Ember Costumes and Crafts

I always do more quilting in the winter, and I have been in a quilting frenzy since Thanksgiving! I felt bad about making a quilt for Gunnar's friend when I still hadn't finished a baby quilt for my niece! So I dug out this adorable Lewis and Irene fabric bundle I'd been hoarding and got to work.  The pattern is based on a quilt I saw on instagram, but for the life of me I couldn't find a pattern for it--but that wasn't enough to make me give up. I did a lot of math and trial and error and arguing about triangles with both Jack and Gunnar, but finally managed to reverse engineer the pattern!  Here it is up on my makeshift "design wall." (I didn't feel like crawling around on the floor to lay this out lol.)  Also, the fabric glows in the dark!   

I have been feeling a lot craftier in the last few months, and I am trying to do more of what I want to do and less of what I think I should  do. I mean, I've always been one to walk my own path, but I also have been held back by thinking "what would people think" and worry that my hobbies are dumb or that I am somehow dumb for liking the things I like. This feeling ebbs and flows with my mood, but sometimes it takes over and keeps me from doing the things I want to do. But I am working on squashing that critical voice and embracing my weirdness. One of the things I have always wanted to do is make a Victorian Bustle gown for myself!  I love costumes and I love puffy dresses and I love sewing, and I think I have the space, tools, and skills to tackle this project. (Well, I don't have a dress form. But I'll jump that puddle when my boots start leaking.) Bur first: I give myself permission, especially on this first venture, to use my serger, to avoid hand sewing if

One of G's coworkers is having a baby this month and he asked very nicely if I would make a quilt for baby Journey...so here it is! The fabric was a layer cake called Rosa by Moda and the purple and teal are free spirit solids from my local quilt shop. The back is minky which I just love for baby quilts!  I love the way the quilting turned out on this. I really want to do this quilting pattern again next time I make another pinwheel quilt!  The quilting on the back looks like flowers!