musical charm (and 10!) squares quilt

it is officially that time of year for the donner mine music camp quilts!  not too long ago, i posted the baby girl charm (and 10!) squares quilt, and mentioned you'd be seeing another version of that quilt again soon... well, here it is!
when i saw this quilt pattern had two different size options, i was very excited to play with it again and make it larger.  elizabeth hartman's pattern had a 5" baby quilt square pattern and a 10" square pattern which made a twin sized quilt.  i wanted it to be something inbetween, so i made my squares 8" which allowed the quilt to end up around lap sized which was exactly what i was looking for.
with all the fabric that we've gained over the past year or so, we had quite the mix to choose from. i decided to go with just the two tone black and white prints as to not make it TOO crazy all over. this helped save some more variety for the week 2 quilt as well, which was a plus!
i couldn't find the black on black print i was initially looking for, so instead i found this other one that had the feel of little music notes with the circles and lines.  i used it for the back as well, which worked perfectly.
the binding i used was the black on black trebel clefs i've become so fond of (and has found their way in to most if not all of the music quilts i've done for the camp)  this quilt came together so quickly, i had both this one and the baby version done within a week!  lisa asked me how i could do the same quilt patterns multiple times, and i think part of it is seeing how different they turn out with different fabrics.  while the layout is the same, the baby quilt and the music quilt look completely different and that's fantastic!  it will be interesting to see how next year's version of this quilt turns out, since that seems to be the tradition with these music quilts.  next year this will be week 2's quilt, and i'll have to find something new for week one.
on that note, be sure to come back next week to see week 2's (this week of camp) quilt this year.  as a hint, here's what it looked like last year during week one: music themed amy butler's daisy chain

baby a's charm (and 10!) squares quilt

not too long ago, a co-worker friend of mine's mom asked if i would be interested in making a baby quilt for her granddaughter.  after all the baby boy quilts i had been making, i absolutely said yes.  of course, i love the baby boy quilts i had been making, this was just a fun change of pace to shake things up and change the color pallet a smidge.  well, a lot.  she sent me a photo of the bedding that the momma to be had already purchased so i would be able to get a good idea of the color scheme, and then i ran with it.  i found this super cute pattern by elizabeth hartman called "charm (and 10!) squares" and it was perfect for this project.
the backing fabric was the inspiration for the colors used on the front - a few pinks and some blues to coordinate as well as tie in to the print that i also used on the front in the rows as well.  the quilt pattern was super easy to follow, and only used 5" squares.
the grandma to be asked me if i could add an "a" in their for the baby's first name, so i checked out which options i had in my cricut cartridge stash that would go best with the quilt (this one is the opposites attract upright) without looking too awkward.  traced it on to wonder under and then appliqued it on to the lower portion of the quilt.
when i was looking at fabric for the quilt, i was trying to decide between the larger print or the smaller.  when the pattern was selected, i felt that the smaller print was still going to be used in the quilt as the binding, and i think it worked out wonderfully without being too overwhelming.  it really capped off the top and bottom where the white row was and tied the front to the back without it being wonky.
i kept the quilting pretty simple as well, just following along the white edges. i'm sure i could have done straight lines all across and liked it just as well.  perhaps the next next time i do this quilt (because i actually already made this quilt again!  you'll see it next week-ish)
now that this little baby quilt has come and gone, i feel totally refreshed in to having my quilting vibe back.  now i'm still working on sending some crafty inspiring vibes lisa's way... she's attending a convention that is coming up soon!

goodnight, quilt - winnie the pooh baby quilt

originally, i had a completely different direction planned for this quilt.  i had bought the fabric, made the blocks, bought MORE fabric, made the rest of the blocks and then when i went to piece it all together, i lost inspiration.  totally gone.  i had about a week until the baby shower, and no clue what i was going to make for my best friend's little man, until i started flipping through some magazines my grandma loaned me once again and landed on this quilt pattern.  "goodnight, quilt" by nikki maroon was just the inspiration i needed, and a quick trip to beverley's was the solution.
when i saw this line of fabric originally announced, i remember showing it to erika and we both agreed it was PERFECT for her future baby.  when she found out she was pregnant, and then that it was a boy, i knew it had to happen.  this pattern calls for light triangles and dark triangles, but i decided that each triangle would have a character print matched with a color that wasn't the same backing - i.e. the blue hexi poohs would be paired with yellow, gray and white.  it gave the quilt the scattered look i was hoping for without being too overwhelming in characters.
sure, some yellow prints touched other yellows, and blues touched blues, but it still worked in the end. it would be interesting to see what would happen doing this quilt again and how different it would turn out. that was one of my favorite things about the other triangle quilts i did.
i used a solid gray for the binding, which really helped tie all the prints in on the front without being too busy when it showed on the back.  with the original quilt, i had 3+ yards of this hexagon pooh & piglets, so i had more than enough to use on the front as well as the backing PLUS still have some that could be used as the backing when i return to finishing the original quilt plan :)  for the quilting, i followed the lines of the triangles to keep it simple and not too crazy.
when this quilt was all finished up, i had a huge sigh of relief. THIS was the quilt that i had envisioned for my best friend, i just didn't know it until attempting the first round.
i am so happy with how it turned out, and lisa might be right...
i think triangle quilts are kind of my thing...
just over three weeks until baby's due date!

woodland critters baby shower decorations

a little over a week ago, i had the honor of throwing my best friend a baby shower for her little man!  it is hard to believe it had been a whole 4 months since the gender reveal party, which means that baby is almost fully cooked.  i made a few crafted things for the baby shower, and i am stoked with how they all turned out.  so here's a quick collection of things made :)
diaper wreath
one of the major things i wanted to make was a diaper wreath that would serve a dual purpose.  one, it was a decoration (that erika ended up keeping) and two, it was also a memory game.
the wreath was hung on her front door for guests to see as they came in, then unknown to them, they had to try and remember as many things on the wreath as they could.  having been my first diaper wreath, i am very pleased with how this creation turned out!  here's a few more photos so you can see some of the things put on to the wreath.
i had previously done a similar version of this game at lisa's baby shower in 2010 as a clothesline, but i think if i ever throw a baby shower again, i'll totally do it as a wreath.
lifesaver & jellybean pacifiers 
i had made these for amy's baby shower last year, originally seen at jessica's baby shower so i HAD to do them for erika's!  last time i used fruit lifesavers, and they were SUPER sticky.  this time i used the wintergreen ones and larger jelly beans and i think these turned out a lot better.  the only thing i wasn't so fond of was the string i used this time since i ran out of ribbon (and couldn't find my big spool i bought last year)
we used these for the traditional "don't say baby" game, instead of clothespins.  we also added in the word "cute"as a word to not say.  i still had just enough spray paint from the last round to make these ones.
woodland cupcakes
these cupcakes were one of the first things on pinterest that i knew would be a perfect addition to the woodland theme.  the little "acorns" were the perfect touch instead of having globs of frosting.  i made 2 kinds of cupcakes for the shower.  one, similar to her bridal shower treats, were chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter frosting.  the others were vanilla cupcakes with buttercream frosting - i dyed it green to add a bit of color to them as well.  the acorns are made from a hershey kiss, nutter butter bites cookie and butterscotch chip for the stem.  clearly the buttercream "glue" showed up a lot, so i'd likely advise anyone that made these to dye the frosting brown so it wasn't as obvious :)
side note:
i didn't get a picture of the invites or bingo cards, but you can view them on etsy at inkyinvite.  they were perfect!