Handmade Christmas Gifts

I'm finally back home after almost two weeks of traveling to visit family and it's nice to be back. Last week was spent outside Philly with Jon's family and it was great!

Over the holidays I only managed to make 2 handmade gifts, but I really liked both. First, I made my sister an Emmeline Apron. She really wanted a cute apron. I forgot to take pictures of the finished product at home (again!), so all I've got are pictures of the fabric and her opening it.


She is also a little more busty than average so I used Robin's modification (adding about 2" in length) and it looks like it worked beautifully. I really wish I had done this when I made one for myself.


I also made Jon's 5.5 year old nephew a Traveling Art Show (free pattern from Mr. Monkeysuit). It seems like the perfect thing to have in the car and at restaurants to keep a kid occupied. Jon picked out the monkey fabric. It's a Michael Miller print I couldn't resist buying a fat quarter of while I was in a quilt shop a few months ago.

I made a couple modifications to this one too. I used velcro instead of ties so he can close it himself (good idea, Angela!) and since it then needed to lay more flat, I moved the locations of the pockets.


And now to finish off the holiday crafting season, I just need to finish my Christmas Threads quilt!

Cupcakes and Cats!

My amazingly talented baker friend, former roomie and fellow grad student, Sarah, didn't have an apron, so I made her this one for her birthday with the Emmeline Apron pattern from Sew Liberated. I love how cute this apron is and I love that's made for a female figure! I thought this was a pretty cool project for us since I sew to keep my sanity in grad school and she bakes.



I forgot to take pictures, so she gave me these ones from when she made cupcakes last week for a co-worker's daughter's birthday party. I love the cupcakes she made and you have to see the other deliciously awesome cupcakes she makes, so click the link already. :)



The reverse side has a black and white cat print similar to this one since her two loves are cats and baking!

...and I'm back!

I'm back from my sister's wedding and it was a smashing success! I had a great time and my sister looked beautiful.



She also asked me to turn this absolutely beautiful dress into something. We're thinking that it would make a beautiful quilt since she doesn't want to hold on to it as a dress. Any of you have experience or ideas of what to do with this great fabric?



My mom also offered that we can use her wedding dress (that my sister and I have NO way of fitting into, and haven't since we were teens) as part of the quilt too. It's a very intimidating project, but one that I think is a great way to save and cherish the dresses rather than have them sit in closets.

Since I've been home this weekend, I actually finished a project. I've been wanting a kitchen apron for a while and when I saw the pattern for the Emmeline apron, I knew that was what I wanted. I learned a bunch making this pattern, like how to gather and make bias tape. I really like how it turned out and since it's reversible, it was two-for-one. I can't decide which side I like better!
One side has forks and spoons...


and the other side has plates with a couple small forks and knives. :)


Finally, I got my STUD (Swap Til Your Drop) partner and I'm really excited about starting that project. The theme this month is alphabet mania and I got assigned the letter Q. My mini quilt has to incorporate that letter however I want. After perusing crosswordsolver.com, I have some good ideas that I think my partner will like. We'll see how that goes...