The fabric colors for the criss cross coasters were so fun I decided to make a doll quilt from them.

This is my first attempt at a pieced quilt, but so far I'm feeling good.  I haven't even completed one block, but feeling good nonetheless.

I'm trying the Disappearing 9 Patch, using this tutorial. So far, things are moving along quite nicely. Like I said, I sewed the first nine patches together, I've cut them up and rearranged. Now I just need to sew the rearranged patches together and I'll have one block completed. 

I'm not completely sure how many blocks it takes to make a doll quilt, or how long the actual quilting process will take, or how to really do the binding, but I'm still feeling pretty optimistic. If nothing else, I'm just happy to be back in the crafting groove.

The Christmas preparations start today! At a minimum, it's time to get some ideas flowing.

Definitely on my list this year is the Fabric Dollhouse, by Lil'D a UK Lass in US.  Her blog is fantastic, and it's a great place to learn all sorts of crafty things, as well as English (UK) expressions that are fun to work into every day conversation.  Cream crackered is right now my favorite.  

This gratitude wrap from Amanda (tutorial here) is also on my gift list. I'm thinking this would be a great gift for anyone who enjoys letter writing, including a younger child who is just learning the art of thank you notes.  It is a neat little wrap that holds letter-writing supplies, including stamps, in one little place. The idea is that you can keep it with you and write notes to loved ones as they come to mind. At least, that's what I'm thinking I would use it for. 

And these...I'm thinking a great gift for the grandparents! Who wouldn't want little hands memorialized on their walls? You could do a whole family of hands. This idea is from Just a Girl, a great blog that I discovered via Today's Creative Blog.

This would be the start of the Stripe-y Patchwork Cat.  He has a tail!  The tutorial didn't say to stuff the tail, so I didn't. I played around with it a little bit and decided the stuffing in the tail looked a little weird. Maybe that's why the tutorial didn't tell me to stuff it.

The cat doesn't yet have a face, but it will soon. This tutorial was super easy! And you know I've become a bit obsessed with the patchwork projects lately. This was fun! I bought this fabric (the three flowered fabrics, anyway) from Joann's last winter. I used them to make a fabric bunting for my sister's baby shower.  You'll notice that I tend to buy yards and yards of a fabric that I like.  You wouldn't believe how much of this fabric I had left over from the bunting.  I probably bought two yards each...a little bit of overkill.  I thought I'd make more accessories and things for the baby, but I haven't exactly gotten around to it yet.  Maybe for Christmas?!!

Here's the full shot of the unfinished cat sitting in Mr. Plaid's chair (Mr. Plaid is allergic to cats, and also gets annoyed when I leave my sewing projects strewn about his work area).   The cat's not yet stuffed...that's the interfacing keeping him standing.  I think he'll be quite charming when finished. And probably not a "he" at all, given his feminine colors.

I loved this tutorial because it came together so quickly (well, so far, anyway. I'm not looking forward to hand stitching the bottom).  I'm thinking of adding these to my Christmas list. I'm sure I know at least a couple of children who would love a Stipe-y Patchwork Cat. Don't you?!

This guy could be yours! Or yours to give as a holiday gift to your favorite child/cat lover.  All you need to do is leave a comment on this post before next Wednesday and you'll be entered into a random drawing to win this cat. I'll even finish him first.

As I mentioned, the Kindergartener started a new school this year.  It's a good school, where she has many friends and wonderful teachers.  However, we hesitated for a very, very long time before deciding to enroll her, and the number one reason for our hesitation was the "uniform dress" policy.

For the past three years (since she was about two), we've allowed our daughter to express her own creativity through her clothing.  She takes great pride in choosing her clothes (right down to the socks) and dressing herself.  She's worn Halloween socks at Easter, Christmas socks in the middle of summer, and dress shoes with shorts.

I know there are moms who would rather gnaw off their own fingers than have their children seen like this in public. I am clearly not one of those moms. 

Nonetheless, we're now attending the uniform dress school.  Granted, it's a little more flexible than a true uniform, because the kids can choose any solid-colored collared shirt, and they can choose from three colors of pants/shorts/skirts/dresses.  But I've spent the last couple of weeks explaining what a "solid color" is.   ("Yes, honey, pink is a solid color.")  To a girl who regularly mixes stripes and plaids with polka dots, it's a tricky concept. 

But the point of this whole post is this: I can no longer get excited about sewing. I'm having a horrible time looking at fabric and appreciating it. I can't even invision the wonderful things that could be made from it. Because right now, I can only think about solid colors. It's killing me. The navy, khaki and black are literally sucking me dry.

Even when I think about sewing, all I can think about it how to make a fun dress that won't get my daughter kicked out of Kindergarten.

I give you: The Criss Cross Coasters

As boring as coasters may seem (ahem, Mr. Plaid), they are fun to make and do bring a bit of excitement to the living area.  I love that they need not match the decor, as Jennifer wisely commented, they can bring a splash of color to the room.

Once I figured out that these guys needed to be pinned, it was smooth sailing. Initially, I made a couple of coasters only to discover during the "flipping" stage, that I hadn't caught some of the fabric layers in the seam.  So, I had to unflip and resew and it was quite a pain.  The slippery fabrics were the worst.  However, these are extremely easy to unflip and fix, so if that happens to you, do not throw in the towel.  

 
I decided to just alternate the backing fabrics, so that you could see more of the fun flowered pattern.  For the lining, I just used a flannel, because I felt like it would be a little more absorbant. And, because I don't always follow directions, I didn't use any fusible web. I didn't feel like my fabric needed it, and I was sewing through an awful lot of layers as it was.

This tutorial was extremely straight forward and easy to do (once I pinned the slippery fabric in place).  The flipping was a breeze. The only other challenge was trying to get those corners poked out nice and square. Which, you can see, I'm still working on...

The fabrics are both from Joann's.  It's apparel fabric I picked up on clearance at the end of spring to make summer clothes for the girls. Since we all know how well that turned out, I thought I might as well use it for coasters.

If you'd like to win this lovely set of four coasters, leave a comment on this post before I choose a random winner next Wednesday.  And for those of you thinking coasters are dull, I'll throw in a little something extra. I'm not sure what it will be just yet, but you'll get the coasters and an accessory of some sort.  (It will not be my favorite Kate Spade teacup pictured above! Because I love, love it!)

Here are your random numbers:

11	

Timestamp: 2008-08-06 20:47:29 UTC

The random number generator chose comment number 11, Colleen.  Congratulations! Check your inbox for an email from me with details!

Thanks to the rest of you for all the kind words about my apron! Oh, and Mr. Plaid wants credit for the hand-drying flap.  Here's how it went down: I had the flap pinned on (at the sides of the apron) and he said, "Oh, good idea, a flap to dry your hands."  And based on that exchange, he believes the flap was his idea. So,I guess we should give him credit for naming my flap.

For those who were interested, I am working on the tutorial and will post it soon.  

Please welcome the long-awaited Tea Towel Apron.  So exciting that Scarlet even got to come out of the craft room to model it:

 
It's not quite the Throwback Thursday project I initially planned...but it was so much fun designing it!  I based it off of this tutorial from Martha (she calls it a "dish towel" apron, not nearly as classy).  But her top was square, which I didn't want.

 
So I changed it.  Then I decided the entire thing in two matching tea towels was...well...dull.  So I added a flap:

 
The flap is not stitched along the bottom, so it can be used for drying hands and things.  I thought it nice to have a separate little hand-drying apron attached to the larger apron. That way your clothes stay covered even while you're drying your hands.  Is that important? Not sure. But it sure makes for a cute apron!

This was made from a set of tea towels I bought at Target (they came two towels to a set, so I used one and a half sets).  I also own the matching table runner...which will make it hard to let go of this apron. I mean, imagine what a clever hostess I would be, what with my apron matching my table and all.

The ties for the neck and waist were super easy, made from cotton twill tape.  I've considered writing a little tutorial to show you how I did it (the whole apron, not just the ties). Maybe later this week?

By now, you know how it works: Leave a comment on this post by next Wednesday, and you'll be entered to win this apron.  Completely random, completely free.