Lovely polka dots!

Look at these two potential blankets...one for a boy and one for a girl! That would be perfect for a set of twins that are one boy and one girl. But since I don't know of anyone that has that recipe in the oven guess I'll just enjoy the fabric!

Project

I finished this blanket last night. Oh, it is so soft and fun. I am currently working on a lot of baby blankets. I have two nephews that will be born this summer and three close friends that are expecting later in the summer. I know that some (either my sister-in-laws or friends) will probably see some future baby gifts, but I also want to share these with you. Enjoy