family traditions

Ken's grandmother was very crafty. She made lots and lots of things...she crocheted and quilted the most though. I was able to meet her the day we got engaged. She was a very sweet lady. She was very excited to hear that I like to crochet and quilt. No one else in the family really does that. We talked about the stuff we were working on and our favorite projects. You could tell she really enjoyed making things. Her face lit up when she was able to describe her projects. Sadly, she died a few weeks later. I was very happy to get the chance to meet her.

When we were visiting Ken's parents after we found out that we were going to have a baby, Ken's mother went into the spare room and came back with this quilt. She said that Grandma made it for the next baby in the family. She got a little teary-eyed when she handed it to us. It wasn't finished...the quilt top, batting, and backing were pinned together. I quilted it and put the binding on. Now Madelyn has a very special quilt. Every time I look at it I think of her and all of the beautiful things she must have made throughout her life. I feel very lucky to have this last quilt of hers. We will miss you Grandma!

and another hat

I just couldn't help myself. I love to make hats. Madelyn, on the other hand, isn't that big of a fan. But I'm hoping I can convince her to change her mind. Who wouldn't want to wear this?

my first baby quilt!

I found this fabric online at http://www.thequiltshoppe.net/ and I fell in love with it. It's Bella Baby by Michele d'Amore for Marcus Brothers fabrics. I wasn't thinking when I bought the fabric...I only got 1/4 yard each of 4 prints and 1/2 yard of the brown dot! I didn't know what to do with it so I just decided to make a simple patchwork quilt. It was very easy...it only took me an afternoon (but that includes taking care of little Madelyn!). I still have to hand quilt it and put the binding on...but at least I got the quilt top done! I'm pretty happy with the results. Here's the close-up of the fabrics....I just love them!

boppy

When we found out we were having a baby and only had 7 weeks to prepare, we were lucky enough to have family give us lots of baby essentials. One of the things we got was a boppy pillow, complete with its own travel bag. I was excited to have one since I've heard great things about them. The only problem was that I didn't really like the fabric it was made out of...it had giant letters all over it with creepy little kids. Eeew. I looked all over for a cover and I didn't like any of the ones that I found, especially when I saw the price of them...who wants to pay $20 for something that you could make for waaaaaaaaaaaay less? So I found a pattern online here. It was so easy! I had some fabric that coordinated with Madelyn's room (I love bumblebees!). Of course I had to embellish it too. :o) Here is the finished project. I like it so much more now!

here we go...

So I found this website while I was searching for free baby craft patterns and I stumbled upon the blog "homemade by jill" and I instantly became addicted! I followed her burp cloth pattern and made 4 of them for my newly adopted daughter Madelyn. :o) I am now making about 3 different craft projects for her because I found some really cute patterns, but also because I can't seem to finish one project before starting another one. Here is a picture of my favorite thing I've made so far...a bunny hat. Pretty cute, huh? I found the pattern here. It was very easy and quick to knit up. It calls for 25 gram ball of angora, but I only used a teeny bit of it. I guess that just means that I can make more of these hats for my friends' babies!