Allison: Crafty Friends and Family

Hello again!  I opened up a new page to write my blog post hours ago.  Then, I put my daughter down for a nap and took one myself.  Needless to say, it's now almost 5 pm, and I'm trying to write a post on crafting, when the last thing I feel like doing is craft.  I know.  I shouldn't admit that.   But I'm almost 39 weeks pregnant and I reserve the right to do nothing but sit around and watch my daughter play in our air conditioned house.

That being said, I thought that today would be a great day to brag about my amazingly crafty friends.  I have noticed a new trend at parties, but more specifically at baby showers: homemade gifts.  I went to a good friend's baby shower a few months ago, and it seemed that half the gifts she received were homemade (including mine, of course).  I thought it was so cool to see what others could create!  So today, I wanted to show off some of the cute things that I've received for my little one on her way.

The blanket on the left was made by Norah's Grandma Lacey.  She's so good about making quilts for all of her new grandchildren, and we love this blanket!  It's so soft and comfy!  I can't wait to see Norah cuddled up in it.

The crocheted blanket on the right with the adorable strawberry was made by my good friend, Jen.  She has some mad skills when it comes to crocheting, and I want to be like her when I grow up.  :)  I LOVE this blanket, and I know Norah will too.

The blanket on the left you might recognize from Lisa's post yesterday.  I LOVE IT!  I am so impressed with how good she's become at crocheting!  I need a lesson.  The yarn is so soft and I can imagine cuddling my baby while wrapped in this blanket from her Aunt Lisa.

The blanket on the right was made by Norah's mom.  Yes... I had to show off my own quilt.  I really enjoyed making this quilt for my baby girl, and really pushed myself, creatively, to try free-motion quilting around the edge.  I hope Norah feels all the love that I put into this blanket.

Can you tell how loved this little girl already is?  Of course I'm grateful for store-bought gifts too.  I can't sew clothing yet, so we appreciate all we received.  I also was given many other heart-felt gifts, which I appreciate more than I can express.  Hopefully this little one is here by this time next week (I'll be induced next Tuesday), and we can't wait to cuddle her and meet our little Norah.  If you don't hear from me next week, I think I have a pretty good excuse.  I'll be doing the ultimate "craft".  :)  Have a great week, and keep the crafting going while I'm gone!

Allison

Friday Favorites: Allison's Favorite Blog

Welcome to another Friday Favorites!  This week you just get to hear from me, since I'm the only one without a life.  Waiting for this baby has given me a lot of extra time.  :)  I thought I'd share with all of you one of my favorite blogs and why I think it's so great.

Before I finally gave in to Pinterest, I used to have a handful of blogs that I really enjoyed checking in with on a weekly basis.  Some of my favorites, were quilting blogs.  I loved to look at all the finished products and to find inspiration in their designs.  I especially loved when they would give the patterns so that I could make the same quilt.  That's one of the reasons I love The Moda Bake Shop.  At www.modabakeshop.com, they give you step-by-step directions to create the most beautiful quilts and sewing projects.  Since it is a blog for Moda Fabrics, they even give you the fabric line used.  That's especially helpful if you want to make THE EXACT same quilt.  I actually really enjoy making up my own patterns for quilts, but I'm not the greatest at measurements.  So this blog is very helpful.  :)

I also appreciate how easy it is to navigate through this blog.  You can search the "recipes" to find only baby quilts or search by certain fabric lines.  You can even search through the "chefs" if there is one quilter in particular that you'd like to follow.  I would definitely recommend checking out this blog.  Just look at the cute projects I've been able to complete with their help:

This is a Christmas tree skirt I made for my sister, Shauna.  The pattern was so easy to follow with The Moda Bake Shop's directions and measurements.  I LOVE how it turned out.  If only I could find the desire to make my own now.  :)

Bad pictures, but I think the cuteness still comes out.  :)

This is a baby quilt I made for Sara's little "B".  Looks like I need to make something for Lisa, huh?  :) This was my first experience making pinwheels, and the "recipe" I used from the Bake Shop made it so much easier.  I also loved learning how to make the prairie points and have since used them for other projects.  Do you see yet why you need to visit this blog?  They also have many other projects besides quilts.  I hope you take a second to check it out!  Have a great weekend!



Allison


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