A precious gift

In the quilting community, I have had the pleasure to meet and become friends with an amazing group of people.  I am in awe of their talent, inspired by their work and their capacity to love is enough to make The Grinch's heart grow at least five times more!  I know mine did a few days ago when I received this in the mail...

This quilt is not for me, it is a gift from Thomas to Adam.  Adam had outgrown his old flannel quilt that I had made years ago.  He looked at me one night and said, "Mom, I need a new quilt, my legs are too long for this one."

He was right, his legs had grown about two feet longer than the quilt. 

I posted his sweet comment and Thomas responded with this...this act of love...from his heart...through his hands...to my son...

This is the first hand tied quilt I have seen up close and in person.  It is a technique I would like to try myself soon.

The binding is also completely hand stitched and the colors are so perfect!!!!! Adam will have many more years to love this quilt!!!!!

Thomas wrote more about this quilt and another in A Tale of Two Quilts on his blog.  He has way better words than I do explaining his artistic reasons.  I really only need one word to describe how I feel about this precious gift and Thomas...LOVE!

Best Bib on the Block {tutorial}

I have been making this bib for years!  It has withstood the test of hundreds of babies. I still have wonderful friends tell me they have been passed on to a niece, nephew or dear friend and are being loved by all that use them. Sure does my little heart good!  This is an updated version with a link to a FREE printable pdf on Pellon Projects! 

So easy to do, you will want to make them for everyone you know that is having a baby!  Cute , easy and reversible not to mention a fun stash basher project! The choices are endless once you have the basic method in place.

Requirements:

For a basic bib you will need two pieces of fabric 15x13.   If you are doing a variation of the pattern, like the two toned bib, you will need a  7.5inx 13in top piece and a 9x13 in bottom piece.

One piece of Pellon Nature's Touch Batting

Thread, I recommend Aurifil 50wt or 40wt in many colors! They are all beautiful and so strong to hold up to thousands of washings!

Fastener, I use resin snaps on all my bibs. Velcro can also be used in place of snaps

Optional:

Pellon 830 Easy Pattern 

Print out the pattern pieces Part A and Part B.  Line them up and cut the pattern out.

I recommend tracing pattern onto Pellon 830 Easy Pattern.  It will withstand MANY uses as opposed to paper patterns.

For this bib I am using Thomas Knauer Asbury from Andover .  Super fun fabrics!  Choose two fabrics the top here is 7.5x 13 and the bottom is 9x13.  right sides facing sew together using a 1/4in seam, then press seam towards the bottom.

Place your sewn section on top of the Pellon batting

Using a 1/8in seam topstitch the fabric to the batting

lay the top piece on top of the backing fabric.  Make sure your backing fabric is wrong side up

Lay your pattern on top of the sandwich, pin and cut out.

Take the back fabric and flip it to the front so that the right sides are facing

Pin and sew around the entire bib leaving a 1 to 1.5in opening at the top for turning.  Back stitch at the start and end.

Turn the bib inside out

Pin the 1 to 1.5in opening closed

Topstitch around entire bib using a 1/8in seam.  I like using a contrasting thread for a little more fun.

Iron your cute bibs!

The only thing left to do is the closure. If you are using velcro, please follow the recommend guidelines provided on the package. If you are using snaps, there is a snap placement guide on the pattern that make this an adjustable bib or you can place them wherever it works best for your baby.

I have a standard size snap press but your local fabric store may have a hand held snap press. 

You will need two backs and one male and one female piece

Push the back into the end

this is how it will look on the opposite side

Place the male piece on top

and let the snap press to do the work!

Repeat the process for the female side and you are DONE!!!!


Once you have your closure completed, your bib is baby ready!

To download a free pdf for this bib pattern please visit: Pellon Projects Best Bibs on the Block

The story of my quilt...

The Quilt Alliance does amazing work in keeping the history of quilts alive!

At QuiltCon 2013 they asked for volunteers to bring one quilt to talk about for three minutes on video and it was called Go Tell It at the Quilt Show! It opened up a wonderful opportunity for anyone and everyone to share a personal story about a quilt that they made and every quilt has a story that should be shared.

I did not happen to bring a quilt but Thomas Knauer did bring the quilt I had made from his Frippery line from Andover Fabrics and Lisa Sipes quilted for his newest baby who was lovingly named Milo before he was born. Thomas was happy to know that I wanted to tell the story of Milo's quilt but then the story of that quilt got even better once it was handed over into my care for the filming the following morning. 

And this is that story...

These two sweet ladies were kind enough to put up with me for dinner more than one night but do not let their mild manner looks  fool you...Faith and Lee ( Lee,I have deleted ALL the photos of you eating...and maybe the one of your bum...)  are WILD WOMEN...Katie was supposed to be with us too but she fell ill. We missed her company very much and I am happy to say she has recovered and hope that she was very entertained by all of these antics ;o)

Austin is a GREAT place with friendly people, I was standing on a street corner trying to figure out where the hotel was to meet up with the girls for dinner the previous night and this guy walks up with the MOST fantastic mustache...it was a perfectly waxed curly tipped hairy wonder! As most of you know I am very shy and have great difficulty speaking to people :o) I had to say something...so I say "Guy, that is a fantastic mustache, I love it!"...he took his earbuds out and said, "Really?"  " Yes, I really like it".

He then informed me that Austin is a city of facial hair LOVERS and that the following night there was to be a contest at a club called the Mohawk .  OMG!!!! REALLY!!!!! HOW COOL!!!!!! I HAD to share this information!

When I met up with the girls the next night we went out for delicious Mexican food and the topic of the facial hair contest was brought up when a very large group of facial hair walked right by the window of our table. I was so intrigued but alas it looked like it was not to be so...

We finished up and started walking back our hotels and I was WHINING A LOT and then Lee said..."Kim, if you want I will walk by the place with you..."

YES!!!!!  It was only a couple of blocks away and when we arrived we did see more very interesting facial hair in the line to get in and the the stands ( yes, there were stands) with more people with facial hair. Apparently this is SERIOUS BUSINESS!!!!

We came, we saw but there was a cover charge...GAH! It would have been great to stay but then we would have missed some of the most fun I have ever had!

 Faith was really digging the cool Come and Shave It logos so we had to take a photo, I can see the next series on her blog..."Solstice Staches"!  This gentleman agreed to pose for a photo by the sign out front...

 After we took the photo, we were going to leave and I remembered we had the quilt...what I great pic that would be. I cannot remember who asked this guy to hold Milo's quilt outside the bar but he said yes and then I was PHOTOBOMBED!!!!! Did not even know the guy was there,LMAO!!!!!  I wanted to get a photo of the bouncer at the club holding the quilt with the bearded guy. He was MASSIVE. I have seen WWF wrestlers in the airpot before and this guy was seriously as big as them. Beard guy lost interest in holding the quilt but the bouncer had already agreed to be in the shot, he was a sweetie pie!

So we got a photo with him too!!!!!  Thank you C...I was going to tag you on FB but could not find you :o( Hopefully, you will see this here and THANK YOU!!!!!

Next, I was going to take a photo of a tattoo parlor , as a joke, saying that is where we were headed        ( mostly to entertain poor sick Katie) and Faith remembered that the popular tattoo spot Affinity was right around the corner on 6th Street. We walked by to see if any of our friends happened to be in there but they were not.  I was not feeling very brave and neither were my companions but we were drawn into the LIFE on the street!

Then it really started, this bear with the smoke was BEGGING to have his photo taken with the quilt and who can say no to a fuzzy mammal at a bar? ( no animals were harmed in this photo shoot)

Next door there was a guy with a video camera and these gorgeous girls.  I asked if they would hold up the quilt and they were super excited to do so!  The video guy asked us to join in and be in the video he was taping ( with the quilt) and we were super excited to do so Faith and Lee, make sure to keep your eyes peeled for the #springbreakforever spot we may be in, LOL!!!!

We were followed by a completely scary goth guy but there were cops, and ambulance on the next block. There was also this guy in a top hat, bow tie and yes...facial hair. You know you are succeeding in Austin when people start looking at you like you are odd and we were starting to succeed.  When we got this shot the goth guy was asking if he could hold the quilt.  I thought Lee was going to hurt him.  Lee was the keeper of the quilt, when it was not being photographed, she folded it and was holding it so close to her I am surprised it did not become a part of her. THANK YOU LEE!!!!  She totally scared the goth guy away.  All 5ft 2 of her can be my bodyguard ANYTIME!

I have to share the before photo of this performance artist.  I could have stood and watched for a very long time. I could not help but think about Tom Robbins Skinny Legs and All when seeing this beauty.
"The inertia of objects is deceptive. The inanimate world appears static, “dead” to humans only because of our neuro-muscular chauvinism … Look deeper. You’ll need a magnifying glass … On the atomic and sub-atomic levels, weird electrical forces are crackling and flaring, and amorphous particles are spinning simultaneously forward and backward, sideways and forever at speeds so incalculable that expressions such as “arrival,” “departure,” and “have a nice day” become meaningless. It is on these levels that “magic” occurs."

Some people could not find the cover charge for the bar (ahem) but were able to gather some money so that I could ask to have this vision of beauty hold Milo's precious quilt.  This was a lovely gift!  The artist agreed with no words and after holding the quilt,  bade me goodbye with blown kisses...I was very happy!

AHOY! Me Quilties!!!!! The sideburns (yes, Austin may be the facial hair capital of the US and possibly the world) are the FIRST thing I saw and KNEW this nautical gang needed to be included!!!!

I did not realize that while I was trying to fit all the people in the frame, the sidewalk traffic had stopped on both sides. I took two shots and when the quilt was safely back in Lee's hands, I thanked the four kind people and then a SEA of people started moving again. I yelled out a BIG THANKS...I LOVE AUSTIN PEOPLE!

This is the BEST one of the WHOLE night and I am still laughing over it!  There was a play and these were a couple of actors outside on a smoke break.  Faith pointed them out to me and OMG...YES we had to have this one!!!! A COWBOY on STILTS...only in Austin...okay maybe in Las Vegas too ;o) They said yes but quickly they were about to go on stage. Took this one super quick and then something very unexpected happened...

an older man was selling flowers on the sidewalk, he walk up and said something about a good picture. I said okay and he started to unbutton his shirt...

This was the final pic of the night...you cannot top this one...

Life is unexpected...it happens...it is funny...it is sad but mostly...it is unexpected...embrace it!