April Showers Better Bring May Flowers

Just a quick update on some things I've been working on lately. I've been really busy working, but I managed to get a little done in the last week or so:

A Spring Ruffle Top from Made by Rae. The tutorial was featured on Sew, Mama, Sew! 

I used some Heather Bailey Freshcut from my stash. I've had this fabric for awhile, but couldn't find the perfect project to use it on, until this shirt came around! The tutorial was wonderfully easy to follow and I only had to make minor adjustments to make it fit my small figure. (I'm 5'1") Instead of 20" long I did more like 16" or 17". I also took it in about 1.5" on the sides to make it more flattering. I love, love, love the way this top turned out and I will definitely be making more. I think I'll make my next one without the ruffles so it sits nice under cardigans (always my staple) or over a t-shirt (so I can wear it to work). 

Also featuring my Heather Bailey stash, plus some left-over Amy Butler:

My Mod Sampler Quilt from the Oh, Fransson! Quilt-Along. I also love the way this is turning out, I was anxious to start this quilt, but had to order a tad more fabric before I could start. Now I'm just waiting on some sashing... I'm going with white but I have to find the perfect shade. Putting it all together shouldn't take me long once I find the time. 

As far as quilting it... I'm trying to buy a new sewing machine that I can free-motion quilt on. My current machine is a basic starting Brother I got for my birthday 4 years ago. Other than being able to free-motion quilt, I don't have very many other requirements. I have a good pile of money saved up to purchase the machine of my choosing, ANY RECOMMENDATIONS? 

That's all for now. I'm considering a cuff from Anna Maria Horner's book, it's so cute and I could probably get it done tonight. I probably won't wear it all that often, but I'm dying to have one for myself. 

Quilts and Birthdays

Every week in school we have a "Letter of the Week" and a couple weeks ago it was the letter Q so, of course, we made a quilt! One of the girls helped me pick out the fabrics from my scrap pile. I pieced those together at home into the long strips, then let the kids help me sew the sashing on. They used their hands to push the pedal and I fed it through the machine. Not perfect, but they enjoyed sewing.

Here's the result:

I picked a pastel rainbow striped binding, I love stripes on binding!

The back is an adorable Sesame Street flannel. It was difficult to pick a gender-neutral print that was cute and kind of went with our rainbow theme. All our kids love Sesame Street, so in the end I think it was a winner, plus it's cuddly and soft.

And it's already getting lots of nice use as a perfect lap quilt/nap quilt.

My mother-in-law raises alpacas and I was lucky enough to snag some of the wool she has laying around the basement. She doesn't have time to spin it, so I told her I'd give it a try. I ordered a couple spindles from Ma & Pa's Spindles and got to work. Here's my first try:

My MIL had previously dyed the wool and had it roved, a beautiful mix of purple, blue and pink. It came out thicker than I intended, but I was pleasantly surprised for my first try. I got some more wool for my birthday, which I am spinning right now.

Which brings me to my next topic:

My 23rd Birthday!

We played pin the tail on the donkey and ate a rainbow cake:

We also went to Disney World for Spring Break last week, but I will post about that later. I wanted to get something up for the time being, my posts have been way too few and far between, but I don't find a lot of time on my hands these days. Yet somehow I am making time for this: The Oh, Fransson! Quilt Along. I have a lovely stash of Anna Maria Horner, Heather Bailey, Amy Butler, Tula Pink, and Melissa Averinos saved up to make a flowery, girly spring quilt. When I saw the quilt along, I knew that would be the perfect excuse to start working on the quilt.