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Hi! You've met Wee Brown Bunny, right? Well come on over to eHow ~ I've just introduced his friends, Chick and Lamb!
Click here http://www.ehow.com/ehow-crafts/blog/wee-brown-bunnys-friends-chick-and-lamb/ to check 'em out and download the free PDF patterns! I had fun drawing them up and I hope you'll enjoy embroidering these simple patterns onto just about anything.
xo amy
Wow. I was blown away by your comments ~ all those amazing stories about your favorite quilts ~ posted for the April Showers Giveaway. Who knew that the life of a quilt could be so interesting? I, myself, have no vintage quilts... only store bought quilts and the ones I've made in the past 7 years since I began sewing. But now I'm really excited at the idea of doing as your grandmothers did ~ that is making a scrap quilt ~ a true scrap quilt ~ not made with my favorite designer's latest collection of quilting fabric, but sewn from old clothes and such. Lucky for me, I've been saving Olivia and Mia's clothes for this very project. Thank you for the motivation to get these clothes cut and sewn! I've begun what I hope will be our first heirloom quilt.
It's hard cutting into those baby clothes at first. A thousand memories and sentimental thoughts will protest against it, but once you get started it's easy peasy. Snip snip!
That brown check fabric? That was an OshKosh B'gosh dress. The pink and gray floral print was a tiny pair of bloomers.
That blue print was Mia's sweet head kerchief, and the tiny pale print was a blouse that was definitely one of my favorites.
The star flower print was Mia's blouse and the pale mint bird print was a summer romper. You'd be surprised how much usable fabric a single piece of infants clothing will yield once it's cut, laid flat, and pressed. I've got a giant bag stuffed full of clothes and I see several projects being made with it. I'm really loving the scrappy-ness of it all. What I hope is that Mia and Olivia will love their baby clothes quilts so much, they will save them forever and pass them onto their daughters, and their daughters, until the quilts simply unravel from all the love. That should be the life of a quilt.
And it begins with 2 1/2" squares and simple nine-patch blocks.
And now, the winner of the April Showers fat quarter bundle giveaway...
Yay Anda! She wrote: "This winter in Ontario, Canada has been the harshest in twenty years. That is especially why we appreciate a flannel quilt I made two years ago in vibrant colours: turquoise, yellow, pink and lime green...it brightens up an endless winter and the flannel keeps us warm and cozy!" If that's you, please email me with your mailing address asap. Time to deliver some spring to Ontario ;)
Thank you again for entering the giveaway and sharing with me your stories. If you didn't win but gotta have the fabric, Shea still has bundles left in her shop, Simply Sweet Fabric on etsy, along with yardage and plenty of other cute fabrics.
xo amy
I've been asked a million times where do I shop for my fabric and the answer is: from anywhere I can find it. In my sidebar, there is a link to my :: Fave Fabric Shops ~ a list of tried and true online shops, not only for fabric, but for Cosmo floss and cotton labels. But I often end up googling a specific fabric print or line, and I'll buy wherever I can find it.
My heart nearly skipped a beat when I found these candy colored Mrs. March 30's prints by Lecien on etsy. I never thought I'd get my hands on more than the small scraps my friend Isa generously sent me a while back. So, if you believe that sharing is caring ~ I do. Get these OOP, HTF prints (and more) at Vintage Shades Fabric on etsy.
xo amy
It's definitely springtime here in California. It could be summer, even. Last weekend my kids spent a day at the beach ~ went in the water and everything. But let's get back to spring. Shea (you know, Shea ~ of Simply Sweet Fabric) sent me a very cool bundle of fat quarters to give away and it couldn't be more timely.
It's a bundle of 11 fat quarters selected from Bonnie and Camille's latest line, April Showers. Gotta love those umbrellas!
Shea selected the fabrics for this bundle based on Camille's Puddle Jumping quilt, she loved it so. See Shea's pic of the bundle here.
If you'd like a chance to win this bundle, please leave a comment on this post telling me about the quilt you love most at your house (was it made by you? purchased? what's the color palette? big or small? why do you love it? Tell me as much or as little as you'd like.) Open to all. Comments will close at the end of the day, Monday, March 24th and I will announce the winner soon thereafter. Good luck!
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And thank you to Shea, who has provided the fabric bundle for this giveaway from her shop, Simply Sweet Fabric on Etsy. I'd love for you to add it to your faves, if you do :)
xo amy
{ making wee brown bunnies }
{ new for the stash: Lecien sailors. And Eiffel Tower scissors from Typo }
{ ah. at last, she sleeps }
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In case you missed my announcement, I think I'll shout this one from the rooftops: "I'm the newest contributor over at the eHow Crafts blog!" (I'm a little excited.) Come on over and check out my very first DIY project ~ these "wee brown bunny" treat bags!
See the full DIY over at eHow: http://www.ehow.com/ehow-crafts/blog/diy-wee-brown-bunny-treat-bags/
And I'll see you back here tomorrow ~ I've got a fat quarter bundle to give away!
xo amy
Life lately? Delightfully chaotic ~ for reasons big and small. I haven't talked about it here, but I had been training for months to run a marathon, which meant waking up at 5 am to go for early morning runs, or going to the gym at night for cross-training and kickboxing. We don't have a nanny or even a babysitter so I had to plan all my workouts around my husband's schedule, but we made it work. I took that pic of the beach on a drizzly Sunday morning run, the week before the marathon ~ which brings me to my first wonderful thing:
1. I did it! I ran the Los Angeles Marathon on Sunday! It was my third marathon and it was the hardest for me to finish (probably because of 82 degree heat), but I did it (whew!) Now I have to wait a few more days, but I'm anxious to start training for the next one. ;)
2. Have you seen the most recent issue of Quilty magazine? It's filled with beautiful eye-catching quilts designed by some very talented women, but you also might notice a half-page ad for Kaufman's 'London Calling' fabric line... featuring the quilt I designed for them! Made me smile.
3. I'm so excited to introduce you to the newest eHow Crafts blogger... me! Yes, my intro post went live yesterday ~ read it here. So what does this mean? It means I'll be blogging as usual over here, and I'll be bringing more crafty and original patterns, designs, how-to's, and inspiration to eHow ~ and I hope you'll follow me there. I'll keep you posted!
4. nanaCompany is finally on Facebook! Yes! I don't know what took me so long but won't you come on over to nanaCompany on Facebook and give us a 'like.' Because we all like to be liked, right?
5. Don't you just love a great fabric find? Like finding new Lecien fabric that isn't anywhere else? I just ordered a small packet of fabric from Donna's Lavender Nest and received it lightening fast.
I also fell in love with the adorable scissor print on the bottom, from Spun Sugar Quilts on Etsy.
For ordering info, 1-6 are from Donna's Lavender Nest, and 7-8 are from Spun Sugar Quilts on Etsy.
I'm happy to say lots more wonderful things are coming up. I've got a fun giveaway coming next!
xo amy
I've drawn up a free pattern of the bib I've loved best for my own kids. It's the same pattern I drew on cardstock back in 2008 ~ and have used ever since. Of course, I love my ruffle bib, too (see the tutorial here.) But that's more of a drool-catcher. It's delicate and kinda girly. This is my classic pretty little Baby Bib Pattern: good for a boy or girl, easy snap finish, and the thicker neck shawl provides more coverage at mealtime. It's great looking and practical.
These are some patchwork bibs I made last year...
And here's one I just made for my niece's new baby...
Check out the mosaic of my fave bibs, as well as info on what materials are best for bib-making here. See every bib I've ever made here.
Now, download the two-page PDF pattern for my pretty little Baby Bib Pattern here. It includes the full-size bib template along with instructions on how to DIY. Easy peasy! It looks like this:
This is a great beginner sewing project and a fun quick finish for those working on bigger sewing projects who crave some instant gratification. Either way... Happy sewing! And don't forget to add pics of your finished bibs to my flickr group, Inspired by nanaCompany.
xo amy