Baby Boy Bunting

My daughter's first son (our second grandson) is due next week, and the other night she asked me if I would make a bunting for his room in the same fabrics as his quilt. Of course I said yes!

I had most of the fabrics I used in his baby quilt and subbed a couple with similar colors.

I had used all of Sleepyheads in Blue (left) in the original quilt, so I subbed with a cute little bear reading a book, which is Little Clementine by Art Gallery Fabrics.

I generally followed the same pattern I used when I made this bunting for my granddaughter who was born in 2016.

I sent it via priority mail 2 days ago. Hopefully I will get to photograph it in Little "E"'s room very soon!

Baby Cloth Book

As soon as I saw that Bernie had made this cute little cloth book on Needle and Foot and she provided the link for the panel, I immediately ordered it. My granddaughter will be 10 months old this month, and this will be perfect for her. My daughter and son-in-law have two adorable dogs - a chocolate lab named Bock and a black lab named Boone. My granddaughter adores them, and they are very gentle with her grabbing their fur and ears - lol! So naturally I chose the I Ruff You panel.

Sandra Magsamen makes these panels for Studio E. The instructions are included on the panel, and the only thing I had trouble with was the placement of the ears (user error, not creator error!) The first time positioned and stitched them into place incorrectly, but after I got them right the rest of it went quickly and smoothly.

My daughter and granddaughter are coming to visit next week, so this will be ready for her to play with!

Bits and Pieces, Soup, Stranger Things, and Life

I am finally cutting into the Hello, Bear by Bonnie Christine for Art Gallery Fabrics that I purchased for a baby quilt for my great-great nephew (I think that's right). The fact that he is 3 should tell you what a procrastinator I am. I am hoping that he is still young enough to enjoy the forest-y nature of the quilt!

Last month I bought myself a new acrylic ruler. I started my quilting life in 2010 with a Big Daddy (24-inch) and Big Mama (12-inch) both by Trudie Hughes. I loved them but had noticed lately there was a bit of a warp to the larger one, and I wanted one that wouldn't slip on the fabric, so I purchased an Olfa frosted ruler. I love it! It stays put beautifully when I cut fabric, and I like the frosted feature - it seems to help me see what I'm cutting a little better. I've already ordered the 12-inch size as well, to replace my old one.

In a strange turn of events, my husband, who has never wanted to eat broccoli or cauliflower, tried them both raw in a salad at a cafeteria and now wants us to make those salads at home. Finally I get to make my sister-in-law's recipe that I have had so many years! While my husband is out of town I made Closet Cooking's Roasted Cauliflower Mushroom Soup. It was delicious and I will definitely try this on my husband to see if he likes cooked cauliflower!

While we have had many blessings the last two years - love, family, a new granddaughter, good health, stray kitties, a move to a beautiful 5 acres in a national forest - an ongoing distressing situation will finally get some resolution, and it looks like 2017 is going to be a much better year for us. Joy is on its way back into our lives!

Pink Is My New Favorite Color. . .and A Hiatus

Our beautiful third granddaughter was born April 12, and we are in love! The birth was one of the highlights of my life, and Delaney and my daughter are both thriving. I stayed a few days and got in all the cuddles I could and am now counting the days until we see them again.

She was 6 lbs 5 oz - a little bundle of pink joy!

I can't believe she has already grown and changed so much in 3 short weeks!

My daughter and son-in-law made the nursery so darling!

In other news...

We have an option pending on a house and a little piece of land about 100 miles north of us. We are keeping our house clean and "staged" for showings, hoping for an offer soon. I am going to become more and more busy, so blogging will take a back seat for awhile as we start on our next adventure!

I'll Be Back...

Much to the dismay of my grown son and daughter, I still try to use my best Arnold Schwarzenegger voice to imitate his character in Terminator. It is a perfect fit for the state of my blog posting as of late.

Life has been a bit stressful and busy lately, with my daughter's delivery of her first child imminent, plus we are getting our house ready to sell. I'll be staying with my daughter a few days next week and will try to give a blog update as soon as possible on the new baby!

Hope all of you are doing well!

Baby Girl Pillow

With a few scraps left over from the baby quilt and bunting for our soon-to-be-born granddaughter (anticipated date April 11, I decided to make a last minute pillow the night before my daughter's baby shower!

I had nothing more than an idea for a fussy-cut center block, so I just put it together using fabrics from the original quilt.

My son-in-law painted the nursery a soft gray, so I thought the Simply Simple Silver (Art Gallery "Littlest" collection) would make a nice background to the fussy-cut block.

I had almost enough Ditsy Radiance (NouvElle collection by Pat Bravo)for the backing, so I supplemented with a Grunge Basic and made a simple envelope-style back. You can tell by the gap it is really stuffed!

Quilting was stitch-in-the-ditch for the fussy-cut block and following the "waves" and straight vertical stitching for the remainder. (Why do I only notice the loose threads when I'm posting the photo?)

All the "Grandma handmades" prior to wrapping.

I got it all stuffed into one bag

Gifts to our daughter and son-in-law from Mom and Dad

I made a little card for the top of one gift with more fussy-cuts and a square antique lace doily

My daughter and me at the shower

There was a "name reveal" during the shower, and I look forward to sharing that with you! Now I can make the label for the quilt and sew it on while I am staying with my daughter after Baby Girl is born.

Linking to Oh Scrap! at Quilting Is More Fun Than Housework