Vintage Easter Lambs

I am hosting Easter luncheon this year and it will be an intimate gathering of four so I decided I want to decorate the table and dress up the place settings. Usually I have too many people to do this or run out of time, so I'm really excited I'm already done with this and I'm looking for other crafts to add to the table. This brown paper bag basket is also calling my name. :D

I visit The Graphics Fairy blog everyday to check out what new clip art is posted. This lamb was too cute to pass up and I thought I'd finally use some of my Martha Stewart glitter to embellish the collar and bell.

Here is one of the finished products ready to grace the table. If you are interested in doing something similar, check out The Graphics Fairy's Easter section and Gold Shoe Girl to see how she embellished a couple different Easter graphics.

Happy Crafting!

Camille

Quilt Projects 2012

Well, it's almost the end of February and I'm just now writing about what quilt projects I'm going to work on in 2012. Originally I committed myself to make 5 quilts this year, spacing out the cost and giving myself enough time to work on each, but I think I've committed myself to at least 2-3 more. However many I would like to make, I want to make at least the original 5. Any additional quilts made will just be a bonus.

I will try to blog about the fabric and steps of each quilt. I must confess that half the time I get excited and power through stuff without slowing down to take any pictures of what I'm doing.

Here is the list of the five projects I have planned for the year:

Quilt 1: A simple square & pinwheel design called Nature's Gift from Deb Strain for Moda. This quilt is for me and will be in bright, cheery fabrics (red, aqua, yellow, green, pink). Trying to brighten up my atmosphere during all the dreary Oregon rainy season.

Quilt 2: A wedding/anniversary quilt for friends. Have yet to pick the pattern but I'm loving Swoon here & here.

Quilt 3: A Triple Irish Chain bed quilt for my husband's paternal grandmother. It will be done in 30's reproduction fabric. I'm basing it off this Triple Irish Chain on the Moda Bake Shop blog. I'm still not sold on the red flower with yellow centers in the quilt but I have yet to come up with a different color combo.

Quilts 4 & 5: Throw quilts for my husband's maternal grandparents. I haven't picked a pattern or colors/fabrics for these yet.

Other quilts on my mind: A double wedding ring table runner (taking a class on the technique), a quick and easy quilt done in the local university's colors, and something for a 5 year old boy.

That's all for today!

-Camille

Family Craft Day

Last Saturday, my mom, sister and I gathered at my sister's house for what is to become our monthly craft day. Whoever is hosting the craft day chooses the craft and picks a lunch recipe. My sister chose to make decorative pillow cases for throw pillows.

Since this was our first craft day, things didn't go as planned but we still managed to have fun, eat fondue and chocolate, and work on at least one decorative pillow cover.

I also forgot to take pictures of what we did throughout the day. My goal for next month's craft day will be to take more pictures and possibly post instructions on what we did.

Below is the pillow I made on the craft day. I didn't follow the instructions and flew by the seat of my pants so there was no way my pillow case was going to fit a 20x20 inch pillow form. I adjusted it with a tuck in the middle and the flange around the outside, so the 12x16 pillow form fit inside the case. My pillow was made out of two matching cloth napkins I purchased from a home, bed and bath store.

My sister, Bernadette, sought help from my mom and there was a little more planning involved for her pillowcase than I did so hers turned out beautifully and fit the form. The morning of our craft day we all went to a fabric/craft store to check out fabric and my sister found her fabric in the clearance section and it was an additional 50% off. We also found fabric that would make a great liner for a purse and have hopes of making purses on a future craft day.

My mom worked on shortening some king size pillowcases to fit her standard sized pillows for her bed. When she was done with that she lent moral and sewing support and made the Jarlsberg and Gruyère fondue.