Oh, Baby, Baby

(my apologies for triggering any unwelcome pop music rhthymn in your subconscious…)

But what I was really referring to are the baby onesies I’ve been having fun painting and appliqueing… 100% cotton onesies, pre-washed, and decorated with my freehand artwork in fabric, glitter fabric paint and fabric paint markers….

I made these to sell at a craft fair, but it just wasn’t the right market for baby stuff, so they are now listed in my etsy shop: madebyabrunnette, along with the leftovers from last weekend’s blog sale.

There are cute tiger and lion cubs, 

elephants that would look cute on any little peanut…

ladybugs,

and doxies….

onesies fit for a princess….

or a real sweet-heart….

All onesies are customize-able, add a baby’s name, nickname, or request a special color or different size, etc. Maybe you want a dog or cat on the onesie that looks like your own pet?  Sky’s the limit, just ask!

And, on all items in my shop, Shipping is FREE within the United States!  It’s not too late to buy for Christmas…

A Quilting "Hole in One"

I told you in February that I would have a Christmas quilt to snuggle under this Christmas.  Finished up, with little time to spare, my Peppermint Twist quilt:

 Quilted with an all over meander stitch….

It has a fun pieced “snowflake” back:

Fussy cut cornerstones…

A favorite Christmas ornament print as a top and bottom border, and green dot binding to finish it up. 

So what is the Quilter’s “Hole in One”?  Well, for the first (and possibly last) time, I made binding, sewed it on, and when I got around to the last side of the quilt I thought I was going to be just a hair short on binding.  Instead, I continued to sew, and when I stopped to join the two ends of binding, I could scarcely believe my eyes.  I had the exact length of binding I needed for this quilt, I didn’t trim so much as an 1/8th of an inch!  That has never happened before.  And somehow, I don’t see it even happening again….

House Guest

Depression has been a most unwelcome companion the last few weeks… This time of year I am typically blaring my Christmas iTunes at the office, in my car and at home.  But this year, I can’t seem to listen to more than a song or two without the despair sinking a little deeper.  I’m focusing on my health, eating right, and working my way through the blues as best I can.

Tonight, I was cutting fabric for a Mother/Daughter apron set, and decided to pop this CD in, since the Christmas music just wasn’t calling to me…

(I’ve had a thing for Perry Como since I was a teenager–it had something to do with a TV album commercial that I found greatly amusing–and mocked, often!) The music is beautiful, mostly familiar church songs, some I recall singing for school programs as a child, and it immediately brought me peace.  Especially this tune:

“I KNOW WHAT GOD IS”

I have heard the wild bird’s sing
so I know what ‘freedom’ is
I have looked into the eyes of a child
so I know what ‘faith’ is

I have seen a rainbow
so I know what ‘beauty’ is
I have planted a tree
so I know what ‘hope’ is

I have held a helping hand
so I know what ‘kindness’ is
I have seen a blossom burst into bloom
so I know what ‘glory’ is

I have lost a friend
so I know what ‘sorrow’ is
I have knelt down in prayer
so I know what ‘peace’ is

I have seen a mother at her crib
so I’m sure of the meaning of ‘love’
I have seen and I have felt these things
and now I know what ‘God’ is!

Words and Music by Don Raye, Ned Freeman and John G. Bowen

BEAUTIFUL…. May you know Peace, and God, this night and this Christmas Season…

A Christmas Party!

Just recently, I discovered Thrifty Decor Chick’s blog… she’s a gal after my own heart; crafty and thrifty.  I’m sure she’ll be staying in my reader for a long time...  Today she is hosting a Christmas Tree party, and I’m linking up!

When I lived in a house, I had more than one tree, and MANY more decorations than I own now.  But we live in a 1,000 s.f. condo, so we have narrow, artificial, pre-lit tree that stands 7 feet tall–in front of our balcony door:

You can see one of the stockings I made hanging on the mantle there.  My hubby described it over the phone to his mom as “it’s one of those skinny, fake trees, that comes with lights on it; and then Doris adds about 500 ornaments to it.”  He’s probably not that far off.  There are at least five dozen silver glass icicles hanging on the insides of the branches, seven or eight dozen frosted glass balls from Target in purples, greens, turquoise, pinks, blues, magentas, reds–all bright colors.  Then there are the special ornaments we’ve picked out together each year, all German glass ornaments:

The Viola, the black cat, the moon, the dove with the real feather tail…

the House for the year we made our home together, and for 2011, my favorite, a nosegay of roses that looks just like my bridal bouquet from this Spring!

There are some other special ornaments on there, bought from etsy sellers, made by friends or family, given by someone special… but truly the ones we cherish are the ornaments we have picked out in our six years together.  It was the first tradition we decided to start as a couple.

Underneath the tree (you can barely see it in the top photo) sits the nativity from my childhood, in a stable made by my Mom from an orange crate.  I spruced it up with a straw roof and twigs on sides.  I think the figurines are German also, which is where my great-grandparents came from. The angel is one my family gave to my Grandma in the 1980s, when the entire family bought her a new artificial tree and a collection of special ornaments.  When she could no longer stay in her home, each family received their ornaments back, and I got her angel.  I love see Grandma’s angel looking down from the top of our tree.

So, go check out the rest of the party… have fun!

Come back soon, I should have a finished quilt to show you…only four or five years in the making!

The Definition of Joy:

Two NEW brothers meeting for the first time.

One Daddy, One Mommy.

Two different languages.

Dancing joyfully to a brotherly language of their own….

(adoption is official, Caleb is truly a member of our family, and I cannot wait to meet him in a few weeks)

Lil’ Dumplings

I posted this to Facebook after finishing it on Sunday–and I included a Sharpie marker in the pic I posted, to show the scale.  This bag is TINY–it measures about 3.5″ x 2″ at the base, and not quite 3″ high!

Since then, I have made seven more dumpling bags… just one in a slightly larger size (the one on the left with the purple flower/purple zipper is bigger than the rest):

Using lots of fun fabric from my stash and scrap boxes:

I’m hoping to sell these at our Church Bazaar this weekend… not sure about price, maybe around $8.00 each.

They are fairly easy to whip up, made from Keyka Lou’s free pattern and tutorial…

 

 

A lot lower fat than edible dumplings, and a whole lot cuter, too!

You can find Keyka Lou’s tutorial here.

They only other sewing I’ve done this week is one 12.5″ purple star block for an exchange:

I realized when pulling fabrics for this block, that the one color I buy very little of, is purple!  Do you have a color like that in your stash (or missing from your stash)?