Hi ya'll! I've been busy working on Connors quilt and I'm thrilled to say it's finished and I'm very happy with it. When I planned this quilt it was going to be larger than a generous crib size but of course smaller than twin bed size. It was going to be 6 oversized log cabin blocks, a red, yellow, 2 blue, a green and an orange. By the time I finished the 4th block I realized if I added two more it would be too large. This is for him to lay and play on, then in a few years be a napping quilt. I brought in a bright yellow in my soft, warm, flannel backing which I also used for the binding. I used cotton batting and after seeing the difference in the weight and feel of the quilt I will never use polyester batting again! This quilt is so warm and snuggly. Of course there were many days I devoted the entire day to this quilt, so as usual I found some quick easy recipes on my Pinterest boards for those days. I still want hubby to come home to a great dinner even though I've been busy. I'll share those at the end of the post but first, here's some start to finish pics.

After cutting strips of blues and my white chevron patterned fabric, I completed the first block. It's always the 2nd most exciting, the last block is the most exciting.

 

Then the orange , green and red.

I did the qayg method (quilt as you go), as I have a sewing machine that quilts, not a long arm quilter so I could never get the entire quilt top through my machine and maneuver it through the small opening. I prepared each block and quilted them.

After quilting all 4 blocks, I trimmed them, then sewed them all together. Now I could see what it was really going to look like and the finished size. Flannel only comes in standard 45" widths, so I sewed 2 80" long pieces together for the backing. Now the part I don't like was here, crawling around on the kitchen floor to attach the quilt top to the backing, pin those 75 quilters pins all around the quilt, take my quilters ruler and draw a line 1" around all 4 sides, then trim the excess backing off.

I drew diagonal lines on each corner and quilted those so the quilt top is attached to the backing on each side as well as the binding. I ironed my 1' halfway in and pinned all around the quilt, mitering the corners. Now the most exciting time was here, sewing the binding on! When I got to the 4th side towards the bottom I snapped this pic. I knew I was a minute away from "Done!"

Here it is!

Some of the lines made with my Disappearing Fabric Marker Pen are still doing their magic act. Most are already gone. I can't wait to see Connor laying on his quilt. Now for those "I've been sewing all day" recipes. Hubby loved this one!

Don't let the photo fool you. It looks fancy, and tastes wonderful, but the oven does all the work and the yummy bean salad takes 6-7 minutes. You can find them here:

http://www.skinnytaste.com/2015/07/white-bean-caprese-salad.html

http://www.cookingclassy.com/2015/07/pesto-salmon-and-italian-veggies-in-foil/

 

The next day I sewed all day I made this

Yummy!

http://www.plainchicken.com/2013/03/chicken-in-lemon-butter-caper-sauce.html

 

My finishing day of the quilt I made these baked Cuban sammies with a mustard sauce spooned on top and smashed potatoes. Quick. Easy. Yummy. The oven did the work as there's very little prep.

 

http://houseofyumm.com/cuban-sliders/
http://www.bhg.com/blogs/delish-dish/2015/05/26/fried-smashed-potatoes-recipe/

Well my work here is done. I have a few more sweet little things to make for Connor then some fabric baskets for my Etsy shop. I think these HGTV fabrics I bought will produce some beautiful storage baskets. Till next time, Blessings! Gina

Custom apron for Leigh

Just stopping by to share an apron I made yesterday for a sweet gal Leigh I met at a baby shower. I'm just tickled about how cute this thing turned out and so is she. I texted her numerous pics of fabric, all with a dark background to help hide spatter marks and she chose this French themed fabric. She loves pink so I brought out the small amount of pink in her main fabric by binding the front and back with pink binding, did pockets from a bright pink polka dot fabric and did a pink rick rack on the pockets. The back is also the pink fabric. Here's a few more pics of the details.

I bought this pattern from https://www.youcanmakethis.com/sewing-patterns

If you've been looking for an apron pattern this ShopGirl pattern might be the one for you. Hope this inspires you to sew something for yourself today! Blessings! Gina

The start of a quilt for Connor and a good sewing day recipe

 Hi ya'll! I'm so excited to share the news another grandson is due in December and his name is Connor William. He's due the 15th and his big brother Josh's birthday is the 14th. I made Josh a generous size crib quilt and I'm working on one for Conner. I decided to do an old pattern in modern geo prints and use primary colors. These are oversized blocks and with the white on white chevron the colors just pop! There will be two blue blocks, a red, yellow, orange and a green. Once I get the top pieced I'll decide if I need to add a border to increase the size a bit. The blue block, which is made up of four small blocks was my first and I just finished my 2nd block, the red one.

In an attempt to be able to devote an entire day to sewing, I usually do crock pot meals or low maintenance meals. We love fish and when I found these recipes on Pinterest I knew they were a keeper. Doesn't this salmon and bean salad look yummy?

It took just minutes to parboil the fresh green beans while seasoning the salmon, spreading the pesto on top and slicing the grape tomatoes. I wrapped it in foil and the oven did the rest. Canned northern beans made the salad a 5 minute side with just chopping some garlic and tomatoes. I found mozzarella pearls at the store so I didn't have to slice the cheese. You can find these recipes here http://www.cookingclassy.com/2015/07/pesto-salmon-and-italian-veggies-in-foil/http://www.skinnytaste.com/2015/07/white-bean-caprese-salad.html

I shared an hour basket with you previously that I made to hold a baby shower gift and boy was it a hit! Several ladies loved the basket and asked if I sell them. I couldn't find the see through plastic I've bought before that you wrap a gift basket in so I bought a 1.00 baby blue plastic tablecloth and wrapped it in that, tied on a bow and cut the excess off and it looked nice. I realized the night before the shower I didn't have a card so I cut white cardstock, pulled out scraps from my scrap basket and made one. It probably took 10 minutes which is much less than driving to the nearest store and back. She loved the card too. That's a bonus!

Another project I completed was a Senna Tote. It's quite a popular bag and for good reason. Pockets on the front and back exterior as well as a big divided pocket on the inside. I love it! Till next time-Blessings, Gina