Infinite Variety

I had the good fortune of seeing this amazing quilt exhibit in NYC today. It showcases 650 antique red & white quilts all owned by one generous collector in conjunction with the American Folk Art Museum. Each quilt is interesting in it's own right, but the entire collection shown in such a modern display is one of the most beautiful and mesmerizing works of art I've seen. The exhibit is free and runs through Wednesday the 30th, so if you are anywhere in the area you must see it while you can! Throughout the year the American Folk Art Museum is also displaying a large collection of it's quilts. My mom and I thoroughly enjoyed our visit there in February. Many interesting and beautiful antique and contemporary quilts to admire. Quilting has been on the backburner for me for a while, but I'd love to find some time (and space) to start it up again, especially after viewing these beauties!

Christmas pillows

New pillow covers for my couch. Easy and quick project, great finish. Just happened to have the perfect amount of linen to make these and bought $2 worth of acrylic craft paint to do the freezer paper stenciling. As seen on Sew, Mama, Sew!, they are handmade versions of these.

Felted Booties

As the weather is cooling off, I'm finding it harder to keep my daughter's toes warm when we are indoors. Like most kids, she won't keep socks on. Our apartment is drafty, so I shopped online for indoor booties. I found a few, but at $20 each, I thought I could make something like my cozy felted slippers (that I still wear daily).

Free pattern: Ulrike's Felted Baby Booties
Size 9 needles, scrap yarn in red and coral, sewn velcro closure

Notes: The first wash left these too large, sized for a 3 or 4 year old. A second hot cycle shrunk them to fit her at 12 mo with a small amount of growing room (her foot is about 4 3/4" long now). I will add a little puffy paint to the soles for traction. She didn't seem to mind wearing these at all...I'm hopeful my solution has been found!

Picnic Quilt

I've been so fortunate to be part of a group of new moms with babies around my daughter's age. We have stayed busy all Spring and Summer doing things with them, particularly picnicing in the park. It's a perfect recipe: babies get to play, moms get to chat. I couldn't resist a new picnic quilt for our outings, complete with ties to roll it up and rock pockets for windy days.



I picked up a 2.5 inch strip set of Nicey Jane by Heather Bailey on an July field trip to our local quilt shop with a couple of the moms. Within a week the top was complete. A couple weeks later and the meander quilting and machine-sewn binding finished.

I was actually a little disappointed with this one. The colors just didn't sing to me like they did in the quilt shop. But, hey, it's a picnic quilt that will get stained and abused, and it's probably better it's not my favorite.



No triangle Zig Zag Pattern is from AmandaJean of Crazy Mom Quilts. It was very easy and quick using 14 sets of pre-cut strips and 2 yards of solid. Size is about 55" x 72".

Little Red

I finished a few projects at the end of the summer that I am finally getting around to posting. First up, the Little Red Poncho.



Just the cutest little one ever, if you ask me. I might be biased. Halloween costume + warm layer for the fall/winter. I knitted a size 2, so hopefully she'll get some use out of it next fall too.



Free Pattern: Knitted Poncho with hood by Drops Design
Yarn: Pattons Classic Wool in Bright Red, doubled threads

I knitted i-cord instead of crochet for the string, and added pom-poms to the ends. I also changed the finished edge to bind-off in the seed stitch pattern. Thanks to all the adorable little red ponchos on Ravelry for the idea and inspiration.

Autumn, bring it on!

Miss Maggie's Room

I've been meaning to post pictures of this quilt in it's home for a while. I made the quilt for a good friend's young daughter. I just love how cute Miss Maggie's room turned out! Soon, she's getting a new room, as the family is moving to a new city. We wish them the best, with new friends and lots of fun.

Her mom picked the perfect shade of pale blue for the dust ruffle and pillow, and she also made the beautiful white and pink mongrammed pillow. As I ponder my little girl's future room, I hope I can give her a room so sweet.

Happy Stacker

I was sewing this colorful stacker before the baby was born and finished just before Christmas. She was about 5-6 months old before the toy interested her, but now she loves to take all the pieces apart and especially play with the stick piece.

Pattern is Heather Bailey's Happy Stacker, but I don't recommend it for novices. It took more time than I had imagined (almost as long as a quilt), and the construction is a bit mind-bending. Mine came out somewhat lop-sided and lumpy, although baby doesn't seem to mind at all. If you are up for a challenge, by all means, go for it! The finished result is a lot of fun.