Flat Sheet into Toddler Blanket

Last year my mom found a twin size Toy Story sheet set at Dollar General for $1.75.  Of course Grant still isn't in a twin size bed yet so the fitted sheet is stored away.  I hate flat sheets for any size bed, They always end up balled up at the end of our bed and end up being more trouble than they are worth.  Normally all of our flat sheets just sit on shelved in the back of our linen closet.  However the Toy Story one was just too cute to store away and never use, and since I'm planning on decorating Grant's room in Toy Story, he was in need of a blanket for his toddler bed.  Naturally the crafter in me wanted to make one so I decided to use the flat sheet to make a quilt.

Is this the cutest Toy Story quilt you've ever seen or what?  I wish I had a picture of it on his bed but at this point we haven't converted Grant's crib into a toddler bed so its a little too big.

 

First I measured Grant's bed to figure out the dimensions I needed, which ended up being about 33x58 inches.  I cut the sheet, taking advantage of the finished edges wherever possible.  I bought 2 yards of matching flannel and cut it about 2 inches wider on all sides so I would be able to turn it over the edges. 

 

 

In between these layers is a layer of quilt batting.  Before turning a stitching the edges I tacked the layers together.  All this means is I took some thick upholstery thread (you can use embroidery floss, yarn, etc) and made knots randomly, which binds the layers together preventing them from shifting.  Then I turned the edges over, like the picture above shows, pinned them in place and used my sewing machine to stitch around all four sides.  You could do this part by hand as well, I've done it by hand many many times, but I was lazy and wanted a quick project, since Grant was all too interested in what I was doing and trying to be extra "helpful".

 

 

I'm so excited to see this on his bed in his new room with all the other elements I have planned to decorate. 

 

 

 

Tie Quilt

My Mom, sister, and I took a trip to Amish country last week and had a blast.  While we were there we stopped in at a fabric/quilting store and hanging on the wall was this quilt:

I realize this is not the best quality picture but all I had was my camera phone.

I have never seen a quilt like this before and I'm in love.  What an adorable idea.  In case you can't see it very well each square looks like a shirt with a tie, and on the sides are small bowties. 

How cute would this be as a memory quilt with ties and shirts from male members of your family, grandfathers, fathers, uncles, etc.  I now have this on my to-do list for my son.

1st 4th of July

I hope everyone had a great 4th of July.  When watching the weather I thought for sure my plans of a picnic and fireworks was doomed.  1st the weather man said 96 degrees which wouldn't have been good for Grant, then it started pouring rain and I figured maybe I should just give it up all together.  In the end the rain stopped and it cooled off to about 70 which was perfect.  I made ham,cheese, lettuce and tomato wraps, pasta salad, mini cheesecakes, watermelon, and cucumbers. It was delicious.  Grant barely watched the fireworks and I guess I should have figured that but either way I'm glad we made his first 4th special. My picnic blanket got lots of use and I'm so happy I made it.  I think the thing I love most about it is it has squares from my jeans, Derrick's, my sister, my mom, and her husband.  It's a perfect keepsake.

Here's how I made it:
I took multiple pairs of jeans and cut 6x6 squares out of them.  I pinned the squares in rows of 11 and ended up with 11 rows.  Make sure to iron your seems so the quilt will lay nice and flat.  I used a flat sheet (since we never use them on our bed) for the backing and used my sewing machine to stitch around the edges.  and ta-da! Your done! 

jeans repurposed into picnic blanket

 I would love to take complete credit for this idea but I actually saw it a long time ago on another blog and logged the idea in the "future crafts section" of my brain.  As I was unpacking clothes that no longer fit myself and my husband I thought I needed to find something to make with them.  I immediately thought of a picnic quilt.  We live near a lake and there is a walking trail that goes around part of it.  I have always wanted to have a picnic there especially since Grant is getting bigger. 

I dug through my stash of jeans and decided there was no real need to keep the size 9 jeans my post pregnant body will never fit in again, and then asked Derrick to dig through his.  I cut them all up and took my scraps as well as my sewing machine to Ohio with me.  I told my mom what my plan was and she gave me a pair of her jeans and 2 pairs of her husbands.

This is what I ended up with, I love the brown squares thrown in from a pair of Derrick's work pants.  I cut out 6x6 squares and randomly sewed them together in rows of 11.  My mom gave me a shower curtain I had intended to use as the backing but it ended up being too small.  So now I'm considering using a flat sheet (because I never actually use them on my bed, they just take up space in my linen closet).  I'm still deciding on whether or not to make it bigger, but I absolutely love it and can't wait to use it.  I'll post the finished product hopefully before Monday. 

Transportation Quilt

I have been embroidering since I was a little girl.  I have made lots of baby quilts, including one for my son's nursery.  When I was searching through my favorite website for quilt blocks I found this set:

I love the colors of these blocks, as soon as I saw them I knew I had to buy them for Grant.  It has taken me months to actually get them out and start sewing on them but I finally did it.  I'm on block one of twelve which is why I am starting on them in now in the hopes that I will not be working on this quilt Christmas Eve.

My intent is for this to be a Christmas present for him this year, and the theme of his bedroom next year.

I also bought these:

My mom and two of my aunts are breast cancer survivors.  I don't plan on using these quilt blocks to make a quilt, instead I want to use them to make each of my aunts and my mom a pillow that says Suvivor and give it to them during October, Breast Cancer Awareness month.  October is also my mom's 2 year cancer free mark.  We are very blessed.

I have also made my own quilt blocks and hopefully I'll be able to make a tutorial on it soon just in case there is someone out there who wants to learn.  Plus it comes in handy when you want to make a quilt  of something there are no premade blocks for.  My aunt makes them for her grandkids to teach them how to embroider simple images.

But I'll have to leave that to another day.  My little one will be waking any minute now and I still haven't even got my teeth brushed this morning, gross I know.  Grant distracts me easily, lol.