Something Special for Someone Special

I met my dearest girlfriend Lisa in November of 2004, she was newly pregnant with her youngest daughter.  This little one would touch my life in a special way.  Actually all of her daughters are dear to me and I love them all.  But her pregnancy and delivery of this youngest child was special as I had the opportunity to witness faith in action as her family faced the very real possibility that their precious baby girl might not come home with them but instead go home to Jesus just after she arrived.
I also witnessed prayer answered in miraculous ways as her life was spared and she was gifted to a family and faith community that loves her and where she brings great joy to many.
Our families share lots of time and laughter together and we are blessed to have our lives intertwined in faith and friendship.  As we have now moved to live in the same town, I get to see this little girl more and as her 9th birthday approached, I wanted to do something special for her.
Finally an idea sparked and I set to work.  These are the things I made for her birthday.

Every dolly needs new underthings

white muslin edged in pink lace details and bows

white muslin petticoat with white lace details and tulle

And of course, pajamas and a robe are required with a new sleeping bag.

Flannel with a mock pocket

Flannel with white lace edging and a fabric tie

pre-quilted and fully lined with cotton print and an attached pillow

a glittery accent for fun

I machine quilted a design on the pillow to add a bit of fun

And every American Girl doll needs a ball gown and fancy cloak for parties.

Lavender satin with lavender lace edging & ruffles and an attached tulle wrap

stretch purple velour with white braid trim and lavender satin lining
Muff has an accent of beaded lace and is also satin lined

Happy Birthday to the littlest J and may you have as much fun with these as I did making them for you.

**Model doll is "Kit" and belongs to my own dear daughter who graciously loaned her to me for fitting and pictures.  Thanks Jess!

Just a Sweet Baby Quilt

I took these random squares...

And began building a baby quilt for a baby girl that is scheduled to arrive late summer I believe.  The ladies group at the new church we are attending hosted a shower for the new mom and since quilts are what I know... that is what I thought I'd give as a gift, well-laced with lots of prayer as that is what God has gifted me to do. 

I built a center and added some borders and corner posts

Then added a few more borders and corner posts 

And a final set of borders with 9 patch blocks as corner posts

This was FUN!

Backed in soft cuddly flannel

Quilted with an continuous line design that I think is called 'flower-power' in a variegated King Tut thread color: Liberty.  I was very pleased with the over-all effect and the new mom seemed pleased with the gift.

The quilt finished at approximately 46" square, cotton top and flannel back.  Machine pieced and quilted by me using both my Janome machines and my New Joy quilt frame.

*Several of the photos were taken with my cell phone and the lighting/quality wasn't as good as the ones taken with a regular camera and natural lighting.

A stack of sheep

I have a very dear friend... several years ago I saw an adorable wall-hanging that I knew would be perfect for her, so I bought it and began to work on it.  And I worked on it, and I worked on it and I worked on it.  It was the perfect sized project to take on long car trips or work on when I was sitting for a few hours waiting for a child someplace.  But the project took much longer than I'd anticipated.
This month I FINALLY finished it and was able to surprise her with it.

Stacked Sheep wall-hanging

The background is pieced cotton and all the sheep and flowers are wool and are hand-appliqued in layers.  I've never done a project like this before and was very pleased with the over-all look when it was finished.  I hand quilted around the sheep and around the red border then backed the project with a flannel plaid and added a hanging sleeve along the top edge.

She loved her gift and it now hangs in her home so she can remember Psalm 100 every time she sees it.

Surprise Finish

I have a friend, Emily, who began a quilt with some lovely pre-cut squares in blues & browns and she chose a gorgeous paisley print in the same colors to sash the block rows together.  She was working along and hit a few snags, finally encountering the inevitable frustration of sewing... meaning... the dreaded need for a seam ripper.  So she handed the project off to me with a smile.  I was happy to take it off her hands and the timing was just perfect!
I took some things apart, swapped a few rows around, added some borders and merrily took advantage of having a quilt top done and handy to take to a class using a computerized long-arm quilting machine.
Last Friday I headed over to Bits-n-Pieces Quilt Shoppe in Pelham, NH with Emily's quilt top in hand.  I had chosen a light cream marbled flannel for the backing and cotton batting so it would be easy wash-n-dry for her family to use.  She has boys and I know how that story goes and wanted to be sure they could use it with no worries.

These photos were taken with my cell phone - so pardon the quality.  They show the quilt, batting & backing rolled onto the frame and the computerized long-arm at work.

Close up of the back showing the quilting pattern "Flowering Fern" done in variegated (blue/brown) thread.

 Back of finished quilt.

Finished quilt! 

I used the paisley print for the binding and managed to get all the handwork done in just 3 days - which may be a new record for me. :-)  I was anxious to finish so I could give it back to Emily - which I did today and she was SO surprised!  The look on her face was such a mixture of joy & surprise... a complete and total gift/blessing for ME! 
One of the dearest gifts God has granted me in this life is to be able to make/give useful things.  I sew, I bake bread - nothing earth shattering but these are things that make me happy and seem to be blessings to others at times.  I love that! 

Make something... create some joy!

 

Blessings,

A Last Minute Gift

Decided to whip up this pretty Christmas table runner as a gift for a friend - it worked up pretty quickly.

Festive I think

This shows a bit of the backing fabric

Merry Christmas!