Patchwork Taggie Baby Blankie Tutorial

I'll admit that I have an ever growing stash

of  girly flannel remnants.

I just keep buying them every time

I see them in the remnant bins.

I can't really explain why I love them so......

But today I'm actually going to use some of them!

See....I knew they'd come in handy someday :)

What you'll need:

1 - empty baby wipes packet

1 - 9 1/2" square of Minky

9 - 3 1/2" squares of flannel

Assorted ribbons cut into 4" pieces

 (the amount of ribbon will depend on the width you choose

and your own preference as to how many you want)

When choosing ribbons,

think about texture for your baby.

You don't want anything too stiff.

Sew together rows of 3 of your 3 1/2" squares,

using a 1/4" seam allowance.

Press the seams:

row 1 to the left,

row 2 to the right,

row 3 to the left.

Now you will sew your rows together.

Because your seams are pressed to opposite sides

you can "butt" them up against each other

to give you nice intersections.

I pin the intersections so they don't move.

Now you have a 9 1/2" square.

Position your ribbons where you like them.

Fold them over and pin in place.

Using a 1/4" seam, stitch the ribbons in place,

pulling the pins as you go.

Place the Minky square over the flannel patchwork

with right sides together.

The empty baby wipes package

will be placed on top of the Minky square.

Now flip your stack of fabric over so that the flannel patchwork

is now on top and the Minky

and baby wipes package are on the bottom.

Stitch again just inside the stitching

line from when you attached the ribbons.

This will insure that you catch all the ribbons again.

Sew all the way around leaving

a 3" opening on one side for turning.

Trim off the extra baby wipes package.

Turn right side out through your opening.

Slip stitch the opening closed.

Top stitch at 1/4" all the way around.

I like to attach those absolutely fabulous

rings to one corner so you can attach it to the stroller

or highchair to keep your sweet baby from dropping

her cute taggie blankie on the ground 517 times.

The empty baby wipes package inside makes that

magical noise that seems to keep babies happy :)

(When you wash this

I wouldn't use the dryer

because of the baby wipes packaging,

just air dry.)

There you have it!

Another easy peasy project!

Happy Day and Happy Mail!

Yesterday was a Happy Day indeed!

Our little princess Sofie turned 1 year old!

(although I'm not really sure how that is possible

because I haven't aged a bit since she was born :)

We spent a wonderful day at Disneyland

to celebrate with her Mommy, brothers,

Auntie, cousins and Nana (of course)

She's going to have a fabulous birthday party

coming up in the next few weeks.

And as for the Happy Mail.....

 I received this super fun and colorful mug rug

from my swap partner "Cass the Coolest"

all the way from Australia!

Thanks so much Cass! I love it!!!

And if that wasn't enough,

today I received some beautiful linens

that I ordered from Crazy Annie's Stitchin.

She was having an awesome sale

so I got these at 35% off!

( I strive to never pay full price for anything!)

Also my wonderful hubby bought me

a walking foot for my sewing machine for Mother's Day

and it arrived today too!

I can't wait to play with it!

Last but not least,

this is a fun summer sampler by Bent Creek

 that I am currently stitching.

I'm using buttermilk linen instead of the

dirty linen they used.

I purchased all 4 seasons of the "soapbox" designs.

I'm hoping they will all be cute when they're done :)

Happy Monday!

I had such a lovely weekend with my family :)

I hope you all did too!

I finished the mug rug for my swap partner

and it's on it's way to Australia now.

I hope she likes it!

I also finished up a fun little cross stitch pillow.

"Support our Troops" by Erica Michaels

Stitched on 28ct linen over 2 threads.

I found this backing fabric out in the garage

along with some other patriotic fabrics

that I used a lot

when I was making raggedy ann dolls years ago.

This is the needle book I stitched for my Mom.

I know she'll love the Delft tile look :)

I found this needlebook kit on ebay.

It made me laugh to think

that this pattern was designed in Scotland

and it's a classic Delft tile pattern from Holland

being stitched by a woman born in Holland

who now lives in California

and it's being mailed to a woman in Germany

who married a man from Holland

that now lives in California

but is on vacation in Germany where she was born.

Makes perfect sense right?

Quilt top finished :)

I finished piecing the quilt top for my "Pure" quilt.

I'm using the Family Room Quilt pattern on page 87

of Sweetwater's Simple Home book.

I love these fabrics!

They just look so cozy :)

I've also finished a cross stitch piece for the swap I joined

but we are not allowed to show anything on our blogs

until our partner has received it.

And I'm finishing up a mug rug for another swap

but I'm going to keep that a secret as well.

I want my partner to be surprised :)

Have a lovely weekend everyone!!!

Work in Progress Wednesday :)

I have the center of my "Pure" quilt pieced together.

I love these fabrics!

The girls at Sweetwater did such a great job

mixing masculine and feminine prints in this collection!

I'm happy with the way it's turning out so far.

 Although the more quilts I make,

the more I realize that I don't really enjoy

making the same blocks over and over.

I must have a very short attention span :)

My next quilt will have to be another sampler

just for fun.

Tomorrow I have to run to M & L

to buy the fabric for the sashing and borders

so I can finish this quilt top.

Here are a few of the little squares that I plan to use

 for the backside of the quilt.

And yesterday I received the Silent Cinema fabrics that I ordered.

(Man I love to get fun packages in the mail!!!!)

When I ordered these fabrics,
I thought the print was smaller.

Now that I see them in person I think

I'll pick different fabrics for the dress

and use these for some fun

 summer weight jammies instead :)

I'd like you meet Arthur :)

"Arthur" by ?

Stitched on 28ct Lugana over 1 thread

I found this freebie chart while blog hopping

and now the blog is gone.

I'm sorry I can't give credit to the designer,

I don't know who it is

and the copy I downloaded doesn't have that info either.

And here is  my the real Arthur :)

He's so helpful.

He likes to hold down my warm freshly washed towels

so they don't fall off of the dryer.

Isn't he thoughtful?

Arthur came to live with us when he was only 6 weeks old.

He's 13 now and as you can see

he's still every bit as energetic as a kitten!

And now that I've been stitching for a few days

it's time to get back to my quilting :)

I'll be cutting the pieces for a new quilt tonight

out of these fat quarters.

The fabric is "Pure" by Sweetwater for Moda.

It seems only fitting to use a Sweetwater pattern as well.

Can't wait to get started!!!

Is it yummy?

You may have noticed that when I get on a roll,

I tend to make 315 of the same things

before I get bored and move on to the next "thing".

Clearly I'm on the "finish your cross stitch projects" roll :)

When my hubby came home last night he loved the

little "Bee Line" pillow.

He said "you should keep that one".

That made me laugh.

I guess he knows me too well.....

I tend to give away most of what I make :)

"Bee Line" by Sam Sarah Designs

Stitched on 18ct Aida

Of course I changed the thread colors :)

"Little Maids" Characters 23 DMC

Stitched on 28ct Lugana over 2 threads

Yes....I changed the colors :)

So a while back, this little guy (my youngest grandson)

was visiting me and was watching me intently as I stitched.

"Nana.....what are you doing?"

"I'm doing cross stitch.

 It's like coloring a picture,

but I use thread instead of crayons."

He kept watching me and as I put the ends of the floss

in my mouth to thread the needle he asked....

"is it yummy?"