Ice Creams Cones & Polka Dots!

A few weeks ago I had made some quilted, reversible ice cream-themed placemats to put into an Ice Cream-Themed gift basket I had donated to a good friend's husband's benefit.

Well, I had just enough fabric leftover make 2 more placemats.  This time I used a pink trim rather than brown and ivory.

Here they are...

"Birds of Autumn" Blanket & Pillow Set

I wanted to make a blanket for my mom
for her birthday so I went fabric shopping...
I found this absolutely gorgeous bird fabric

and coordinating leaf fabric

at JoAnn's Fabrics in Watertown, WI.

I couldn't resist buying it for a blanket.

I wanted a soft fabric for the back of the blanket

 so I went with a brown "oh-so-soft" fabric
that I found at JoAnn's as well.

Since I had a little leftover fabric,

I decided to make a matching pillow.
And I'm so excited!

Last year I had spent over $40 on a ruffling foot

for my sewing machine, but for the life of me

I couldn't figure out how to make it work.

I had recently bought myself a book:

The Sewing Machine Attachment Handbook

By

Charlene Phillips

I HIGHLY recommend this book to everyone!

I learned how to use my ruffling foot because of this book!

I used the ruffling foot for the ruffles on the ends of the pillow.

And here's what I made...

(The above pictures were taken w/my Blackberry,

so the coloring and clarity isn't as good as the pictures below.

The pictures below were taken w/my digital camera).

The hardest part of making the pillow was

hand sewing the buttons on

because of my carpal tunnel

and having to pull them so tight.

But the end results turned out fantastic!

Time For A Picnic

(If you click on the picture, it'll open it up to full size so you can see the whole blanket, then hit your back button to come back to my blog)

Just completed:

Patriotic Picnic Blanket

with

Quilted, Reversible Carry Tote

I found some wonderfully cute patriotic fabric on eBay,

featuring blueberries, strawberries and watermelon.

I couldn't resist pairing it with the watermelon seed fabric,

which I also purchased on eBay.

The fabric made the cutest picnic blanket

for a summer-themed swap that I'm participating in.

For the top of the blanket, I cut and sewed squares from each of the different cotton fabrics.

For the bottom of the blanket I used a navy blue heavier fabric which I purchased at JoAnn's.

I used red satin blanket binding for the trim, then decorated the corners w/red bows and purple buttons.

I pulled through yarn knots at the cross intersection of each square to give it a quilt-look.

With the leftover fabric I made a matching tote, which I quilted and made reversible.

"Tea Time" Tablecloth

I found this really cute teapot fabric at a rummage sale for only 50 cents...I got a whole 2-1/4 yards of it for that price!  Rummage sales are great for finding fabric and sewing supplies!

Anyways, I decided to make a tablecloth out of half of the fabric.  I used an off-white linen for the back and some off-white eyelet "lace" trim for the borders, both purchased from Wal-Mart Supercenter.

I had found a cute oval basket at a thrift store and wanted to use it for one of my themed gift baskets, so I decided to put together this tea-themed gift basket, which I am going to be donating to the George Krebs Benefit on July 17, 2010.

Additional items in the gift basket donation include:

Assorted Teas

Black Ceramic Mug & Small Tea Spoon

Handmade Tea-Bag Holder w/Matching Handmade Coasters (I did not make these)

Handmade Mug Holder/Bag (I did not make this)

Handmade "Tea Time" Tablecloth (I did make this)

Wall Ornament/Sign that reads...

"Women are like tea bags

They don't know how strong they are

Until they get into hot water."

Traveling Baby Blankets (With Attached Toys)

This is another project I've been working on after seeing something similiar in a Ben Franklin Crafts store.

When shopping at a Ben Franklin Crafts store, I noticed these cute handkerchief sized "blankies" with attached toys.  The blanket alone was $30, and the toys were each priced individually too!

I thought it way too expensive for something so small.

I decided to make some very similiar, only mine are bigger...and they come with the toys attached.

I call them Traveling Baby Blankets because they are perfect for taking in a stroller or car seat.

Here's one of my finished Traveling Baby Blankets...

I use a soft fleece fabric on both sides, and a satin-type blanket trim around the edges.  I use fabric ribbon sewn onto the sides where I can attach the toys.  The toys are removable.

The following Traveling Baby Blanket was one that I made withouth the satin blanket trim.
I like the looks of the blanket better with the trim than I do without, but the one below was my first attempt at making these blankets, and it became a baby shower gift for my cousin.

SpongeBob Squarepants

I actually made this blanket a couple months ago, but forgot to post it here on my blog.

My son was invited to a birthday party and his friend likes SpongeBob Squarepants, so he and I went shopping at Wal-Mart in Madison, WI for some SpongeBob fabric.  This is what we found for fabric.

My son enjoyed helping me make the blanket, as you can see in the pictures!

He loves to help me with my projects once in awhile,

and I thought it was great that he had a part in helping to make his friend's birthday present!

Ice Cream is the Theme!

A very close friend's husband was recently in ICU for 4 weeks struggling for his life.  The family is having a benefit to help raise money for them and all the doctor bills that have accumulated.  The benefit is going to take place on July 17, 2010.  I was asked if I could make a few things to donate to the raffles and silent auction.  So here's one gift basket finished...an Ice Cream themed gift basket!

I made a couple of quilted, reversible placemats with some awesome ice cream cone fabric and polka dot fabric that I purchased on eBay.  Then found the rest of the items in local stores and shops.

Included in this ice cream themed gift basket are:

2 sundae dishes

2 ice cream bowls

ice cream scoop and sundae spoons

2 ice cream cone bubbles

ice cream cone sidewalk chalk

ice cream themed erasers

Smuckers Hot Fudge Topping

a box of cake cone cups

and of cours the 2 placemats that I made.

Harley Davidson - Blanket Makeover

My Landlady asked me to make a Harley Davidson blanket for her to give to her boyfriend for his birthday, and I couldn't find Harley Davidson fabric anywhere...not even online.

So I purchased a basic fleece Harley blanket and transformed it into this cool, double-sided blanket.

Both she and her boyfriend absolutely loved it and I'm happy with the way it turned out!

I purchased the Harley fleece blanket and the red skull fleece fabric on eBay.  The flame fabric I got at Wal-Mart Supercenter in Beaver Dam, WI.

Eagle's Nest Sport & Liquor, Fountain City, WI

Just a couple of fishing themed blankets I put together and have up for sale in a friend's

newly opened bait shop: Eagle's Nest Sport and Liquor, Fountain City, WI.

Fountain City, WI is one of my favorite places to visit in Wisconsin.  It's right on the Mississippi River and the fishing is great!  The bluffs are gorgeous and I hope to live there someday.
A friend of the family recently opened up a bait shop, which you can see by the pictures.  He asked me to make a couple blankets to sell in the bait shop, so I made a couple of fish themed blankets.
If you're ever visiting or passing through Fountain City, stop in and say HI to Don, the owner.  You can also buy all your fishing supplies there too!